Speightful Affair rounding into shape after layoff

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Though stakes action doesn’t begin until Thanksgiving, four allowance races, topped by a pair of open-company, $48,000 races at one mile, are on tap Wednesday as the final week of racing on the main track gets underway.

Speightful Affair is back to Aqueduct for Steve Asmussen after returning from a layoff with a third-place finish closing week at Belmont’s fall meet. Before that, she was a close second in a trouble-filled renewal of the Grade 3 Comely at the spring meet. The 3-year-old filly breaks from the rail with meet-leading rider Ramon Dominguez and looms the probable favorite in race 3, a first-level allowance at a mile on the main track.

Breaking to her outside in a short field are Rhys, Singita, Lucida, and Muhaawara, four fillies who will make the turf-to-dirt switch.

Muhaawara, a Shadwell Stable homebred trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, appears most likely to appreciate the switch as she returns from a 46-day freshening; she was a maiden winner over Aqueduct’s main track off a 57-day layoff at the spring meet.

Rhys, a $400,000 daughter of Storm Cat, makes her first start since early June for new trainer Todd Pletcher; she breezed a half-mile in a bullet 47.92 seconds last week.

A full field of 12 juveniles entered race 6, scheduled for turf. Among the 10 in the main body, half are dropping out of stakes.

Voodoo Storm, who pressed the pace in the Grade 3 Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland following a wire-to-wire maiden win closing day at Saratoga for Shug McGaughey, may be the one to catch from post 5 with Javier Castellano, who posted a three-bagger Sunday.

Kid Curry and Go Maire Tu, off the board in the With Anticipation and Dover Stakes, were entered for the optional $75,000 claiming price. Go Maire Tu, a Maryland shipper, is the lone two-time winner in the lineup.

Adirondack Summer and East of Danzig emerge from convincing maiden victories at Belmont against New York-breds and drew favorably in the two innermost post positions.

Congo, who raced wide from an outside post in the Gnome’s Gold overnight stakes first time on turf, will have to overcome post 9.

Tiz Blessed, entered for dirt only, was fourth in the Garden State, which has spawned a trio of next-out stakes winners.