Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Consistent April Antics lands in appropriate spot

Aqueduct | Race 3 | Post Time 12:50 p.m. (ET)

Khali Magic (#4) has to be considered the horse to beat off her upset victory last time for these exact same conditions. She was stretching back out to a mile for the first time in over a year, and clearly appreciated getting back to a longer distance. She was able to attain forward position and kick away from the stamina-challenged Sue Ellen Mishkin in the stretch. Going back through her past performances, she had been successful going a mile in the past, so it’s not as if that improvement came out of nowhere. She makes sense right back at this level, though she won’t be anywhere close to the 10-1 she was last time.

I’m far more skeptical of her main rival Bernt Again (#6). She figures to attract support off that field-best 103 TimeformUS Speed Figure, which she earned for that hard-fought N1X victory last time. However, I’m somewhat skeptical of that number and the quality of the field she beat, since both she and the runner-up had nothing but turf form coming into that race. Perhaps she’s a better dirt horse now, but I want to see her prove it against tougher competition on the class rise.

A couple of horses who finished behind Khali Magic last time are worth considering. Cinderella’s Cause (#7) didn’t have a major excuse to fade to fifth that day, but she had run reasonably well at this level two back and figures to sit a good trip stalking outside.

My top pick is April Antics (#8), who also finished behind the favorite last time. She was never beating Khali Magic, but that race was dominated by forward runners and she was at least staying on with determination despite not having a totally clear run through the stretch. She’s an honest mare who always shows up with a game performance. She needs some pace to develop, but longshot Carbon should show some speed from the inside. She figures to get somewhat overlooked with the rider switch to Romero Maragh, but he seems to fit this runner pretty well.