Rice's great meet continues with Do Share's win in Gravesend Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Linda Rice hasn’t won every race run at Aqueduct in December, it only seems that way.

Whether it’s bringing a horse back off a long layoff or wheeling one back on short rest, virtually every move Rice has made this month has seemed to pay off.

That was evident again Saturday at soggy Aqueduct as Do Share, having just come off a five-month layoff to win an allowance race on Dec. 14, wheeled back in nine days to win Saturday’s $100,000 Gravesend Stakes by a half-length over Life in Shambles.

The win was the 17th from 43 starters for Rice at Aqueduct in December. She now has a fall-meet leading 26 victories, one more than Rudy Rodriguez.

Most of Rice’s success this month has come with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who was aboard Do Share when he won here Dec. 14. But Ortiz was committed to ride Life in Shambles in the Gravesend, so Rice summoned Junior Alvarado.

Rice told Alvarado it was okay to save ground, but when it was time to move, try and get Do Share to the outside. Do Share, breaking from post 2, was fifth and on the inside down the backside while Chief Lion, under Martin Garcia, set fractions of 22.03 for the quarter and 45.01 for the half, while being hounded by Green Gatto.

Leaving the three-eighths pole, Alvarado began to guide Do Share toward the outside, but Life in Shambles had gotten the jump on him and was advancing through along the inside under Ortiz. Life in Shambles took over from Chief Lion inside the eighth pole.

Do Share was gaining, but racing on his incorrect lead. Inside the sixteenth pole, Alvarado got Do Share to switch leads and he came with a surge that propelled him past Life in Shambles. Life in Shambles, now 0 for 11 in stakes, was second by a neck over Threefiveindia, the 9-5 favorite. He was followed, in order, by Great Stuff, Green Gratto, The Truth or Else, and Chief Lion. Gold for the King scratched.

“As soon as I put him the four or five path he started picking it up,” Alvarado said. “After that I kept working with him. He’s running hard, he’s on the wrong lead, but he was still coming. Past the eighth pole I had to make him switch leads to make sure to get the job done. As soon as he switched leads, he gave me that little extra and we got there right on time.”

Do Share, a 4-year-old gelding by Candy Ride owned by the Estate of Anthony Miuccio, covered the six furlongs in 1:10.77 in the slop and returned $10.80 to win.

Rice had given Do Share a break in the summer after his eighth race of the year because she felt he was tired. Rice said Do Share had come out of his Dec. 14 race so well that she felt he deserved the chance at a stakes race.

“I thought he’d take a step forward from his last race, it was a perfect scenario,” Rice said. “I wish I’d been able to keep Irad on him, when I couldn’t I gave it some more thought and I said it doesn’t matter we got to go. Junior is very capable; he’s won some nice races for me in the past so that’s where I went to next.”

Yet another move that paid off this month for Rice.