Way to Be Marie returns in Pebbles for hot Atras barn

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Coming off a solid Belmont at the Big A fall meet and a successful trip to Del Mar, trainer Rob Atras looks to continue his good fortune when he brings Way to Be Marie back to the races in Friday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Pebbles Stakes at Aqueduct.

The Pebbles, for 3-year-old fillies and scheduled for one mile on the outer turf, is one of two stakes on the nine-race card and one of seven turf stakes to be run here between Friday and Sunday.

Way to Be Marie, a daughter of Not This Time, has not raced since finishing fifth as the favorite in the Grade 3 Regret at Churchill Downs in June. That was her seventh race over a nine-month period, during which she won twice and was beaten a half-length by Dynamic Pricing in the Grade 2 Edgewood at Churchill.

Atras said Way to Be Marie bled a little in the Regret and she was given time off at the Fair Hill Training Center, where they have a hyperbaric chamber as well as training facilities.

“We’ve worked her a number of times, and I think she’s pretty fit,” Atras said. “Her last couple of works have been really nice, hoping we can get her back in the same form she showed in the spring, if not a little better.”

Atras won nine races from 35 starters at the Belmont at the Big A meet, three of those wins coming with horses coming off a layoff of between 60 and 180 days. Over the last three years, Atras is 21 for 90 with a $2.12 return on investment in such instances, according to DRF Formulator.

:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets.

In addition to his successful fall meet here, Atras won the $200,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes at Del Mar with Chasing Liberty.

Contention runs deep in the Pebbles. Chad Brown has won this race five of the last six years, and six times overall. Friday, he sends out Oversubscribed, who won the Wild Applause stakes here in June. Since then, she has finished second in the Grade 3 Lake George at Saratoga and, most recently, fifth in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup going 1 1/8 miles at Keeneland.

“She likes pace in front of her, so I think the cutback to a mile will suit her good,” Brown said.

Brown also sends out Dea Matrona, a nose winner of a starter/optional claimer Sept. 2 at Saratoga.

See You Around, an Irish-bred who has raced exclusively in France, makes her North American debut and first start for trainer Christophe Clement. See You Around finished fifth, beaten only 1 3/4 lengths, in the French Guineas in May. Most recently, she finished third behind Soprano in a Group 2 in France.

Soprano has made her last two starts in the United States, finishing second in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II and 10th in last Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

Jody’s Pride, runner-up in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, makes her turf debut in this spot. The speedy Macanga comes off a neck defeat in the Grade 2 Sands Point. No Mo Candy was a front-running allowance winner here Sept. 20 for Saffie Jospeh Jr. Whiskey Decision finished sixth in the Winter Memories here Sept. 13.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.