Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Bernie Goes Boom sitting on improved effort

Aqueduct | Race 3 | Post Time 1:08 p.m. (ET)

Likely favorite Vamonos Vamonos (#2) seems fairly logical after running well at this maiden claiming level last time. He put in a decent effort on debut, making a mild late rally for fourth in the mud, before regressing in his next couple of starts. He returned to drop down in class to this level and rebounded with a better performance. Bet down to favoritism, he chased outside and stayed on well for second with a career-best 71 TimeformUS Speed Figure. He now makes his second start off a layoff, and shouldn’t mind this stretchout to 7 furlongs.

I prefer him to Stormin Sammy (#3), who could also take money in here after finishing second against maiden special weight company at Finger Lakes. Those races are obviously softer than the same condition at NYRA, so this isn’t as much of a drop in class as it would be for those competing on this circuit. He did earn a field-best 91 TimeformUS Speed Figure for that last performance, but he was fading late after showing speed, which has been a pattern in all three starts so far. I’m a little concerned about him getting the 7 furlongs, but his early zip makes him dangerous.

The wild card in the field is Run of the House (#5), who is getting the most class relief of anyone in this field after facing far tougher rivals in that Saratoga maiden race on debut. While those horses were clearly a lot better than these, I still wish he had shown a little more in that race. He briefly chased the pace but was done around the far turn and just eased late. He returns as a new gelding in a better spot, but it’s unclear if he has much ability.

My top pick is Bernie Goes Boom (#6), who just seems to be heading in the right direction now. His debut was pretty uninspiring as he lacked speed throughout, and a subsequent turf experiment was similarly dull. Yet he did take a small step forward when he attempted this level getting back on dirt last time. He was never a threat to win, but he was staying on late to catch today’s rival Papa’s Nico Boy for fourth before galloping out best of all. He looks like a candidate to really appreciate this stretchout to 7 furlongs, and is generally progressing for connections that typically get youngsters to improve over time. He should be a fair price, and I believe he’s among the more likely winners in this field.