Woodville unbeaten but maybe not unbeatable

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Woodville was the easiest kind of winner in both of her starts, which came at Saratoga last summer. But there are mixed signals regarding the 5-year-old mare in Friday’s second-level allowance/optional $40,000 claiming feature at Aqueduct.

First, Woodville has changed barns, moving from Jorge Abreu to Mike Hushion. Second, her work tab is relatively light. She went two months without a breeze and then has had just three half-mile moves in the last six weeks. Lastly, the competition looks to be a lot stiffer Friday than what she met in her first two starts.

Woodville, a daughter of Ghostzapper, won her debut by 11 1/2 lengths on July 24 at Saratoga. She won so easily that jockey Manny Franco was petting her on the neck before they hit the wire.

Woodville came back Sept. 5 and lived up to her 1-5 odds, sitting a perfect trip behind dueling leaders before taking over in upper stretch and winning by 3 1/2 lengths, with Franco simply waving the whip at her in the final eighth of a mile.

Joe Applebaum, whose Off the Hook Stable is a part-owner of Woodvillle, said the mare had some minor issues after Saratoga that needed to be addressed, and she was sent to the Fair Hill Training Center.

When it was time to get Woodville back to the track, Abreu had gone to south Florida, where he hopes to continue his fledgling training career. Woodville is a New York-bred who is probably best served by running against New York-breds. She was sent to Hushion.

Applebaum said, “We’d love to have another work or two in her, but with the race coming, we’d rather run her than wait until everything’s perfect.”

Splendid Gold and Zippity Zoom have already won at this condition when not in for the tag and are attempting to bounce back off recent defeats. Both are being offered for the $40,000 claiming tag.

KEY CONTENDERS

Woodville, by Ghostzapper

Beyers: 82-85

◗ Impressed last summer at Saratoga but has been off for a while and meets the best competition she’s faced.

DRF FORMULATOR fact: Over the last three years, Hushion is 9 for 33 at Aqueduct, with a $2.25 ROI, with horses returning from a layoff of 60 to 180 days. He is 6 for 23 over the inner track in that span.

Splendid Gold, by Mineshaft

Last 3 Beyers: 64-83-66

◗ Finished sixth, beaten 4 1/2 lengths, at this same condition Dec. 14 after being bumped at the break and racing wide throughout. At one point, it looked like she was going to be eased before coming with a mild late run.

◗ Recorded a career-best 94 Beyer Speed Figure when winning a first-level allowance over the inner track last February.

Zippity Zoom, by City Zip

Last 3 Beyers: 54-70-74

◗ Faced better competition than what she meets here in her last three starts, which include a seventh and a fifth in her last two. Looks like she got tired chasing a hot pace set by the sharp front-running winner Court Dancer in her last start.

◗ Won this condition when not in for the tag at Belmont in May.