Hush Now seems to be a better horse without Lasix
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – There were 77 horses entered for Friday’s nine-race card at Aqueduct. Only one, Hush Now, was not entered to run on the anti-bleeding diuretic Lasix.
Hush Now, a 3-year-old daughter of Flatter, will take on seven fillies and mares in Friday’s eighth race, a $50,000 starter-allowance sprint that is open to horses who started for a claiming tag of $50,000 or less and who have never won two races in their career.
Hush Now is a full sister to multiple stakes winner Brigand. Hush Now lost the first eight starts of her career, all in New York-bred maiden special weight company. Trainer Tom Bush took Hush Now off Lasix and dropped her in class, and she rolled to a seven-length victory in a maiden $40,000 claimer on Nov. 14. In her first start against winners, she finished second on Nov. 27, well in front of three rivals she meets again in this spot.
Bush had been disappointed with Hush Now’s performance, so he took her off Lasix. “I was just desperate to try something because I actually felt this filly had quite a bit of talent, and she’s always done things the right way in the morning,” he said.
Bush had put blinkers on Hush Now three starts back and got a surprisingly different, albeit desired, change in the filly’s demeanor.
“It was more getting her to relax; she was anxious in some of the earlier races,” Bush said. “I’ve had a few horses that I put blinkers on where it helped them relax, and I think it definitely has done that for her.”
Irad Ortiz Jr., aboard for Hush Now’s last two starts, has the call from post 4.
KEY CONTENDERS
Hush Now (Last 3 Beyers: 71-73-51)
◗ She got a good stalking trip behind the speed in her last start and was simply outfinished by Stormy Sky, who came back to run a good second in an open-company, first-level allowance.
◗ Bush said he’s hoping for a similar trip, with a better finish, on Friday.
“She seems to have a really nice turn of foot for an eighth of a mile, and I think maybe you have to time it just right,” Bush said. “That kind of move on the inner track is usually a good move.”
Yes for Success (Last 3 Beyers: 64-64-74)
◗ She finished 3 1/4 lengths behind Hush Now in that Nov. 27 race and now gets blinkers for the first time.
◗ She finished a solid second over the inner track against open maidens last March.
Southern Sunshine (Last 3 Beyers: 68-71-55)
◗ With a 1-for-18 record, she may not be a win candidate, but she has 10 other in-the-money finishes, and her lone win did come over the inner track.
◗ She goes from turf to dirt, a move trainer Richard Schosberg is 4 for 17 with over the last three years, with a $3.02 return on investment.