Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Melt With You exits two extremely wide trips

Aqueduct | Race 7 | Post Time 4:08 p.m. (ET)

Scat Tu Tap (#2) looks like the horse to beat in this starter allowance after putting in a pretty good effort at this level last time. That race was dominated up front by the superior Smile Mon, who is always tough to catch when afforded a clear early advantage. Scat Tu Tap got rated at the back of the pack early and had to be taken under a hard hold around the far turn as he was looking to run up on heels. Jose Gomez kept him inside and behind horses until the stretch, but he was finishing with good interest once he finally found a clear path up the rail late. He also ran better than it appears two back when he was put in tight quarters early and then was shuffled back into the far turn. The problem with him is that he’s been square prices in his last few starts, and now will be a shorter price after his good form is exposed.

There also isn’t a ton of speed in this race to set up the late runs of the closers. Ragazzo Diabolico (#1) looks like the controlling pacesetter from the rail, but he has some things to prove at this level. He set a legitimate pace going this distance last time and hung on pretty well for third. He has to improve again, but still has upside as a lightly raced runner.

Linda Rice sends out an uncoupled pair who each could attract some support. I don’t love the running style of Waitlist (#7), who was no factor at this level last time. Perhaps the slight turnback aids him, but I haven’t seen the expected improvement since the claim by Rice. Blown Cover (#5) is another that’s hard to trust after he ran so poor in his only start for the Rice barn at Saratoga last summer. It’s a good sign that there’s no drop in class, but I’m still skeptical of his overall ability.

My top pick is Melt With You (#3). This horse produced some good efforts for the Jamie Ness barn in the second half of last year, particularly when he first came to Aqueduct to defeat a decent group of $25k beaten claimers in December. He overcame a wide trip that day but was racing over a track that was favoring outside paths. He did well to find another gear and hold off the late surge of Prove Worthy, who ran pretty well against a tougher field in his next start. Melt With You was claimed by Wayne Potts and a Sandy Goldfarb partnership out of that race. He’s finished off the board in his two subsequent starts at this level for the new connections, but he’s run better than it appears each time. He was never in a comfortable position over that sloppy track on Dec. 28, pushed very wide when shuffled back on the far turn before staying on late. Then last time he again got caught extremely wide when stretching back out to 9 furlongs. He’s clearly better than those performances and now gets a rider upgrade to Sahin Civaci. He also adds blinkers, which may get him more involved early.