OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Nothing Better, winner of Saturday’s Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship, could be considered for a start in the $2 million 1351 Turf Sprint at Riyadh on Feb. 24, trainer Jorge Duarte Jr. said Sunday. Last year, after he won the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship, Nothing Better ran in the $100,000 Janus Stakes at Gulfstream, where he got beat a head. Duarte said if he’s going to run Nothing Better before next spring, he’d rather shoot for a lucrative race like the 1351 with the potential for a prep race in Saudi on Jan. 20. “I lived in Saudi Arabia, I worked in Saudi Arabia, it won’t be anything crazy for me to go back there,” Duarte said. Duarte said he would discuss that possibility further with owner Richard Santulli and racing manager Alan Goldberg. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Duarte said if the decision is made to stay domestic with Nothing Better, then he would likely be given a break and return in the spring, potentially at Churchill Downs, which typically runs a lucrative turf sprint stakes in May. In winning the Aqueduct Turf Sprint for a second consecutive year, Nothing Better earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure, equaling his career best. “He needs firm going, he appreciates the cooler weather,” Duarte said. “He’s a 21 and 44 [second] horse on a normal day and I didn’t see that kind of speed in there yesterday. I was pretty confident the horse was going to run his race.” Whitebeam heads Brown Matriarch roster While the turf season came a to close in New York on Sunday afternoon, trainer Chad Brown still has several out-of-town turf stakes on his radar. Brown, who won the Forever Together with Chili Flag, could send as many as four fillies and mares to Del Mar for the Grade 1 Matriarch on Dec 3. Whitebeam, the Grade 1 Diana winner, heads the roster that will include Fluffy Socks and Surge Capacity. Brown said Beaute Cachee is possible. Whitebeam is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 First Lady at Keeneland, a race Brown ran 1-2 in with Gina Romantica and In Italian. Of Whitebeam’s effort in the First Lady, Brown said, “I’m not sure she liked being covered up. Talking to [Flavien] Prat, she might have been discouraged. I thought it was a good trip, it just wasn’t for her maybe.” Surge Capacity, a 3-year-old filly, is coming off a win in the Grade 3 Valley View at Keeneland. Beaute Cachee and Fluffy Socks finished second and third, respectively, in the Athenia Stakes. Brown has Program Trading and Redistricting pointed to the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby on Dec. 2. Lady De Berry, a maiden winner at Keeneland, is likely for the Jimmy Durante Stakes on Dec. 2. *** Aqueduct is dark until Friday, when it will host a nine-race card highlighted by the Grade 3, $200,000 Fall Highweight Handicap. Durante, the Grade 3 Bold Ruler winner, is the 134-pound starting highweight. Manny Franco rides for David Jacobson. Others entered include Hudson Stakes winner Rotknee (130 pounds), Cowan (130), Sir Alfred James (130), Bold Journey (128) and Win for Gold (124). :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.