Wilzada's absence opens door in Correction
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Saturday's $75,000-added Correction Handicap at Aqueduct got a little easier for would-be starters when trainer Tony Dutrow declared Wilzada from the sprint stakes before the weights were released on Sunday.
Wilzada instead will be pointed to the $200,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap, a Grade 2 race run on Feb. 15 at Laurel Park, where Dutrow is stabled.
Wilzada has won her last three starts, including a five-length romp in the Interborough Handicap on Jan. 1 at Aqueduct.
Dutrow said the time is right to aim higher with Wilzada, a 4-year-old owned by William P. Beatson Jr.
"We were thinking the Correction wouldn't do much for this filly," Dutrow said. "If the weights are right, we want to take a chance in a decent race against decent horses in the Fritchie."
The Fritchie is shaping up to be a terrific race. Wilzada is expected to meet, among others, last year's winner and 2001 Eclipse champion Xtra Heat, and Grade 1 winner Carson Hollow, who is trained by Dutrow's brother, Richard Jr.
Among those expected to start in the six-furlong Correction are Bonefide Reason (116 pounds), Golden Made (116), Honest Deceiver (116), Redhead Riot (116), Literary Light (113), Shawklit Mint (113), A.P. Andie (112), and Saskya (111).
Cyber Secret pointed to Busher
Richard Dutrow Jr. said there are a couple of options for Cyber Secret, who became a stakes winner in Sunday's $82,500 Busanda for 3-year-old fillies.
The Busanda was Cyber Secret's first start around two turns. Cyber Secret held a 3 1/2-length advantage with a furlong remaining in the mile and 70-yard race, but the margin was whittled down to a length at the wire.
Dutrow said he is leaning toward running Cyber Secret back in the 1 1/16-mile Busher, a $75,000 race on March 1. Another option is to wheel her right back in the six-furlong Dearly Precious, a $75,000 race on Feb. 15.
"The Busher is what I would like to do and I'd give her some long breezes to get her there," Dutrow said. "When she ran [Sunday] she hadn't been out in so long and was not trained perfectly for the race. I'm not so sure [two turns] is her game, but it's the inner track and she's got that speed."
Multiple Choice healing, General George next
Trainer Jimmy Jerkens is hopeful that Multiple Choice, who was unable to run in last Saturday's Paumonok Stakes because of a quarter crack, will be able to make the $200,000 General George on Feb. 17 at Laurel Park.
With wins in the Sport Page and Gravesend, Multiple Choice likely would have been the favorite in the Paumonok, which was won by Maryland shipper Crossing Point.
"He missed about 10 days of training," Jerkens said. "He had a couple of quarter cracks last year; he gets them this time of year."
Jerkens said the quarter crack was patched and Multiple Choice is back galloping.
New York could be well represented in the Grade 2 General George. Among the New York-based horses being pointed to the race are 2000 General George winner Affirmed Success and Resolve, a handy winner of a classified allowance race on Jan. 2. In his last start, Resolve was the beaten favorite in an allowance race run here on Jan. 19.
Bruce Levine, Resolve's trainer, said he takes the blame for the second-place finish.
"I ran him back too soon," Levine said.
Levine said that Turnback the Alarm winner Svea Dahl, who finished fourth as the second choice in Saturday's $750,000 Sunshine Millions Distaff at Santa Anita, would receive a 60- to 90-day freshening.
Meyocks, Soriano, and Alomar to be honored
Terry Meyocks, the president of the New York Racing Association, will be honored on Saturday by the New York Press Photographers at an awards dinner at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
Other honorees include Alfonso Soriano, the second baseman for the New York Yankees, and Roberto Alomar, the second baseman for the New York Mets.
* Jockey Ariel Smith withdrew his appeal of a suspension for careless riding in a race run on Nov. 14 and began serving his 10-day suspension on Sunday. The suspension runs through Feb. 5.