Rice has two for Niagara Stakes
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
Trainer Linda Rice has two entrants in the $50,000 Niagara Stakes on Saturday at Finger Lakes and has booked the track’s top two riders to guide them. But she might not have the race favorite.
Rice has Miss Narcissist and Champagne Ruby in the Niagara, a six-furlong stakes for New York-bred 3-year-old fillies. Both are a bit off form but might find the trip to western New York to their liking. Finger Lakes’s leading rider, Wilfredo Rohena (70 wins through Wednesday), will be aboard Miss Narcissist, while Champagne Ruby will be ridden by Oscar Gomez (59 wins).
The home team is led by Alwaysinstilettos, who is trained by Anthony Ferraro and will be ridden by Pedro Rodriguez. Alwaysinstilettos comes into the Niagara off a neck defeat to the Bill Mott-trained Flipcup in the $75,000 New York Oaks at Finger Lakes on July 12.
Flipcup, a winner of 4 of 9 starts and $237,000, has since come back to finish second, beaten a half-length, in the $125,000 Eternal Search Stakes at Woodbine. The Eternal Search is restricted to the progeny of stallions standing in Ontario.
Key contenders
Alwaysinstilettos (76-51-75)
* Was beaten a length by Champagne Ruby in the Shesastonecoldfox Stakes to conclude her 2-year-old season.
* Will be shortening up in distance from a pair of two-turn races but is 2 for 4 in races at six furlongs or less.
* Formulator Fact: Ferraro is 8 for 61 (13 percent) with a $2.90 return on investment in non-graded stakes over the past five years.
Miss Narcissist (49-65-61)
* As a 2-year-old, she won a maiden race, the $150,000 Joseph A. Gimma, and a division of the New York Stallion Stakes in succession. This year, she has yet to finish better than fifth in three starts, all in New York Stallion Stakes.
* Miss Narcissist’s last two starts have come on turf. Rice had a turf-to-dirt winner at Finger Lakes on July 31, when Pie’s First Lady won a $15,000 maiden-claiming race.
Formulator Fact: Rice is 6 for 17 (35 percent) with a $1.45 ROI at Finger Lakes this meet.
Champagne Ruby (64-66-70)
* She also will be going from turf to dirt for Rice. In her last start June 22, she finished seventh in a New York Stallion Stakes, three-quarters of a length behind Miss Narcissist.