Rodriguez loads up in Ruthless Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Of the 70 horses entered for Sunday’s nine-race card at Aqueduct, Rudy Rodriguez trains 11 and is represented in the last eight races.

Rodriguez looks particularly strong in the $100,000 Ruthless Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, where he has three of the six runners including probable favorite Strategic Dreams.

Strategic Dreams, a daughter of Archarcharch owned by David Wilkenfeld’s Pick Six Racing, has won three of four starts and is coming off a 1 3/4-length victory in the Gin Talking Stakes at Laurel Park on Dec. 30. The Ruthless, like the Gin Talking, is run at seven furlongs.

“She looks like she’s training forward for this race, she’s doing what we ask her to do,” Rodriguez said. “I was going to try and give her a little more time because she’s a little small, but we can’t get any easier than this, six horses.”

In her only loss, Strategic Dreams finished fifth, beaten 13 3/4 lengths by Separationofpowers in the Grade 1 Frizette. That day, she was part of a contested early pace breaking from post 3 in a 10-horse field.

Strategic Dreams has the outside post in a six-horse field Sunday. She may have to deal with a wet track, as rain is forecast Saturday night into Sunday. Her three wins came on fast tracks. The Frizette was run over a good track.

Wall of Compassion, also trained by Rodriguez, won her maiden over a muddy track at Belmont last July. She is coming off a front-running first-level allowance victory going a mile here Dec. 29.

Wall of Compassion does not look to be as fast as Rodriguez’s third starter, Danyelli, who on Nov. 24 scored a front-running maiden victory going 6 1/2 furlongs here. Danyelli, who had the rail that day, has the rail again Sunday under Junior Alvarado.

“If she breaks like she broke the other day, she’s going to be on the lead and hopefully she can go the seven-eighths,” Rodriguez said. “She’s going to have to step up a little bit.”

Dream Fever, Blushing Justine, and Paranoia complete the field.

KEY CONTENDERS

Strategic Dreams, by Archarcharch
Last 3 Beyers: 74-73-63

◗ Took advantage of the outside post and a hotly contested pace to win the Gin Talking Stakes at Laurel on Dec. 30.

◗ Lone loss came in Grade 1 Frizette when not only was she stepping out of a maiden-claiming race, but she got used up on the front end.

Wall of Compassion, by Jimmy Creed
Last 3 Beyers: 66-66-44

◗ Finished second to Strategic Dreams in Nov. 10 allowance race without much of an excuse.

◗ Her two best races have come when she is put into the race early, which jockey Kendrick Carmouche is likely to do on Sunday.

Dream Fever, by Midshipman
Last 3 Beyers: 55-51-60

◗ On Dec. 1 she won a maiden $40,000 claiming race by four lengths, a race from which the second-, third-, and fourth-place finishers have come back to win.

◗ In her next start, Dream Fever finished second to Midnight Disguise in a starter allowance. Midnight Disguise won Thursday’s $100,000 Busanda Stakes.