Three maiden winners hard to separate in allowance sprint
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Friday’s featured first-level allowance sprint for New York-bred 3-year-olds at Aqueduct only drew a field of five, but bettors could have a hard time separating the top three contenders in the six-furlong race.
Gehrig, Awesome Gent, and Fumin Newman all won their maidens as the favorite, overcoming varying degrees of difficulty to prevail. That they all show up in this spot makes for a somewhat interesting affair.
Gehrig, a son of Ghostzapper trained by Bruce Levine, bobbled at the break of his maiden score Nov. 28. He dealt with a little bit of pace pressure before drawing clear late to prevail by 2 1/2 lengths. Two horses he beat that day came back to win their next starts, while a third horse finished second to Awesome Gent.
Gehrig is cutting back to a six-furlong race after finishing last in the Damon Runyon Stakes going a mile and 70 yards on Dec. 26.
“He probably didn’t want to go long,” Levine said. “His mother was a stone-cold sprinter.”
Gehrig is drawn in post 4 and will be reunited with Jose Ortiz, aboard for the gelding’s maiden win.
Awesome Gent, a son of Awesome Again trained by Todd Pletcher, was gelded after he finished eighth in his debut at Saratoga as the 2-1 favorite in a 10-horse field. In his first start as a gelding, Awesome Gent won a maiden race by 8 1/2 lengths going 5 1/2 furlongs over the inner track Dec. 19.
Fumin Newman, a son of City Zip, was sent off as the 5-2 favorite in his debut Dec. 12 and narrowly prevailed over Gaming in a 12-horse field.
Race 3
Key Contenders
Gehrig (Last 3 Beyers: 52-73-60)
◗ Cuts back to a sprint after a failed attempt routing.
◗ Levine believes Gehrig has more talent than he has shown so far.
“I still don’t think he’s run his best race. I think he’s got more in there,” Levine said. “He trains better than he’s run.”
◗ Levine said Gehrig could stalk the pace should Awesome Gent outfoot him for the early lead.
“He could do whatever you want,” Levine said. “He takes dirt, he’s been behind horses in the morning; he’s well schooled.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Gehrig. Trainer Bruce Levine is 12-5-1-3 with a $3.94 ROI over the past year going route to sprint on dirt at Aqueduct. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Awesome Gent (Last 2 Beyers: 76-50)
◗ Showed speed and guts in his maiden win as he was passed by Jet Black in upper stretch before coming back on that rival and drawing clear. Horses he beat in that Dec. 19 race are winless in three subsequent starts.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Awesome Gent. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 31-11-7-6 with a $2.73 ROI over the past five years on the Aqueduct inner dirt with last-out maiden winners.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Fumin Newman (Last Beyer: 66)
◗ Was bet down to 5-2 in an 11-horse field but responded with a gritty victory, rallying from sixth after being bumped from both sides at the start. Horses he beat in that Dec. 12 race are winless in six subsequent starts.