Thursday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Don Vino Vici better than form suggests
Aqueduct | Race 1 | Post Time 12:50 p.m. (ET)
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Remember the Name (#2) figures to go off as a heavy favorite in this maiden-claiming opener. His first two starts came against much tougher company than this at the maiden special weight level. He ran into future Grade 3 runner-up Risk It on debut, and two back caught stakes-placed Inveigled, who just won an allowance race at Gulfstream last week. Remember the Name dropped down to this level last time in his second start since being transferred to Rudy Rodriguez, and he seemed to wake up. He was closer to the pace early and stayed on gamely to just miss. However, the race didn’t come up that fast, only getting a 73 TimeformUS Speed Figure, and he did benefit from sitting on top of a slow pace. He’s still the horse to beat, but he’s going to be an awfully short price, and I think there’s one interesting alternative.
Some may want to consider the first-time starters, but I wasn’t thrilled with either one. Pappou’s Laugh (#1) has a big dam’s side pedigree, being a half-brother to stakes winner Get Jets. However, his dam and her foals have primarily been turf horses, so I find it a little discouraging that he’s debuting on dirt for a maiden-claiming tag. Laser Sharp (#6) doesn’t have as strong a pedigree overall, but he is bred to sprint. John Terranova is 5 for 50 (10 percent, $1.22 ROI) with first-time starters in dirt sprints over the last five years. I could use him, but wanted to look elsewhere.
My top pick is Don Vino Vici (#4). It doesn’t look on paper like he’s done much running in any of his starts. However, his debut is a better effort than it might appear at first glance. He was hustled away from the gate that day and actually had decent forward position moving down the backstretch. However, he seemed to lose his action heading into the far turn and greenly plummeted to the back of the pack, essentially taking himself out of the race. Luis Saez, on the verge of giving up, asked the horse for a little more at the quarter pole, and this time he responded. Regaining momentum, he passed some tired rivals in the final furlongs and galloped out well. It’s a little concerning that he lacked the same early speed in his second start, but he had little chance to get back into the race after dropping so far back in a large field. Once again, he found his stride late and galloped out well. He seemed to run a more professional race on turf last time, which might have had more to do with the addition of blinkers than the change in surface. I don’t mind him getting back on dirt, and he’s now getting the class relief that he needs. It’s a good sign to see Manny Franco take the mount, and the price should be fair.