OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Though Antonio of Venice finished ahead of Heavyweight Champs the lone time they met in last December’s Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Series, trainer Rudy Rodriguez doesn’t think the best horse of his won the race. “I think he’s a little better than Antonio,” Rodriguez said of Heavyweight Champs. Sunday’s $100,000 Damon Runyon Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-olds at Aqueduct will put that theory to the test when Antonio of Venice and Heavyweight Champs comprise 40 percent of the five horses entered in the six-furlong race. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Antonio of Venice was making his sixth career start, Heavyweight Champs his first when the two ran in the $500,000 Great White Way Stakes. The race was best remembered for the controversial disqualification of second-place finisher Brick Ambush when it appeared that Antonio of Venice, who came off the rail and bumped a horse may have been the main culprit. Heavyweight Champs, meanwhile, was part of the pace and eventually finished 2 1/4 lengths behind Antonio of Venice. Heavyweight Champs finished fifth as the even-money favorite in his next start, a race run over a muddy track. He came back 22 days later to win a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race by 6 3/4 lengths over a fast track. If Rodriguez has a concern about Heavyweight Champs on Sunday, it’s that he’s running back in three weeks for the second straight race. “He’s a light-framed horse, I hope I don’t screw him up,” Rodriguez said. “He needs five, six weeks between races. The owners wanted to take a look at the race, but I think we’ll run.” It is only a five-horse field, and Heavyweight Champs could be the controlling speed under Kendrick Carmouche. Following the Great White Way, Antonio of Venice finished second behind Mischief Joke in the Rego Park Stakes, a race run over a sloppy track. “Manny [Franco] said in the beginning he was struggling with the track,” Rodriguez said. “He took him outside, he thought he was going to give him a nice run, but the other horse was already gone.” The other horse was Mischief Joke, who is back in the Damon Runyon for trainer Mike Maker. Mischief Joke was able to control what was a soft pace in the Rego Park, but also has proven effective from a stalking position. Aelfgar, a maiden who was second to Heavyweight Champs on Feb. 25 and fourth in his last start, and Mad Banker, who ran third in an allowance last Sunday, complete the field. The Damon Runyon goes as race 4 on the eight-race card. ‘Bernie’ tops East View A turnback in distance, an outside draw, and the absence of a rival to whom she was defeated in her last two starts leaves Bernietakescharge as the one to beat in the six-furlong $100,000 East View Stakes for statebred juvenile fillies. Bernietakescharge comes out of a second-place finish behind My Mane Squeeze in the Franklin Square on Jan. 14 and a third-place finish behind that same rival in the Maddie May Stakes at a mile on Feb. 18. Trainer Dominick Schettino felt his filly was too far off the early pace in the Maddie May. “That isn’t exactly the way she likes to run,” Schettino said. “She likes to be up close, right there off the lead. I’m not concerned about the cutback. She drew well, which I like.” The last time Bernietakescharge cut back from a mile race to six furlongs, she won a first-level allowance race. She had the outside draw in that six-horse field. She has the outside draw in this seven-horse field, and Trevor McCarthy rides. Caldwell Luvs Gold cuts back in distance and returns to statebred competition after finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Demoiselle going 1 1/8 miles last December. Caldwell Luvs Gold was beaten as the odds-on favorite in both the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes in September and the Maid of the Mist Stakes in October. Caldwell Luvs Gold, who breaks from the rail under Manny Franco, is 2 for 2 at six furlongs, including a victory in the Seeking the Ante Stakes last summer at Saratoga. Sweet Brown Sugar and Thirteen Red Flags have traded decisions in their last two starts, with Sweet Brown Sugar beating Thirteen Red Flags by 7 3/4 lengths last out. That race was run over a muddy track. Thirteen Red Flags is 2 for 2 over a dry track, 0 for 3 over a wet one. “She’s still oblivious to what she’s doing, but she knows where the wire is,” said Amira Chichakly, trainer of Thirteen Red Flags. Rumint, who cuts back to six furlongs after finishing ninth in the Maddie May, shows two solid works at Fair Hill leading up to this spot. Soloshot and Bustin Time complete the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.