Illman: How I'd play Aqueduct on Sunday, Nov. 16

Although a $27,574 pick six carryover is nothing to sneeze at, I’m interested in capitalizing on a couple of price horses earlier on the Sunday card.

The opener is a solid maiden special weight for juvenile fillies at six furlongs. While the experienced horses have shown some ability, I’m focusing on a first-time starter. EMBELLISH THE LACE (#3) sold for $320,000 as a yearling, and is a half-sister to the Travers Stakes winner Afleet Express and the multiple stakes-winning router Reporting for Duty by the Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver. Although there are several stamina influences in the pedigree, the dam did win her career debut and was stakes placed sprinting on the dirt at 2.

Embellish the Lace has been working quickly at Fair Hills for Tony Dutrow, a trainer who has scored with 19 percent of his 2-year-old debut runners in maiden special-weight dirt sprints over the past five years. Also, three of those workouts match up with stablemate High Dollar Woman, a juvenile filly by Super Saver that popped a 90 Beyer Speed Figure when graduating at Saratoga over the summer.

RING KNOCKER (#1) figures to take some attention dropping out of the Grade 1 Frizette, but she is stuck inside, and the rail has not been the place to be on dirt in recent days at Aqueduct. She’s usable in the multiple-race wagers, but I will concentrate my play on Embellish the Lace and ELOQUENT TRIBUTE (7), a Tapit filly who was steadied hard in the opening furlong of her recent start but still ran on for third.

The third race, an entry-level optional claimer for 3-year-olds at one mile on “good” turf, features some promising runners. Both IRONICUS (#5) and ENERGY SPIRIT (#6) have shown ability throughout their brief careers but have been their own worst enemies at times. Both horses break poorly from the gate and often are behind the eight ball as it pertains to race and pace luck. They are worth considering in the multiple-race bets, but Ironicus (trained by Shug McGaughey) and Energy Spirit (Todd Pletcher) project to attract a good amount of money in the win pool. BREAKEVEN ANALYSIS (#7), conditioned by Chad Brown, was in behind horses on the turn of his most recent start but had a fair chance once clear and couldn’t get to the New York-bred Captain Gaughen. I’m not sure of Breakeven Analysis’ quality, although he is a logical contender.

Bill Mott has two horses in the race. LOS BORRACHOS (#8) should take more money as he was second to the streaking Heart to Heart in his most recent turf event, but I prefer SYCAMORE LANE (#9). It took Sycamore Lane some time to break his maiden, but he did so nicely over “yielding” ground Oct. 19 at Belmont. He was shuffled back in traffic in the upper stretch and lost ground at a valuable juncture of the race. He still managed to ease wide with a strong late run to defeat two next-out winners. Mott is 5 for 14 (36 percent) with a $4.47 ROI over the past year with last-out maiden winners in turf routes. Sycamore Lane is 10-1 on the morning line. I’ll play him to win and will use him in exotics with the above-mentioned horses.

The pick six kicks off with the fourth race, and most folks will attempt to turn the bet into a pick five by singling the most likely winner of the sixth. LIAM’S MAP (#5) looks every bit his 2-5 morning line based on a devastating 98 Beyer maiden win Sept. 26 at Belmont.

In the fourth, HARLANS SIX (#4) looms a solid favorite following a runner-up try in the mud Oct. 24 at Belmont. If you don’t trust the four-race maiden, you could back up with JUSTICE SERVED (#10), LITTLE G (#2), and RHODY RENDEZVOUS (#8).

In the two New York-bred stakes races for 2-year-olds, I prefer THE LEWIS DINNER (#4) over MY SUPER NOVA (#3) in the second race, the Key Cents Stakes. In the eighth race, the Notebook Stakes, I’ll take GOOD LUCK GUS (#5) and TIZQUICK (#4) with a slight preference for the former.