Matt King Coal finishes second in comeback race

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Matt King Coal, unraced since a fourth-place finish in the Wood Memorial in April, finished second in his return to the races Wednesday at Aqueduct.

Matt King Coal, who set the pace in the Wood Memorial, attempted to stalk Dixie Runner on Wednesday, but jockey Jose Ortiz had to go to the whip at the three-furlong pole. Second City, a 7-year-old gelding ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, eventually overtook Dixie Runner to win by 1 1/4 lengths for his 11th victory. Matt King Coal did come back on along the inside to nip Dixie Runner by a nose for second. The race was run over a sloppy main track, and Second City’s final time for the one-turn mile was 1:38.02.

“Frankly, none of it was ideal for us,” said Linda Rice, trainer of Matt King Coal. “I don’t think a mile is really his best distance. He wants to go further than that. There was a lot of speed in the race. I thought we’d experiment by taking him off the pace a little bit. I don’t think that’s his game; he wants to be on the lead. All in all I was fine with it; he came back again on the inside. It was a good place to start.”

Rice said she is looking forward to getting Matt King Coal out around two turns during Aqueduct’s inner-track season, which begins on Dec. 7.