Pelham Bay no lock off big win

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Pelham Bay has shown the ability for rebounding from a bad effort with a good one. Her connections now hope she can develop consistency.

Pelham Bay enters Sunday's $75,000 East View Stakes at Aqueduct coming off an authoritative 4 1/2-length victory in the Maid of the Mist Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 23. It was her first start in blinkers, equipment trainer Pat Kelly decided to use after Pelham Bay broke poorly and raced greenly when fifth in the Jose A Gimma.

"It helped a lot. She broke a lot better," Kelly said. "She broke bad in the Gimma. She had never gotten a lot of dirt in her face till then."

Pelham Bay, a daughter of Smart Strike, shows five workouts since the Maid of the Mist. The only question is whether she will handle two turns, 1 1/16 miles, and the inner track.

"I don't think it'll be a problem," Kelly said. "I figured she would run long, she does pretty much whatever we ask."

Pelham Bay will break from post 4 under Shaun Bridgmohan and co-highweight of 122 pounds.

Two horses Pelham Bay defeated in the Maid of the Mist have come back to win stakes. Karakorum Splendor, the Maid of the Mist runner-up, won a division of the New York Stallion Stakes, while Megascape, fifth in the Maid of the Mist, won the Grade 3 Valley Stream.

Karakorum Splendor got off badly in the Maid of the Mist, then came back on two weeks' rest to romp in the Fifth Avenue division of the Stallion Stakes. Trainer James Jerkens's concern leading into this is a recent workout in which Karakorum Splendor was bumped by a horse outside of her while she was working in company with a stablemate. Karakorum Splendor also carries 122 pounds.

Rahys' Appeal finished sixth in her debut on turf, a race in which she was sent off at 7-5. She came back to win her maiden on dirt at 12-1 on Nov. 11. Trainer Tom Bush said Rahys' Appeal was pretty headstrong leading up to her debut, but has "settled down a lot" since then.

One of the fillies Rahys' Appeal beat that day was Seeking the Ante, a daughter of Seeking the Gold out of the Grade 1-winning mare Antespend who is winless in three starts. Seeking the Ante stumbled in that race, rushed up and tired to fourth. Rafael Bejarano rides for John Kimmel.

Successfully Sweet, Shoot the Bugler, and What's Your Point complete the field.