Kentucky shippers Crazy Beautiful, Played Hard rematched as Comely favorites

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The decision by the connections of Army Wife to run in Thursday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Falls City Stakes at Churchill Downs seemingly leaves Friday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Comley Stakes at Aqueduct a rematch between Crazy Beautiful and Played Hard, the one-two finishers in the Seneca Stakes on Oct. 1 at Churchill Downs.

Army Wife was the 7-5 morning-line favorite in the Comely, restricted to 3-year-old fillies, but owner Kirk Wycoff opted to leave her in Kentucky to take on older females for the bigger pot in the Falls City.

Crazy Beautiful and Played Hard were listed as the 3-1 co-second choices in the Comely, but now will vie for favoritism in the 1 1/8-mile race. Crazy Beautiful has the stronger résumé, with victories in the Gulfstream Park Oaks, the Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita, and the Delaware Oaks. Her most recent stakes success came in the inaugural Seneca Stakes at Churchill, where she altered her closing style to press the pacesetting Played Hard before finally overtaking that rival a few strides from the wire to win by a neck.

“She just showed how smart she is and she’s a get-it-done-type,” said Ken McPeek, the trainer of Crazy Beautiful. “It looked to me like she overcame quite a bit to win that race.”

The Comely will be Crazy Beautiful’s ninth start of her 3-year-old campaign, but may not be her last. She has shown ability on turf – a maiden win at 2 and a second in the Grade 3 Valley View at Keeneland last out – and may target the Grade 1 American Oaks, a 1 1/4-mile turf race on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita, McPeek said.

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Saturday, Kendrick Carmouche rides Crazy Beautiful, the 124-pound highweight, from post 4.

Played Hard, trained by Phil Bauer, was favored over Crazy Beautiful in the Seneca, a race in which she set the pace while being hounded by that horse before giving way grudgingly late.

“You take away from the race that she handled it and ran as well as she did,” said Bauer, who like McPeek is based in Kentucky. “I think we’re excited to run up there and think she’ll perform as well as she did before if not better.”

Played Hard, who will be ridden by Martin Garcia, could face some early pressure from Vegas Weekend, who did win a $50,000 claiming race at Saratoga in front-running fashion in August. Following a three-month break, Vegas Weekend won a seven-furlong allowance race in her first start for trainer Rob Atras. Vegas Weekend, who is making her stakes debut, has won five of her last six starts.

Shalimar Gardens won a one-mile maiden race at Belmont by 11 3/4 lengths on Sept. 26 and then finished fourth at 36-1 in the 11-horse, Grade 2 Raven Run Stakes at Keeneland. This will be her first try around two turns.

Hybrid Eclipse, Nintetypercentbrynn, and Bees and Honey complete what is now a seven-horse field.

The Comely is one of three stakes on Friday’s 10-race card at Aqueduct, kicking off a holiday weekend in which 10 stakes will be run. First post on all three days, with 10 races each program, is 11:50 a.m.