Thursday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Rare Society can continue progression third off the layoff
Aqueduct | Race 5 | Post Time 2:37 p.m. (ET)
The three main players in this New York-bred maiden special weight all possess early speed, so there's certainly potential for this pace to heat up. Forever to Go (#7) will attract support merely due to the rider assignment, as Flavien Prat takes over. Yet this filly has the credentials to win a race like this after earning a series of TimeformUS Speed Figures that exceeded 90 earlier this season. She's failed at short prices a few times, but she may be capable of better now that she's had some time to mature. Mark Hennig does do well off layoffs, but there are still obstacles to overcome for a runner who could be a relatively short price.
Main rival Red Velvet Cake (#5) was a heavy favorite at this level last time when she disappointed, fading to finish off the board. She reportedly bled in that race, but you still have to be somewhat concerned that she was cranked up to produce her best effort on debut and isn't moving forward with subsequent racing. Three Nines Fine (#1) outdueled her on the front end in that Nov. 6 affair. This David Duggan trainee was making her first start in over five months and understandably got tired after putting away that pace rival. She can step forward second off the layoff, but she isn't drawn particularly well on the rail inside of her two main pace foes.
I'm interested in a couple of others from that Nov. 6 race. The pace wasn't particularly fast, which worked against Patience N Grace (#3), who was off a step slowly and wide all the way around the far turn. She flattened out late while hanging on her left lead, and I wanted to see her finish a bit stronger. Yet now she's removing blinkers and getting a rider switch to Jaime Rodriguez, who rode well last week.
My top pick is that race's third-place finisher, Rare Society (#2). She has been a work in progress for Linda Rice, showing subtle improvement in each start. She was green when outrun on debut in a large field last winter and then was just being given a race on turf when she returned in October. She's meant for dirt as a daughter of Central Banker, and she improved getting back on that surface last time. She was held up behind the pace early and lost some ground past the quarter pole before staying on in the last furlong. She adds blinkers and should sit a good trip drafting in behind all that early speed. I expect another step forward.