Thursday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Redwineandwhiskey exits tough trip

Aqueduct | Race 7 | Post Time 3:12 p.m. (ET)

Grace and Grit (#5) figures to take some money as she turns back in distance for Linda Rice. I didn't think she wanted any part of 1 1/8 miles, and was actually surprised she ran as well as she did in a couple of starts going that distance. She has relaxed much better in the early part of her races since the trainer switch to Linda Rice, but that less aggressive running style could be a hindrance as she cuts back into a faster-paced sprint. I actually prefer Rice's other runner Rare Society (#7) at a bigger price. She wasn't competitive at this level last time, but got the wrong trip, shuffled back along the inside path over a strip that was favoring outside runners.

Lady Angelina (#2) is another who spent too much time on the dead rail in that Jan. 10 race at this level. She was also done no favors by her rider handling her conservatively in the early stages, as she tends to be better when she's involved in the pace. She ultimately got shuffled down to the inside in the stretch where she was never going to be able to rally.

My top pick is Redwineandwhiskey (#3), who finished ahead of a few of these rivals when checking in fifth in that Jan. 10 affair. She deserves all the credit for that result since she might have had the toughest trip of all. She was compromised right from the start when she stumbled out of the gate, putting her out of position early. She then raced in heavy traffic along the rail and was the only horse to be making up ground late despite spending a significant amount of time down inside on the worst part of the track. She had significantly improved at Finger Lakes last fall for the underrated Linda Dixon, and she appears to have carried that form over to the NYRA circuit.