Sprint may set up for a new face

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - That first post moves back to 1 p.m. Eastern beginning Wednesday at Aqueduct is about the only sign that spring is somewhere on the horizon. Another storm is on the way, though this one may be mostly rain. Reinforcements for the tired horse population here are still many weeks away.

Two of the better races on Wednesday's program are ones brought back from last Friday, a card that was lost to a snowstorm. The feature is a second-level optional $50,000 claiming sprint which took on a new look despite having the same number of entrants.

When carded for Friday, there were seven horses with six betting interests. There are still seven horses - all individual interests - with three newcomers to the field, including Base Commander. On Feb. 17, Base Commander finished second in an optional $35,000 claimer in his first start for Enrique Arroyo. The postponement of this race gives Base Commander exactly two weeks between starts rather than nine days.

Base Commander benefited from a fast pace in his last start and he may get that again with Dubai Rainbow and Have You Ever in the field. Dubai Rainbow is 2 for 3 since coming to Mike Hushion's barn and being put on dirt. He was a pace-presser when winning a first-level allowance on Feb. 5.

"He stepped up pretty good that last race,'' Hushion said. "That was a pretty decent field he beat.''

Hushion said he doesn't think Dubai Rainbow has to be a pace factor on Wednesday. Still, he looks the best equipped to make sure Have You Ever doesn't get loose like he did two starts back winning a first-level allowance race.

* Earlier on the card, in a $10,000 claiming race that goes as the fifth, Cool n Collective will try to win a race as a 13-year-old. While it is unclear if there has been a horse older than that to win on the New York Racing Association circuit, the horse Silver Fir won as a 16-year-old at Finger Lakes in 1979.

Cool n Collective, second for $7,500 on Jan. 31, looms the main speed in this field under Mike Luzzi. Acclimate, who is drawn in the outside post, is likely to show speed trying two turns for the first time in five years and 61 starts.

Saratoga Lulaby, the horse that beat Cool n Collective on Jan. 31, is entered in this spot.