Thursday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Roman Grace returns from layoff for new barn

Aqueduct | Race 3 | Post Time 2:10 p.m. (ET)

Romantic Dancer (No. 5) is getting some minor class relief after meeting a tougher field at this level just 13 days ago. No one in that field was in the same league as runaway winner Lucille Ball, who looks bound for stakes races soon. Yet Romantic Dancer did stay on well for second after rating behind a moderate early pace. Speed appeared to be an advantage on that Jan. 2 card, so she deserves credit for passing horses. However, now she lands in a small field that could feature another slow pace, so Manny Franco will have to work out a trip.

Linda Rice sends out a pair of contenders, led by recent acquisition Atarah (No. 3). She was beating a weaker starter-allowance field when she won first off the claim for Rice last time. That race didn’t get much of a speed figure, but the slow early pace held down the final number. Rice is 22 for 83 (27 percent, $2.29 ROI) second off the claim with last-out winners on dirt, so it would be no surprise if this filly took another step forward for the barn.

Roman Grace (No. 4) was running races that would make her highly competitive with this group during her 3-year-old season in 2024. Little has gone right for her since then, as she was off the board in a pair of starts at Oaklawn last winter before again going to the sidelines. Yet she didn’t have ideal trips in either of those starts. She got shuffled back in traffic coming to the quarter pole off the layoff last January and then she was steadied in the early stages of her last race before getting hung wide. She now returns from a layoff switching into the barn of Amelia Green, who has done well with new acquisitions. Green also is 2 for 6 in sprints first off a trainer switch and layoff of at least six months. Those two winners went off at 12-1 and 10-1.