Maker, Santana sweep 2-year-old stakes at Finger Lakes

Arctic Beast won the $104,388 Aspirant Stakes and Oh won its sister race, the $116,528 Lady Finger, as trainer Mike Maker and jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. swept the stakes for New York-bred 2-year-olds on a chalky Monday at Finger Lakes.

The Aspirant and Lady Finger are the local preps for the $200,000 New York Breeders’ Futurity on Oct. 13 at Finger Lakes – not only the richest race of the track’s season, but one of the richest races for the statebred 2-year-old division this fall. Only the Sleepy Hollow and Maid of the Mist, both Oct. 25 at Aqueduct, match the $200,000 purse. The Aspirant and Lady Finger offer their respective winners free entry into the Futurity.

Arctic Beast ($2.44) and Oh ($3.28), each debut winners at Saratoga, were both favored in their respective races, and both had fairly straightforward trips under Santana on the sloppy, sealed track to remain unbeaten. Arctic Beast tracked the pace, took over handily in the stretch, and drew clear to dominate the Aspirant by 7 1/4 lengths. Diamond Child, the pacesetter, was easily best of the rest. The time for the 6 1/2 furlongs was 1:04.13.

Oh got some pressure while setting the pace in the Lady Finger, shook clear in the stretch, and held off a late rally from Liberty's Avenue – the second-longest shot on the board – for a half-length win. Oh's final clocking was 1:06.06.

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Earlier on the card, the favorites won a pair of $50,000 stakes for 3-year-old statebreds, with Hit the Post taking the Ontario County and Zi End winning the Niagara, respectively. Both redeemed themselves for summer losses.

Hit the Post ($2.10), with Christopher Elliott in the irons for Melanie Giddings, drew clear to win the Ontario County by 6 1/2 lengths for his first stakes win as he cut back in distance from 1 1/8 miles. The gelding had been second in both the New York Derby at Finger Lakes and the Albany at Saratoga.

Zi End ($4.68) won five of her first six starts before finishing fourth against older runners in the Arctic Queen in her stakes debut. She got back in the win column Monday by defeating fellow 3-year-olds in the Niagara for trainer Debra Breed, pulling clear by a dominant 9 3/4 lengths under Joel Cruz.

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