Kathleen O. ends layoff in Friday's Comely Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Kathleen O., who won her first four races before finishing fifth in the Kentucky Oaks in May, will return to the races in Friday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Comely Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Aqueduct.

The Comely, run at 1 1/8 miles, is one of four stakes on Friday’s nine-race card, which follows four dark days at Aqueduct. There is no racing - or training - scheduled for Thanksgiving Day.

By running in the Comely Stakes, Kathleen O. returns to the site of her maiden win, which occurred at Aqueduct on Nov. 12, 2021. Trainer Shug McGaughey then shipped her for the winter to Gulfstream, where she reeled off three stakes wins including the Grade 2 Gulfstream Oaks.

Following her fifth-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks, Kathleen O. was sent to the farm for a break. She shows 11 workouts for her return including a half-mile move in 48.07 seconds Sunday morning over the Belmont Park training track.

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Kathleen O. drew post 4 and will be ridden by Javier Castellano.

Kathleen O. meets seven rivals including Nostalgic, winner of the Grade 3 Gazelle, Morning Matcha, runner-up in the Grade 1 Cotillion, Falconet, runner-up in the Iowa Oaks, Tizzy in the Sky, Skratch Kat, Sixtythreecaliber and Pistol Liz Ablazen.

The Comely is carded as race 7 on a program that begins at 12:20 p.m.

In the Grade 3, $300,000 Long Island at 1 3/8 miles on turf, trainer Chad Brown has the trio of Rocky Sky, Capital Structure and Kalifornia Queen in against the Brendan Walsh-trained Temple City Terror, recent winner of the Grade 3 Dowager at Keeneland. Tic Tic Tic Boom and Big Time Lady complete the six-horse field.

Rocky Sky and Capital Structure ran 1-2 in the Grade 3 Waya Stakes here on Oct. 2. Kalifornia Queen was third in the Grade 3 Athenia at Aqueduct in her most recent start.

Dancing Buck, winner of the $150,000 Belmont Turf Sprint Championship by five lengths on Oct. 1, heads an oversubscribed field of 12 entered in the $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship at six furlongs. The field includes several Belmont Turf Sprint runners such as Voodoo Zip, Yes and Yes, Thin White Duke, Chewing Gum and Scuttlebuzz as well as shippers Gear Jockey, Nothing Better, Nathan Detroit and Bad Beat Brian.

The $100,000 Notebook Stakes, which failed to fill for Sunday, drew six entrants for Friday topped by two-time stakes winner Acoustic Ave. That six-furlong race for New York-bred males will go as race 4.

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