Nic's Style wows 'em in comeback romp

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A couple of up-and-coming juveniles, Noted and Ozara, won stakes here Saturday with Irad Ortiz Jr. guiding both to their popular, narrow, and hard-fought victories on the turf in the Pulpit and Wait a While, respectively.

But the number one star of the afternoon was the lightly raced 3-year-old Nic’s Style, who served notice she could be a force to reckon with in the filly and mare sprint division next season after demolishing a field of older, vastly more experienced and accomplished entry-level allowance rivals while making her first start in more than 19 months for trainer Ralph Nicks.

Nic’s Style launched her career in high style in May 2022 going 4 1/2 furlongs in one of the first baby races of the local season, winning off by 6 1/4 lengths while confidently handled by jockey Junior Alvarado with the issue no longer in doubt in late stretch. She would not return until Saturday, but the long wait was well worth it for both Nicks and her owner, Rousseau Racing, after watching the modestly bred daughter of Uncaptured make every pole a winning one while drawing off with complete authority by 10 1/4 lengths while geared down by Alvarado nearing the wire.

Nic’s Style completed 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.17, earning a 90 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort while still having plenty in the tank at the end.

“She had some baby stuff as a 2-year-old, we restarted her, then had to back off and restart her again,” Nicks explained when asked what kept Nic’s Style away from the races for nearly a year and a half following her eye-catching debut. “I never really got to the bottom of her in any of her works leading up to this last race, but I had given her a lot of stamina-building two-minute lick gallops even before I started to breeze her, so I thought I had her plenty fit enough.

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“And kudos to my owner for having the patience to wait so long and give me all the time I needed to bring her back.”

Nicks, who won the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies with Caledonia Road, cautioned fans not to expect to see Nic’s Style back in the entries again any time too soon.

“I won’t be wheeling her back in three or four weeks, not after running a 90 Beyer off such a long layoff,” Nicks said. “She’s eligible for all her conditions, including a Florida-bred one other than allowance. We’ll pick a spot when the time comes.

“I don’t think she should have any problem stretching out to at least seven furlongs either. In fact, I really believe, with her breeding, she should be able to get at least a mile without an issue.”

Keeping an eye to the sky

Weather could be a factor later this week, with rain in the forecast right through the weekend. The effects could be felt as early as Thursday with a $71,000 allowance and optional claimer scheduled to be run at one mile on the turf. The race would be decided at a mile and 70 yards if switched to the Tapeta track.

Most of the key contenders in the nine-horse lineup are grass specialists and have had little or no experience over a synthetic track. That group includes Ruse, who exits a fourth-place finish in Aqueduct’s Mohawk Stakes for New York-breds, Ok Boomer, Baie Lounger, and Jeopardy Theory.

Ruse earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 92 in defeat in the Mohawk despite setting a contested pace into the stretch before tiring through the final furlong over a yielding course. He finished just 1 3/4 lengths behind runner-up City Man, who captured the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale on the turf here one year ago.

Ok Boomer seeks to rebound from a disappointing ninth-place finish against similarly conditioned allowance company last month at Churchill Downs while making his first start since finishing fourth, beaten a length by Dude N Colorado, in the Colonel Liam overnight stakes here eight months earlier. Second-place finisher Webslinger emerged from that race to win the Grade 2 American Turf at Churchill two months later.

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Maker has three in Jerkens

Rain also may impact Saturday’s $100,000 H. Allen Jerkens Handicap for the second consecutive year The race was switched from two miles on the turf to 1 5/8 miles on the Tapeta in 2022.

That change proved no problem for Value Engineering, who rallied to a 1 1/4-length triumph despite making his debut over a synthetic surface.

The versatile Value Engineering, who also won the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida on turf during last year’s Championship meet, is one of three horses trainer Mike Maker entered in the Jerkens along with Catch That Party and Shawdyshawdyshawdy.

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