Register, Listentothemusic restart off lengthy layoffs
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Two horses coming off lengthy layoffs in separate first-level allowance races on different surfaces add some intrigue to Thursday’s 10-race Aqueduct card.
In race 4, Register, a 3-year-old last seen finishing seventh in the Private Terms Stakes at Laurel in March, tries to jump-start his career in a first-level allowance scheduled for one mile on dirt.
In race 6, Listentothemusic, unraced since a maiden victory at Gulfstream Park in January, returns in a first-level turf sprint going six furlongs.
Register had shown promise prior to the Private Terms, finishing second in two sprints before winning a maiden race going a mile in February at Aqueduct where he earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.
Trainer David Donk explained that in subsequent training following the Private Terms, Register had some discomfort. It turned out an undescended testicle was bothering him. Donk said the testicle was removed, and it was discovered the horse had bruising of the spermatic cord at the attachment onto the testicle.
Following the procedure, Register was given ample time off.
“He was doing really well through July and August, now he’s ready to run,” Donk said. “I’m curious to get him back. He ran very well over the winter. I think the race at Laurel is a throw-out.”
Katie Davis, aboard for the maiden win in February, gets reunited with Register on Thursday.
Acknowledging that he doesn’t have anything in his barn that can work quite as well as Register, Donk said, “I got him as ready as I can get him.”
Over the last three years, Donk is 2 for 11 with horses returning from a layoff of 180 days or more, including Miss Delicious who scored at 25-1 in June 2021 at Belmont.
The issue for Register on Thursday may be the presence of other early speed types in the field, including Abadin from the rail and Sundaeswithsandy drawn toward the outside.
Set Sail, making his third start off a lengthy layoff for Bill Mott, could wind up sitting a good trip. Two starts back, he finished third to Slip Mahoney, who on Saturday won the $300,000 Harrods Creek Stakes at Churchill Downs.
Certified Loverboy, coming off a maiden victory in an off-the-turf race at Saratoga, has been training forwardly for trainer Ray Handal.
Thursday’s sixth race is brought back from Saturday, a card that was canceled due to inclement weather. City Fever, the morning-line favorite from that race, did not enter back, leaving the three-ply entry of Listentothemusic, Acoustic Ave, and Notah as a likely heavy favorite. All three horses have either or both Dean Reeves and Randy Hill as owners.
Listentothemusic, trained by Danny Gargan, has not been out since winning a maiden race on Jan. 11 at Gulfstream.
Listentothemusic had two undescended testicles that were removed since then, so he will be running as a first-time gelding on Thursday. He also had a chip removed from an ankle, Gargan said.
“He’s a talented horse. We liked him last year, we like him this year,” said Gargan, who has Joel Rosario named to ride. “This horse is going to run big, he’s training phenomenal.”
Entrymate Acoustic Ave, a New York-bred, ran a solid second against open company last out. Notah was sixth in that same race. Trainer John Terranova removes blinkers from Notah on Thursday.
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