Ouster should get desired wet track going for two in a row

Conditions could be ripe for Ouster in Thursday’s multi-conditioned, $105,000 allowance feature scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on the main track.

Rain is in the forecast Wednesday and Thursday and Ouster is 2 for 2 in the slop, both in races run around two turns. In January of 2023, Ouster defeated New York-bred allowance company going 1 1/8 miles by 5 1/2 lengths in the slop.

Last July, facing open company going 1 3/16 miles in the slop at Saratoga, Ouster won by two lengths. Trainer Mark Hennig brought Ouster back three weeks later in an Aug. 9 second-level allowance where he was beaten 17 1/4 lengths by Classic Catch.

Given the remainder of the year off, Ouster returned in style with a 1 3/4-length second-level allowance win going seven furlongs at Aqueduct.

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Thursday, Ouster will break from the rail under Kendrick Carmouche, who is 2 for 2 aboard the 6-year-old gelding by Outwork.

This race features the return to New York of Signator, who has recorded all three of his career victories at Aqueduct, including a maiden win in the mud in October 2022.

Last fall, he won allowance races going a one-turn mile in the slop, then a second-level allowance going two turns over a fast track. He capped his 3-year-old season with a fourth-place finish, beaten just a half-length, in the Queens County.

In his lone start this year, Signator finished ninth of 11 in the Grade 3 Fred Hooper Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Trainer Shug McGaughey is removing blinkers from Signator’s equipment for this.

Kuchar finished third behind Messier in the Excelsior, a race from which Messier was disqualified to second for interference in the stretch. Messier did win last Friday’s Westchester Stakes.

Tabeguache, beaten a head by Olympic Dreams in a similar spot as this on March 21, is another contender in this field.

Barese, Unbridled Bomber, Curlin’s Wisdom, and Curbstone complete the field.

Doncho possible for Woody Stephens

Doncho, an impressive winner of Sunday’s $150,000 Gold Fever Stakes, could make a return trip to New York, potentially as soon as next month for the Grade 1, $500,000 Woody Stephens on June 8 at Saratoga, trainer Michelle Lovell said Monday.

“It’s a consideration, on the table for sure, but main thing is getting him back to Churchill,” said Lovell, who had yet to talk with the owners about future plans. “He pulled up great, ate up, we were thrilled.”

Doncho won the Gold Fever by 2 1/2 lengths after dueling with longshot Buccherino through sharp early fractions. Doncho put that one away by the top of the stretch and dominated through the lane over a sealed track rated as good. Doncho, who earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort, is now 3 for 4 and rebounded from his fourth-place finish in the Lafayette Stakes at Keeneland.

“I thought he ran like we expected him to, he came back and ran to his first couple of races,” Lovell said. “I thought he looked fantastic, very happy with him.”

Doncho, a gelding by Mo Town owned by JAL Racing, was ridden to victory by Jaime Torres, who on Saturday rode Seize the Grey to victory in the Pat Day Mile.

Earlier on Sunday’s card, Dontlookbackatall beat stablemate Gal in a Rush by a neck in the $145,000 License Fee Stakes for fillies and mares at six furlongs on turf. The two top finishers were trained by Christophe Clement.

Dontlookbackatall earned a 90 Beyer for the performance. Clement said both horses could be considered for the Grade 2, $200,000 Intercontinental Stakes at Saratoga on June 7.

◗ The New York State Gaming Commission fined New York Racing Association racing secretary Keith Doleshel $2,000 for failure to conduct business in a professional manner, which resulted in a scratch of Sassy Alie from the eighth race last Thursday.

The scratch stemmed from the horse having been entered six days earlier with the incorrect ownership and, owing to archaic rules, was not allowed to be changed for the program after the overnight was released.

The Gaming Commission has fined Doleshel three times since 2022 for errors that would seem only partly his responsibility. One of those fines, dealing with a claiming eligibility issue, was rescinded.

In addition to Doleshel, the Gaming Commission has previously fined NYRA individuals for inadvertent errors and NYRA is not happy about it.

"This is but the latest example of the New York State Gaming Commission leveling significant financial penalties to individual NYRA employees for inadvertent, and sometimes unavoidable, clerical errors," NYRA spokesperson Pat McKenna said. “Keith Doleshel is a valued and talented NYRA employee who always conducts himself professionally. As we explore separate avenues of recourse, NYRA will take every step to support an appeal should Doleshel pursue that option.

“These kinds of formal sanctions are a departure from standard business practices and have the effect of discouraging self-reporting and decreasing NYRA’s ability to recruit and retain top talent," McKenna added.

◗ Jockeys Isaac Castillo, Dylan Davis, and Gokhan Kocakaya are serving three-day suspensions for separate careless riding infractions.

Those suspensions began Sunday and continue Thursday and Friday.

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