Tribecca will gun for lead in Fall Highweight

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – If you have any leftovers remaining Sunday, bring them out around 3:15 p.m. Eastern when the Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap, the traditional Thanksgiving Day feature, is run at Aqueduct.

The New York Racing Association made the decision earlier this year to cancel live racing on Thanksgiving, prompting the move of the Fall Highweight.

Tribecca, under 130 pounds, looms the horse to catch in the Fall Highweight as the 6-year-old New York-bred gelding looks to cap another successful campaign.

Tribecca is coming off a three-length victory in the Hudson Handicap versus New York-breds on Oct. 24, his 13th win from 39 career starts. Tribecca is 3 for 5 in 2020 with a good second-place finish. His lone poor result came in an allowance at Monmouth Park, a race trainer Chris Englehart said his horse wasn’t rightfully prepared.

“I didn’t put a good succession of works in him to get ready for that race,” Englehart said. “The other races, I’ve trained him the right way.”

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There’s no secret to Tribecca’s game. He figures to be in front right out of the gate under Kendrick Carmouche.

“He’s got Share the Ride to deal with, but if Kendrick gets him out of there good, we can get the lead and he can get him to relax, he should be tough,” said Englehart, a winner of 4,478 career races but just one graded stakes.

Share the Ride is wheeling back 11 days after he won a seven-furlong allowance race from slightly off the pace at Parx. Prior to that, he was beaten a head by Majestic Dunhill in the four-horse Bold Ruler Handicap at Belmont.

Majestic Dunhill has made 10 of his 21 career starts on dirt, all at seven furlongs. His connections chose the Fall Highweight at six furlongs over next Saturday’s Grade 1 Cigar Mile. He was cross-entered in Saturday’s Frank Whiteley Stakes at Laurel Park but was expected to scratch, as was Arch Cat, who also is entered in the Fall Highweight.

Trainer George Weaver said he preferred the six furlongs over a mile because in his last two races Majestic Dunhill has been amenable to being involved in the race earlier than he had in the past.

“The horse seemed to be more responsive in the past two races at Belmont as far as putting him into the race and being a little more into the bridle,” said Weaver, who added that the Cigar Mile field was coming up a bit tougher than this.

Stan the Man has won stakes from six furlongs to 1 1/8 miles, but his most recent success came in the six-furlong Tale of the Cat Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 20. With blinkers off, he rallied from last to beat next-out winner My Boy Tate.

Stan the Man faced tougher company last out when finishing third behind Complexity and Code of Honor in the Grade 3 Kelso going a mile.

“He’s doing amazing, he looks incredible, his weight is great, we’ve spaced his races out a little bit to keep him fresher,” said Tonja Terranova, assistant trainer to her husband, John.

Completing the field are Drafted, returning to the U.S. for the first time since 2016; Arch Cat, third in the Bold Ruler; and Absentee, an allowance winner at Belmont on Oct. 29.