Legal Consent in good spot
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A turn back in distance, a drop in class, and the prospect of a hot early pace makes Legal Consent the horse to beat in a $43,000 first-level allowance for New York-bred 3-year-olds, carded as Wednesday's featured event at Aqueduct.
Wednesday's card includes a $39,873 pick-six carryover after the wager went unhit Sunday.
Legal Consent, a son of Officer, spent his 2-year-old season chasing the best of the New York-bred juvenile division. He finished second to Haynesfield in a maiden race and third to that same rival in the Damon Runyon. Also, he was fourth to the multiple stakes winner Trinity Magic in the Sleepy Hollow.
Legal Consent's only victory came in the $318,525 New York Breeders Futurity, a six-furlong race at Finger Lakes in which he took advantage of a swift early pace to win by three lengths.
Wednesday's race is at six furlongs and also projects to have a swift early pace with the likes of Forty Third Recon and Head Heart Hoof in the field.
"It looks like the perfect spot," trainer Carlos Martin said. "It looks like there's going to be pace for him to run at."
Martin also gets to give a leg up to Ramon Dominguez, who is 2 for 5 on Martin-trained horses.
The biggest question could be track condition. A wintry mix was forecasted for Tuesday and was expected to change to all rain by Wednesday, perhaps creating a wet track. Martin did work Legal Consent over a muddy track one morning and said the horse handled it fine.
Seeyouatsergios, beaten a half-length when third in a similar spot as this 24 days ago, and Smokin Hero loom the major threats.
The remaining legs of the pick six are claiming races, and several of the races have horses dropping in class from barns that excel in such situations. In race 4, the first leg of the pick six, trainer Steve Asmussen drops Odessa's Hope in for $50,000 after he finished sixth in a key-race debut in June. The Asmussen barn scores at a 32 percent clip when dropping from maiden special to maiden claiming.
In race 5, trainer David Jacobson brings inner-track lover Mulli-gatawny back in a $10,000 claiming race in his first start since June. He claimed Mulligatawny for $75,000 last March. In race 6, Bruce Levine drops Lexington Ave. from statebred maiden special to statebred maiden $35,000. Levine bats 28 percent in such instances. In race, 7, Hail to the Thief and O'Kid are dropped in for a tag for the first time by Gary Contessa and Tom Albertrani, respectively.