Imports add intrigue to mix

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - An aura of international intrigue surrounds Friday's third race at Aqueduct, as South American imports We Can Seek and El Provinciano make their U.S. debuts in a tough $58,000 allowance/optional claimer.

Philanthropist, Infinite Glory, and My Snookie's Boy also entered the one-mile race for older males who have not won a purse of $28,000 in 2005 or have never won four races other than maiden, claiming, or starter.

We Can Seek, whose five wins in his native Chile include four group stakes, will break from the inside post under Eibar Coa. We Can Seek has run only on turf or wet dirt to this point, but a bullet workout last week for new trainer Mark Hennig indicates he can handle a fast track.

won 15 of 24 starts in Peru, including eight victories in a row from January of 2003 to March of 2004, but his average earnings per start were less than $5,000. El Provinciano, 6, figures to be tested for class as he breaks from post 4 with apprentice Pablo Morales and makes his first start since May for new trainer Ramon "Mike" Hernandez.

began his 4-year-old season with a win at Aqueduct back in March for trainer Shug McGaughey. He has been first or second in all five starts on dirt this year, including a win in the slop last time out at Belmont.

Infinite Glory could prove the key to the race, as he returns from a long layoff for trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. He breaks from post 3 with Edgar Prado.

was claimed by Dutrow for $35,000 at the 2004 Saratoga meet, and won two of his next three starts, including the off-the-turf Manila Stakes on this track. He has been sidelined for 54 weeks, but appears set for a good effort after having six workouts over the main track.

My Snookie's Boy breaks from the outside post with Cornelio Velasquez, and makes his first start for trainer Bill Mott.

Soon after being claimed for $50,000 in the spring of 2004, My Snookie's Boy finished second behind Lion Heart in the Long Branch and the Haskell. His form subsequently tailed off, and he ended last season by losing twice as the favorite at Aqueduct's fall meet. He has won 1 of 6 starts as a 4-year-old.

* Hill 'n' Dale Farm has become sponsor of the $350,000 Cigar Mile, the final Grade 1 race of the New York racing season, which will be run on Nov. 26.