Picco Uno fresh for Broadway Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Jason Servis skipped a couple of spots with Picco Uno, and he hopes patience pays off when he brings the 5-year-old mare back to the races in Sunday’s $100,000 Broadway Stakes at Aqueduct.

The Broadway, which drew a field of seven New York-bred fillies and mares, shares billing with the $100,000 Gander Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-olds on a nine-race card that begins at 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

Picco Uno is coming off a second-place finish behind Quezon in the Garland of Roses here on Dec. 9. Servis could have run Picco Uno back in either the La Verdad Stakes or the Interborough, both run in mid-January, but decided to wait.

“She seems to run well when we space her races,” Servis said. “I think the two times we wheeled her back she didn’t run any good.”

On May 29, at Belmont Park, 11 days after she won an open-company allowance race, Picco Uno finished sixth in the Critical Eye, ending a four-race winning streak. The Critical Eye was run at a mile – perhaps a bit too far for her – and over a sloppy racetrack. Picco Uno came back off a 10-week layoff to win the Union Avenue at Saratoga. The Broadway comes 71 days from the Garland of Roses. Picco Uno has won twice sprinting over a wet surface, a factor that may be in play Sunday.

The Broadway came up an interesting race, with in-form runners Sandy Belle and Startwithsilver looking like contenders.

Trainer Richard Schosberg scratched Sandy Belle from an allowance on Friday to run her in this spot. Sandy Belle has won four consecutive dirt races, including her last two over Aqueduct’s main track.

“She has a ton of confidence in herself right now,” Schosberg said.

Schosberg said he was most impressed with Sandy Belle’s starter allowance win two starts back “when she was bottled up and boxed and she wasn’t just galloping on the lead.”

Startwithsilver, trained by Linda Rice, was visually impressive rallying from last to win a second-level allowance race for New York-breds in a return to dirt.

Bee Noteworthy, winner of a division of the New York Stallion Series last November, is making the final start of her career in this spot, according to trainer James Bond. Bree’s Got Heart, Shimmering Moon, and Frosty Margarita complete the field.

Empire Line stands out in Gander

Empire Line beat Evaluator by a nose in the $100,000 Damon Runyon Stakes last month and the two were set for a rematch in Sunday’s $100,000 Gander Stakes at Aqueduct.

However, Evaluator will have to scratch after the barn he’s stabled in was put under quarantine on Friday due to a suspected case of equine herpes myeloencephalopathy (EHM) in another horse stabled in that barn.

Thus, Empire Line now stands out in a field of four left to contest the one-turn mile.

Empire Line, a son of Morning Line trained by George Weaver, is 2 for 2, having won his debut going six furlongs by two lengths and the Damon Runyon.

“I always thought he had some quality, but his workouts were more workmanlike before he ever ran,” Weaver said. “It wasn’t like I knew for sure how good he was. For him to win the way he did and come back and win again, he’s done really well.”

John Velazquez rode Empire Line in his debut victory and is in town to ride him on Sunday.

With Evaluator out, the main challengers to Empire Line figure to be Nine Route and Gio d’Oro. Nine Route is 2 for 2 sprinting on dirt and is trained by Jeremiah Englehart, while Gio d’Oro, third to Empire Line on Dec. 1, is coming off a head victory in a one-turn mile maiden race here on Jan. 18 and is trained by Brad Cox.

Engineers Report completes the quartet.