Leading Contender, Macallan should get distance in competitive allowance

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Leading Contender and Macallan are horses handicappers, chasing the $46,068 pick six carryover Thursday at Aqueduct, will have difficulty leaving off their tickets when they head a competitive field of nine entered in the first-level allowance feature scheduled for 1 3/16 miles.

Leading Contender, trained by Chad Brown, is coming out of two runner-up finishes in this same first-level allowance condition. In September, at Saratoga, he finished in between next-out winners Film Star and Saqeel. Last out at Keeneland, Leading Contender was beaten a head by Escapologist while finishing a neck in front of next-out winner Grand Aspen.

This race is a furlong farther than that one, but Brown is confident this 4-year-old gelding by Gun Runner can handle it.

“It looks like he wants to go that far; he ran pretty good over at Keeneland, just missed,” Brown said. “Nice-enough horse, took a little while to come around himself.”

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Macallan, trained by Todd Pletcher, has just once start since February, that coming in an October allowance going a one-turn mile in the slop at Aqueduct, where he was beaten one length by Signator.

Signator and fifth-place finisher Quality Chic both came back to win their next starts. Macallan is by Quality Road out of a Giant’s Causeway mare, so the 1 3/16 miles would seem to be within his scope.

Mistical Curlin and Suerte were two heads apart when running second and fourth, respectively, in this same condition and at this same distance on Oct. 6. Suerte came back to run second behind the Quality Chic going 1 1/8 miles here on Nov. 5.

Looking at other races in the sequence:

Race 4: A $50,000 claimer going 6 1/2 furlongs on dirt has three coupled entries, the strongest of which appears to be the Mertkan Kantarmaci-trained duo of Amundson and Emerald Forest.

Amundson is an 11-time winner, five of those wins coming at Aqueduct. Emerald Forest was beaten a half-length at this level on Oct. 14.

Separate betting interest Life Changer drops in class after winning a first-level allowance going seven furlongs at Belmont in June. Breaking from the rail, Life Changer is 0-3-2 from five starts at Aqueduct.

Race 5: Vintage, off three months, takes a class drop off wins at Saratoga and Finger Lakes for Jeffrey Englehart in this $14,000 claimer. Just a Nyquist could get a proper pace setup while breaking from the outside.

Embraceable Gal comes down from Finger Lakes off a win last out for Windylea Farm and trainer Mark Hennig, which had success teaming up here last winter.

Race 6: Robert Falcone has strong numbers first off the claim and he runs Badlands Ruler in this starter allowance after taking him for $40,000 off a win on Nov. 10.

Iridescent won a maiden special weight as favorite in field of 12 in his lone try over a fast track at Ellis in August. He has caught turf and slop in finishing fourth in each of his last two outs.

Two’s a Crowd drops out of a sixth-place finish in the Sleepy Hollow Stakes. Iridescent won his lone start

Race 7: Brazillionaire takes a sharp class drop coming off the layoff and switching back to dirt, a surface over which he’s winless in two starts. Trappe Dream and Co Conspirators are new faces to this group and have been in decent form.

Race 9: Shadow Man tries dirt for the first time and is in for a tag for the first time and attracts Manny Franco in this maiden $20,000 claimer.

Wild Jaime didn’t have the smoothest trip when third in a New Jersey-bred maiden special on turf at the Meadowlands, a race from which the winner came back to win and was entered in an allowance at Tampa on Wednesday.

My Man Woody has run two decent dirt races.

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