Laobanonaprayer stays with statebreds for Franklin Square Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Laobanonaprayer will get the chance to face open stakes company at some point in the future. For now, the 3-year-old filly who has been dominant in two restricted stakes will remain with New York-breds when she heads a field of six entered in Saturday’s $100,000 Franklin Square at Aqueduct.

Laobanonaprayer, a daughter of Laoban, went 0 for 2 against open maidens at Delaware Park in early fall. Equipped with blinkers, Laobanonaprayer trounced five New York-bred fillies, winning the Maid of the Mist Stakes by 5 1/2 lengths at Belmont Park on Oct. 24.

She returned from her Mid-Atlantic base to New York on Dec. 6 and was a dominant eight-length winner of the $250,000 Fifth Avenue division of the New York Stallion Series, a race for progeny of New York-based stallions. Though open-company options were available, trainer Daniel Velazquez opted to keep her with statebreds “and the only option we had is this little stakes,” he said.

“The distance is not ideal, but I know she can handle it,” he said.

The Franklin Square is run at 6 1/2 furlongs, a half-furlong shorter than the Fifth Avenue.

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Velazquez said he got one work in at Parx and feels that is all he needs to have Laobaononaprayer ready for this race.

Kendrick Carmouche rides from post 4.

Laobanonaprayer meets five New York-breds she has not yet faced. Vacay is the most accomplished, having won both her starts, including the Key Cents Stakes by 5 1/4 lengths on Nov. 15.

Vacay, a daughter of Not This Time trained by Todd Pletcher, breaks from the rail under Jose Lezcano.

“You never love drawing the one-hole going 6 1/2 necessarily, but there’s a bit of speed in here, so hopefully she can work a trip out where she can work her way out into the clear,” Pletcher said.

A Life That’s Good wasn’t good on turf in her debut, finishing sixth on Oct. 24 at Belmont. She did come back to beat maidens going six furlongs on dirt by 5 1/2 lengths on Dec. 4 at Aqueduct.

Trainer Jeremiah Englehart likes the idea of a little added distance for A Life That’s Good, because, “she was doing her best running late,” he said.

Trevor McCarthy rides A Life That’s Good from post 3.

Rossa Veloce could play out as the main speed of the race. After finishing second to Vacay in the Key Cents, she was a front-running winner of a first-level allowance on Dec. 20, turning back a challenge from Secret Love, who is also back in this field

Caramocha finished fourth in that allowance race after winning her maiden by 4 1/4 lengths at 99-1 on Nov. 7.

The Franklin Square goes as race 8 on a nine-race card that begins at 12:20 p.m.