As typical this meet, the week begins with a pick six carryover

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Never on Sunday.

That has been the theme of the pick six wager thus far this fall at the Belmont at the Big A meet as the pick six has not been solved on any of the four Sundays it has been offered at the meet. Thus, there is a $33,745 carryover into Thursday’s eight-race card at Aqueduct.

The sequence begins in race 3 (1:41 p.m. Eastern) and includes three turf races, each of those having the maximum 10 runners allowed, plus ample also-eligible entrants.

The feature is race 7, a first-level allowance for fillies and mares scheduled for one mile on the inner turf with the rails set at nine feet. The rails on the outer turf (race 8) are set at 24 feet.

In the feature, trainer Horacio De Paz sends out the uncoupled entry of Awesome Czech and Striker Has Dial.

Awesome Czech, a New York-bred daughter of Mendelssohn, won the Suzie O’Cain Stakes for New York-breds on Aug. 14 at Saratoga before finishing fourth in the $225,000 Virginia Oaks on Sept. 7 at Colonial Downs. She was on the pace that day, which is not what De Paz was expecting to see.

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“She needs to be covered up and there wasn’t a lot of speed in that race,” De Paz said. “She got put on the front. I don’t know if it cost her the race, but her preferred style is to get tucked in and make one run.”

Jockey Ruben Silvera will have to work his way over to the inside from post 8.

De Paz is experimenting with Striker Has Dial, putting this daughter of Dialed In on the turf for the first time after she has a win, three seconds, and a third from five dirt starts.

“She looks like a winner at the quarter pole and she doesn’t seem to finish well,” De Paz said. “We made a Kitten’s Joy [Smokin’ Hot Kitty] into a dirt horse, let’s see if we can make a [progeny of] Dialed In a turf horse.”

De Paz also is removing the blinkers from Striker Has Dial’s equipment in hopes of getting her to relax.

Trainer Chad Brown sends out the uncoupled pair of Brisbane and Venencia. Brisbane, a 4-year-old French-bred filly, has not raced since April 2023. Brown said he wasn’t happy with the way the filly was moving when he first got her, so he gave her plenty of time.

“The partners have been very patient, which is great,” Brown said. “She’s very healthy and training well.”

Venencia hadn’t raced since June 2023, when she finished third in this condition on Sept. 2 at Saratoga after being steadied at the break.

“She had that one start, was a little rusty, she seemed to move forward since the Saratoga race,” Brown said.

In other pick six races:

Race 3: The 1 1/8-mile distance could be an issue for many of these in this second-level statebred/optional $45,000 claimer for fillies and mares. Call Her Bluff had a four-race winning streak snapped when she was fourth in the Fleet Indian Stakes at this distance. She seems better spotted here.

Brown Sugar Babe, trained at Parx Racing by Jamie Ness, cleared her first-level allowance condition by 6 1/4 lengths going a one-turn mile here Sept. 27.

Race 4: Kalik, a Grade 2 winner here in the summer of 2023 for Brown, is now in for a $32,000 tag with blinkers off. Beware of Mailman Money if he draws in for Kelly Breen. If he doesn’t, Bar Fourteen could be loose on the lead. Bodecream, for De Paz, won an allowance at Colonial two back.

Race 5: Pretti Xtreme drops in half to $12,500 first off the Falcone claim for $25,000. Falcone was the last trainer to win with this horse, which came in a $32,000 claimer in June. R Funny Bizness and Condiment Girl are others to consider.

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Race 6: I’m willing to give Giant’s Fire a pass for his no-show effort at Saratoga as he now goes out for a new trainer, Jorge Abreu, and drops in class. Conniving won a weak maiden $20,000 claimer last time on dirt. Toss the turf non-effort. Class-plummeting J D Factor has to be used.

Race 8: Trainer Christophe Clement has two in this maiden turf sprint for New York-breds. Tahila will likely be favored after finishing second as the chalk in Saratoga. Backcheck is a first-timer by Not This Time and has a quality work tab.

Kyla’s Kause was fifth on debut at Saratoga. She is out of a dam who won at first asking, albeit long, at Aqueduct. Wild Mischief is one to consider if she draws in from also-eligible list.

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