Paulassilverlining has class edge in Ruthless Stakes
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – An edge in class and experience may be the advantage Paulassilverlining needs when she meets four rivals Sunday in a compact but potentially contentious renewal of the $100,000 Ruthless Stakes for 3-year-old filly sprinters at Aqueduct.
It also doesn’t hurt that her trainer, Michelle Nevin, has begun the meet winning at a 43 percent clip (6 for 14).
In the Ruthless, Paulassilverlining cuts back to six furlongs, a distance at which she won the Grade 2 Matron at Belmont in October and a maiden race at Saratoga.
In her most recent start, Paulassilverlining finished second to Jacaranda in the Grade 3 Tempted at a mile.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Paulassilverlining. Trainer Michelle Nevin is 17-6-2-2 with a $4.62 ROI over the past year going route to sprint on dirt. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Paulassilverlining, a daughter of Ghostzapper, meets the debut winners Stormalina and Noble and a Beauty, as well as the two-time winner Darling Sky. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin sends out Dickinson, who finished second to Noble and a Beauty in her lone start but gets Lasix for the first time Sunday.
The Ruthless will go as race 3, and the New York Racing Association has banned show wagering.
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Key contenders
Paulassilverlining (Last 3 Beyers: 66-80-78)
* Came out of a high-quality maiden race in which she ran fourth to win her next two starts, including the Matron from off the pace.
* Finished a clear second to loose-on-the-lead winner Jacaranda in the Tempted, run at one mile.
“She might not have been ready to run that far just yet,” Nevin said. “She got a little tired the last part. Let her go back to sprinting and go from there.”
Noble and a Beauty (Last Beyer: 78)
* At a time when the track was favoring inside speed, Noble and a Beauty took advantage to record a 2 1/2-length front-running score over Aqueduct’s main track.
* She did race a bit greenly in the lane, reacting to the whip of jockey Jose Ortiz.
“She’s obviously a very reactive filly, more seeing the stick rather than feeling it,” said trainer Rick Violette, adding that when Noble and a Beauty caught sight of Ortiz’s whip, she went from ducking in to ducking out.
“He’ll have to be a little more leery of that,” he said. “She had shown real talent. That [win] did not surprise.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Noble and a Beauty. Trainer Rick Violette is 24-10-2-2 with a $3.78 ROI over the past five years in sprints on the Aqueduct inner dirt following a maiden win. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Dickinson (Last Beyer: 72)
* Last early, Dickinson passed all but Noble and a Beauty in her debut, run over a speed-favoring surface.
* McLaughlin’s runners are known to improve the second time out, especially when given Lasix for the first time, as is the case with Dickinson on Sunday.
“She made up a lot of ground on a day when the rail was kind of golden,” said Art Magnuson, assistant to McLaughlin.
Stormalina (Last Beyer: 82)
* Showed good speed in winning her debut in the mud by 3 1/4 lengths over the main track Nov. 7, earning an 82 Beyer Speed Figure.
* Trainer Rudy Rodriguez entered Friday’s card 3 for 47 at the inner-track meet, though two of his wins came in stakes.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Stormalina. Trainer Rudy Rodriguez is 14-7-0-2 with a $2.40 ROI over the past five years in dirt sprints in the second career start following a win in the debut. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan