Viradia dangerous new shooter in redrawn allowance

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – A pair of New York-bred second-level allowance races – one for 4-year-olds and up, one for fillies and mares – highlight Friday’s Aqueduct card to kick off a four-day race week that includes a Presidents Day Monday card.

Race 7, a one-mile race for fillies and mares, was brought back from the Feb. 7 card, which was canceled due to high winds. All eight of the original entrants returned, and the race gained a ninth horse, Viradia, who won this condition two starts back.

On Jan, 12, Viradia finished fifth behind More Mischief when not offered for the tag. More Mischief came out of that race to dominate Sunday’s $100,000 Biogio’s Rose Stakes here.

Antonio Arriaga claimed Viradia for $16,000 on Nov. 14, and he won first off the claim with her in the same condition on Dec. 22, a performance for which Viradia earned an 87 Beyer Speed Figure. Arriaga ran her back three weeks later, the day she finished fifth.

“I ran her back too soon, and that track that day was really heavy,” said Arriaga, who is 5 for 20 at the meet. “I don’t think she really liked the heavy track. She’s a different horse on a fast track.”

Jorge Vargas Jr. will ride Viradia from post 4. Vargas had originally been named to ride Makin’ Out in this race last week. Julio Correa has picked up the mount on Makin’ Out.

Lucky Move took the worst of it on the redraw of this race, going from the outside draw to the rail. Her trainer, Juan Carlos Guerrero, has already expressed some concern about cutting Lucky Move back to the one-turn mile from her previous two runs, second-place finishes going 1 1/8 miles around two turns in stakes.

Am Impazible, a winner of two straight races, drew the same post 7 for Friday that she had a week ago. Am Impazible won her maiden going 6 1/2 furlongs and ran even better when she stretched out to a mile first time versus winners on Dec. 29.

“We were hesitant to run her going short because she is a big, lanky, long-striding horse,” trainer Kelly Breen said. “We were hoping what we thought was correct – that she would need more distance and want more distance – and we were happy to see what we saw.”

Race 8 is a second-level allowance for New York-breds going six furlongs. The eight-horse field includes Castle Casanova, a son of Cairo Prince who makes his first start since he won an off-the-turf allowance going six furlongs on May 27 at Belmont.

Trainer Jeremiah Englehart said Castle Casanova came out of that race body sore and was given 90 days off and then got a little sick when he first came back to Englehart.

“He’s started to show me signs where he’s ready to run,” Englehart said. “He might need one start, but he’s been training well.”

In his debut 13 months ago, Castle Casanova was sent off the 4-5 favorite and finished second to Hushion, who is back in this field. Durkin’s Call, Kosciuszko, Kamzania, Vicar’s Legend, Daddy Knows, and Leaky Cup complete the field.

With a nine-race card, first post Friday is 1 p.m.