Saturday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Fedupwiththefed ready to progress in second start
Aqueduct | Race 11 | Post Time 6:25 p.m. (ET)
Forever to Go (#14) may go favored in this full field maiden event that closes out the Saturday card. She's run the fastest races of anyone in this field, having surpassed the 90 TimeformUS Speed Figure threshold in each of her three dirt starts. However, she's settled for second each time, most recently as the odds-on favorite when run down after taking a clear lead into the stretch. She now has to overcome the far outside post position in a race that does feature some speed to her inside.
Inamorata (#13) has to be considered as a first time starter with pedigree for a barn that can win with these types. Christophe Clement has had this daughter of More Than Ready training in Florida, and she appears to have a solid foundation for this unveiling. The dam was a stakes winner who showed some precocity. It also has to be taken as a good sign that Manny Franco was originally named, though he will obviously vacate the mount as he travels to Florida to ride Sovereignty.
Searching for alternatives to this pair, I want to use two second time starters with room to improve. One of those is Julita (#11), who makes her second start for David Duggan, a trainer whose runners generally do better with some experience under their belts. She was off a step slowly from the rail on debut, and did well to move into contention before flattening out late. She has a right to build on that performance, but my one concern is that it took her nearly two months to return to the worktab after the first start, so I wonder if she's fully cranked for this.
My top pick is Fedupwiththefed (#6), who goes out for David Donk. She's another one who drew the rail on debut, and it appeared to work against her. She didn't break the sharpest, and still moved up to contest the pace in the first quarter mile. However, she lost some position into the far turn and then seemed to get discouraged as she dropped back along the inside. Yet she never gave up, and stayed on well to finish fourth. She was beaten by a large margin, but the race featured an impressive debut winner that drew off to a 9-length victory. She's worked well since that race, and should be able to sustain her early speed better in this second start.