Radio Red at his best on a fast track

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Danny Gargan was on the road early Sunday morning, headed for South Florida where the bulk of his stable – including recent Grade 2 Remsen winner Dornoch – will be based this winter.

Gargan will, however, maintain a small New York string, including Radio Red who will look to clear the New York-bred second-level allowance condition Thursday at Aqueduct. The seven-furlong race also carries an optional $45,000 claiming condition, and four of the 11 entrants are in for the tag.

The rain that impacted track condition over the weekend at Aqueduct is gone, and the main track should be fast come Thursday. That’s important for Radio Red, who has failed to hit the board in four wet-track tries, but who is 2-1-2 in five fast-track starts.

“If we get a nice, fast surface, he’ll show up. He’s doing really well,” Gargan said. “He won’t run in the mud. He won’t pick his feet up in it.”

Radio Red caught a good, sealed surface Oct. 29, when he finished sixth in this condition. In two starts prior to that, he finished third, once to the front-running Mariachi on Sept. 21, the other to 11-time winner Amundson in August at Saratoga, Radio Red’s first start off a three-month layoff.

Radio Red should be able to get a stalking trip off expected pacesetters Andiamo a Firenze and Factually Correct.

On paper, the horse to beat in this spot is Shadow Dragon, who began his 2023 campaign with a second-place finish in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream. His lone win this year came in an open first-level allowance at Belmont in June.

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In this New York-bred condition, however, Shadow Dragon has been beaten four straight times at odds of 2-1 or less. Last out, on Oct. 15, he was beaten nine lengths by Straight Arrow, who came back to win the $250,000 Empire Classic. Two starts back, Shadow Dragon finished second to Aggregation, who came back to win an open allowance with a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

Manny Franco rides Shadow Dragon from post 8.

Zeebear, trained by Linda Rice, and Factually Correct, sent out by Rudy Rodriguez, finished second and third, respectively, in this condition over a good, sealed surface Oct. 29.

A new face to this condition is Simply, who has not been seen since winning an open first-level statebred race here March 10. Trained by Rob Atras for that race, he spent the summer at Finger Lakes with Jonathan Buckley, but didn’t run. He will start Thursday for Mark Hennig.

Hennig said Buckley was hoping to run Simply at Finger Lakes, but the race he was looking to run in failed to fill. Hennig said it was either run in this spot – which may be shorter than his best – or 1 1/8 miles, which may not be ideal off a nine-month layoff.

Simply will get the services of hot-riding five-pound apprentice Luis Rivera Jr., whose 12 wins at the meet are good for fourth in the Aqueduct fall rider standings.

“He’s very professional, seems very polished,” Hennig said.

First post for Thursday’s nine-race card is 12:20 p.m.

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