Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Sparkling Mama dangerous on the turnback in distance

Aqueduct | Race 7 | Post Time 4:17 p.m. (ET)

This starter/optional-claimer for 3-year-old fillies is easily one of the most interesting handicapping puzzles of the day at Aqueduct. Pinky Brier (#6) will be a clearly defined favorite as she gets Flavien Prat back in the saddle. They teamed up to come a head short of achieving four consecutive victories coming into the last race. She was pretty disappointing when she stepped up against stakes company in the East View, and you can't even use the track bias as an excuse since she was on the rail. The drop in class should help, but I don't think she has as big of an advantage as her price will imply.

Purple Divine (#2) is a logical alternative at a better price. She finished a good third in the Maddie May after chasing outside on a day when the rail seemed like a minor advantage. That was her first start off the claim for Ilkay Kantarmaci, but she had been steadily improving on the way into that race.

There is quite a bit of speed signed on, which should set things up for a closer. Both of the confirmed late runners in this spot are big prices, but I can make a mild case for Caradise (#4). She was glued to the rail last time when that probably wasn't the place to be over a muddy surface, and she never appeared to be handling the track. Prior to that she had closed to win a three-horse field, but at least proved that she could be dangerous when taking advantage of a pace setup.

My top pick is Sparkling Mama (#5). She was on the same dead rail on Feb. 27, and might have had it even worse since she was dueling inside through some quick early fractions. The race came apart late, and those dynamics really worked against her. She had run very well in her two starts before that, gamely digging in to hold off the sharp Hot Gossip two back. She has to negotiate a turnback in distance, but she's quick enough not to get outrun early here and she's by good sprint sire Vekoma.