No easy conquest for Vici in Aqueduct feature

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – When he looked at the condition book, trainer David Donk thought he found an ideal spot to finally get Vici a victory. When he looked at the overnight, Donk was surprised to see how just how difficult Friday’s featured second-level allowance/optional $62,500 claimer turned up.

“It’s a really good race,” Donk said. “I didn’t expect there’d be that many in there.”

The six-furlong race, scheduled for the turf, drew 15 runners. It will be limited to 14 starters. It also could be moved to the dirt, depending how much rain actually falls Thursday night and how cold it may get Friday.

Vici, a 7-year-old gelding by War Front, is capable regardless of surface. Though he is only 4 for 38 and hasn’t won in 14 months, Vici has run second or third 20 times. On June 28 – the last time he ran six furlongs on turf – Vici finished second, a neck behind Oleksandra. That Australian-bred mare has since come back to win two stakes and finish third in two others.

In his two last outs on dirt, Vici has finished second to the likes of Celtic Chaos and Wonderful Light, the latter in a swiftly run six-furlong race at Saratoga. Most recently, Vici finished third behind heavily favored Bound for Nowhere in a high-class optional claimer going seven furlongs on turf closing week at Belmont.

“He does a little bit of everything, but personally, I think he’s best at three-quarters,” Donk said.

Jockey Joel Rosario rides Vici from post 6.

There appears to be plenty of speed in this race, most notably McErin, who makes his first start since April and first for Todd Pletcher. In his most recent start, McErin finished 2 1/4 lengths behind the multiple stakes-winning millionaire Pure Sensation in a five-furlong race at Gulfstream.

McErin was then trained by Jason Servis. Servis will be represented Friday by Fig Jelly, who finished second to Pure Sensation in that aforementioned April 12 race. Like Vici, Fig Jelly is suffering from seconditis, having finished second in 5 of 6 starts this year.

Kitten’s Cat and Square Shooter look like contenders in this spot. Kitten’s Cat, winless in his last eight starts, had a second and a third in two tries at this claiming price at Kentucky Downs. In his lone try over Aqueduct’s turf, he finished third, beaten 1 1/2 lengths by White Flag, in the Aqueduct Turf Championship Stakes last November.

Javier Castellano rides for Mike Maker.

Square Shooter, won a high-level allowance race at Laurel over yielding ground in August. Since then, he’s finished fourth twice in turf sprint stakes. Square Shooter is trained by Jeremiah Englehart, who also sends out Dirty.

Onthewaytonevrland, The Critical Way, Pulsate, Sky Magician, Clever Triad, Blessed Halo, Lonhtwist, Blueblood, and End Play complete the field.