Sharp New York-breds Rossa Veloce, Leeloo hook up in open allowance sprint

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York-breds Rossa Veloce and Leeloo look to be the main protagonists in an open-company second-level allowance/optional $62,500 claimer that serves as the feature on Friday’s eight-race program at Aqueduct.

Rossa Veloce has two wins and a second from three starts since Rob Atras claimed the daughter of Girolamo for $32,000 last September at Saratoga. The first win came against New York-breds before she won an open first-level allowance with an eye-catching 102 Beyer Speed Figure on Nov. 13. In her most recent start, Rossa Veloce finshed second to Union Lake, who was winning for the third time in six starts.

Atras said the Rossa Veloce he’s seen in the afternoons is superior to the one he’s seen in the mornings.

“She doesn’t drag the rider out of the saddle, she does what she’s asked to do,” Atras said. “Going into that first race, not knowing her, I felt she should run good, she’s training good, was just not sure how much we got here. Fillies can sometimes trick you a little bit, but what I saw in the morning and how she’s run all three races was a little bit different.”

Rossa Veloce, who breaks from post 3 under Manny Franco, figures to be a forward factor, but Atras noted she did sit off another horse in her first win for him.

Leeloo, a 4-year-old daughter of Practical Joke, has won 2 of 3 starts since being returned to David Duggan following the summer meet at Saratoga. She is coming off a first-level allowance win Dec. 9 against open company, a race where she stalked the pace under Kendrick Carmouche, who is back aboard Friday.

“She has trained very well,” Duggan said. “Time in between starts is the key factor for her. It’s the next logical step, and it looks like she landed in a perfect spot.”

In between her allowance wins, Leeloo finished fifth in the Iroquois Stakes for New York-breds last Oct. 30. Duggan said that because Leeloo broke from the rail that day, he opted to put her on the lead, which is not her preferred running style.

“She came out of it fine,” Duggan said. “She fired a good race last time, and we’ve given her time between starts.”

Eloquent Speaker, another New York-bred, returns from a 5 1/2-month layoff following a fifth-place finish in the Union Avenue Stakes at Saratoga in August.

Hydra, trained by Jeff Englehart, has won five of her last seven starts but appears to meet slightly tougher in this spot. Shesalittle Edgy returns from an eight-month layoff for Gustavo Rodriguez. Patty H finished fourth in the same spot in which Rossa Veloce finished second Dec. 31.

First post for Friday’s eight-race card is 12:50 p.m.