Upwardly mobile Vigilantes Way has much in her favor for Winter Memories Stakes

Vigilantes Way is not as accomplished as some of her rivals in Sunday’s $100,000 Winter Memories Stakes at Aqueduct, but she’s an improving sort who has kept good company and could offer a little value in this stakes for 3-year-old fillies, scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on turf.

Vigilantes Way, a Phipps Stable homebred trained by Shug McGaughey, is a half-sister to Grade 1 turf stakes winner Mr Speaker and Fire Away, who went 4 for 4 over Aqueduct’s turf, including two listed stakes wins.

Vigilantes Way made her turf debut at Colonial Downs in July, winning a first-level allowance race by 5 1/2 lengths in front-running fashion. Luck Money, second in that race, has since come back to win the Zagora Stakes at Belmont.

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Vigilantes Way came back to win an off-the-turf second-level allowance by 10 lengths at Laurel and, most recently, finished a late-running second in the Hilltop Stakes over yielding ground at Pimlico, beaten a half-length by Evil Lynn.

Evil Lynn came back to win a high-class allowance race at Churchill Downs. Caravel, third in the Hilltop, came back to win a Pennsylvania-bred stakes at Presque Isle Downs with a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure. American Giant, seventh in the Hilltop, came back to win the Cellars Shiraz Stakes at Gulfstream Park West with a career-best 84 Beyer Speed Figure.

Vigilantes Way will be facing stakes winners Speaktomeofsummer, Selflessly, and Crystalle in the Winter Memories, but that doesn’t faze McGaughey.

“I think she matches up good. He got in a lot of trouble at Pimlico, came running, and just got beat,” said McGaughey, noting that Vigilantes Way got stuck inside for most of that trip.

“There’s nothing in there that would scare me.”

That Vigilantes Way has run well both on and from off the pace and seemed to run well over yielding turf. That should give her an edge on Sunday in a race without much confirmed speed and on a course that figures to be yielding.

John Velazquez rides from post 3.

Trainer Chad Brown has the uncoupled pair of Duopoly and Selflessly in the Winter Memories. Duopoly, a daughter of Animal Kingdom, was a front-running winner of a maiden race at Monmouth and a first-level allowance at Saratoga. She made her stakes debut in the Grade 3 Valley View, where she chased the pace but could not sustain a bid in the stretch and finished fifth.

Selflessly won the Miss Grillo at Belmont at age 2 and was a 14-1 upset winner of the Grade 3 Lake George at Saratoga over good ground in August. She is coming off a dead heat for fifth in the Grade 2 Sands Point at Belmont on Oct. 10.

Trainer Christophe Clement sends out the likely favorite in Speaktomeofsummer and the longshot Faccio Io.

Speaktomeofsummer won the Chelsey Flower at Aqueduct last November and the Grade 2 Lake Placid at Saratoga in August. She is coming off a second to Tamahere in the Sands Point, a race in which she got in trouble at a key point of the race.

“When they all quickened she got in trouble at the three-sixteenths,” Clement said. “By the time she started running the race was over, but she ran a very good race.”

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Faccio Io still has her third-level allowance condition available but Clement fears that race won’t fill. She is coming off a runner-up finish in a Group 3 stakes going a mile in Italy in June.

Crystalle came off a nearly one-year layoff to finish fourth in a Belmont allowance in September. High Opinion comes off a maiden win at 97-1 at Belmont.

Thankful is entered to run only if the race is transferred to dirt.

Pletcher has two in Key Cents

Trainer Todd Pletcher sends out debut winners Vacay and Shanes Pretty Lady in a field of five entered for Sunday’s $100,000 Key Cents Stakes for New York-bred juvenile fillies on dirt at six furlongs.

Vacay, a daughter of Not This Time, made a nice four-wide rally to win her debut by 1 3/4 lengths.

“I liked her debut,” Pletcher said. “She had trained like she was capable winning first time out. I think at the end of the day she’s looking for a little more distance, but she’s always trained well and this is kind of our best option at the moment.”

Shanes Pretty Lady won her debut by 3 3/4 lengths for Gary Gullo, who recently retired from training. Pletcher said this daughter of Bellamy Road is another who likely will improve with added distance.

Party at Page’s won the Lady Finger Stakes at Finger Lakes going six furlongs before finishing a distant fourth in the one-mile Maid of the Mist at Belmont.

Rossa Veloce and Chasing Cara complete the field.

With only five runners, the Key Cents is carded as the second race on a 10-race card that begins at 11:50 a.m.