Waralo looks to continue sharp turf form in Ashley T. Cole
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York-bred Waralo had won six of his first 10 starts, all on dirt, before his form began to tail off. Trainer Chris Englehart did what any trainer would do at that point; he switched Waralo to the turf.
What a difference it made.
Waralo reeled off three consecutive wins on the turf, and last month, in his 7-year-old debut, he became a stakes winner, holding on for a neck victory in the Elusive Quality Stakes at Aqueduct.
Saturday, Waralo returns to New York-bred company in the $150,000 Ashley T. Cole, the featured event on an 11-race card on the penultimate day of racing at Aqueduct.
In an effort to control the larger-than-expected crowds the closing of Aqueduct is likely to bring, the New York Racing Association has made admission to the track a ticketed event both Saturday and Sunday. Tickets, which cost $5, can be obtained online at gofevo.com and, if still available can be purchased on-track. Admission includes a commemorative program and access to giveaways and souvenirs.
Waralo had lost eight consecutive races before Englehart transferred him to the turf. The speed he had once displayed on dirt was no longer there. But on the grass, it returned as Waralo won three consecutive allowance races.
“He showed more speed on it,” Englehart said. “He’s very game. He doesn’t want to lose.”
Englehart said he wasn’t expecting Waralo to win the May 2 Elusive Quality, which was Waralo’s first start off a six-month layoff. He credited jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. for the victory, saying that Santana’s knowledge of main rival Twenty Six Black helped him win the race.
“He put him in a box,” Englehart said. “[Waralo] got a really good ride that day.”
With Santana at Lone Star Saturday, Jose Lezcano rides Waralo from the rail.
Waralo’s success on Saturday may be predicated on how well he handles the other speed, which figures to come from Twisted Filigree, Counter Move, and/or Dancing Buck.
“He’s handled the paces so far on the turf,” Englehart said.
If he can’t handle the pace scenario Saturday, the Cole could set up nicely for Bold Journey or Run Curtis Run from off the pace. Bold Journey’s only win on turf from nine starts came in June 2023 at Belmont Park. However, he finished second in last year’s Cole, one of three straight runner-up finishes in turf stakes.
Run Curtis Run, trained by Mike Maker, won the 2022 Carle Place Stakes at Aqueduct and an allowance race last August at Saratoga. He is coming off a fourth-place finish in a turf sprint stakes at Laurel on May 10.
Linda Rice is experimenting on the turf with both Sacrosanct and Three B’s. Sacrosanct is by Honest Mischief, who sired the first three finishers of the Cupecoy’s Joy Stakes here last weekend.
Dancing Buck returns to the races for the first time since he won the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship last Nov. 1. Courtly Banker won an allowance last August versus statebreds and has only raced once since, pressing a hot pace before finishing seventh in an allowance at Gulfstream in March.
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