Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Mikealicious gets preferred surface and distance

Aqueduct | Race 3 | Post Time 2:13 p.m. (ET)

Chileno (#1) figures to go favored here off his blowout victory against claimers last time, for which he earned a career-best 117 TimeformUS Speed Figure. That was his first start off the claim for Brad Cox, and he clearly stepped forward for the new connections. However, the performance may not have been all that it appeared to be at the time, since the race has not aged particularly well. Most of those who finished behind him have since returned to regress. It's also mildly concerning that this horse went to the sidelines for 4 months after producing that top effort. It's a good sign that he's moving up in class for his return, but I don't love him stretching out to 1 1/8 miles since he's generally performed best over shorter distances.

Malarchuk (#5) is likely to move forward in this spot after disappointing in his 4-year-old debut at Gulfstream. Chad Brown rarely has his dirt horses fully cranked to perform at their best when returning in Florida, and this colt lost all chance at the start of his last race when he hopped and left the gate behind the rest of the field. He had handled this distance during his 2-year-old season, so stamina is obviously no concern for this son of Nyquist. Like many of that sire's progeny, he's been difficult to keep on the track and has needed ample time between starts. Yet his tactical speed should play well here, and he may not go favored given the presence of the Cox runner.

Frizzante (#4) is also fairly logical given his consistent recent form. He's maintained a high level of performance even as he's gradually moved up the class ladder. He tried this first-level allowance condition last time and stayed on well for second going shorter than this. I don't mind him stretching back out to 9 furlongs. The only downside is that you won't get 13-1 again now that his form at this level is exposed.

My top pick is Mikealicious (#2), who finished just behind Frizzante when they met in that Mar. 22 race at this level. He was further back in the early stages and actually followed Frizzante along the inside around the far turn. That rival got a perfect trip, swinging outside in the stretch whereas Mikealicious tried to rally inside. He had a clear run until the late stages, at which point he had to duck down to the rail. He finished with very good energy and galloped out best of all past the wire. The one-turn mile distance was probably just too short for this two-turn specialist. He didn't mind going as far as 10 furlongs on synthetic this winter at Turfway, but he's proven to be a better dirt horse overall. He's in top form right now and may fly under the radar despite being well suited to these conditions.