Aqueduct | Race 7 | Post Time 4:08 p.m. (ET) It’s hard to knock the recent form of Willful Desire (#7), who has exceeded expectations for Linda Rice. She was transferred into this barn after losing her best form late last year. Yet she has experienced a renaissance under Rice’s care, reeling off three consecutive victories despite moving up in class each time. She’s even improved her speed figures with each of those wins. She now moves back up to this $25k level after beating starter foes just six days ago. Rice tends to do well with horses returning on short rest, but this is a significantly more competitive field than those she beat in recent starts. The good news is that she’s drawn well outside with tactical speed. Kitten’s Appeal (#5) looks like the main rival to the favorite given her ample back class. She was producing efforts on this circuit back in early 2023 that would make her awfully tough to beat. After a dry spell, she seemed to regain her best form with a couple of victories last spring and summer before tailing off again. Now she returns from a brief freshening as she drops down to the lowest level of her career. The class relief should suit her, but she does her best running when she’s forwardly placed, and she’s lacked her typical gate speed in her last few starts. Fabulous Fox (#1) should be vying for the front end from her inside post position. She showed good speed when earning competitive speed figures at Finger Lakes last fall and then got cooked in a contested pace when she stepped up against tougher on Dec. 7 at Aqueduct. She performed better last time despite not getting a particularly aggressive ride and failing to make the lead. Now she’s getting needed class relief and Romero Maragh figures to send her forward from her rail draw. Her best effort makes her a major player and she figures to be a square price for low-profile connections. My top pick is Floge (#6), who is turning back in distance second off the claim for Jamie Ness. She was in great form last summer for the Mario Serey barn, winning 4 of 5 starts from May through August going both short and long. She’s raced around two turns in each of her last three starts with mildly disappointing results, but she got pulled up after botching the start on Nov. 30 and then was caught behind a very slow pace when she returned after short rest on Dec. 8. She made her first start off the claim for Ness last time, and didn’t get the most comfortable trip, trying to rally in tight quarters along the rail. She had been competitive against tougher company than this last year, and I like her turning back in distance as a closer in a race that is supposed to feature an honest pace.