Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Repo Rocks due for better trip in Queens County

Aqueduct | Race 8 | Post Time 3:35 p.m. (ET)

Law Professor (#7) is clearly the horse to beat as he seeks his second victory in the Queens County after winning this race in early 2023. He is the quintessential horse for course, as he not only has compiled a strong record of results at Aqueduct, but he seems to run much better at this venue than he does at other circuits. After getting sold for $230K earlier this year, he made one start for another barn without success before returning to the Rob Atras stable in New York. He won his comeback in that stable over this course and distance last time out, just edging out a game Bendoog for the victory. That effort certainly makes him a player here, but I didn’t think he ran that much better than today’s rivals Tabequache (#11) and Instant Coffee (#2) in that spot, so I’m reluctant to take too short a price on this favorite.

There are two possible alternatives that I find intriguing. One of those is Quality Chic (#5), who also put forth a good effort in a past Queens County, just narrowly losing this race to the classy Crupi in late December of last year. That was during a time when this horse was in peak form for the David Jacobson barn, and he ran exceptionally well in that spot after going wide on both turns. He obviously tailed off into the middle of this season, and then was claimed away from Jacobson for $50K two back. His first start for new trainer Jason Cook was encouraging, as he took a step in the right direction to get up for third in a stakes at Churchill. He obviously has to do better to beat this field, but he figures to be a square price and picks up the services of top rider Dylan Davis.

My top pick is Repo Rocks (#6). This 6-year-old gelding obviously possesses races from early 2023 that would absolutely crush this field, but he clearly is no longer in that form. That said, he really hasn’t run that badly in his recent efforts since coming back into the Jamie Ness barn for the second half of this season. He was a game second in the Parx Dirt Mile after contesting a hot pace, battling on gamely to the wire to earn a strong 120 TimeformUS Speed Figure. He finished off the board in his two subsequent starts at Aqueduct, but I didn’t think he got ideal trips either time. He was intentionally rated in the Forty Niner, and got stuck in a pocket behind the leaders, never able to extricate himself from track while bottled up for the whole stretch drive. He then caught an extremely tough field in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile, where he again got stuck along the inside and was shuffled back around the far turn before staying on late. This stretch-out to 9 furlongs is a question mark, but he strikes me as a horse who has the attributes to handle it and should be a square price.