Aqueduct | Race 9 | Post Time 4:43 p.m. (ET)
Aqueduct | Race 1 | Post Time 12:40 p.m. (ET)
Forgiving Spirit (#1) is arguably the horse to beat in his current form. He's finished in the exacta in his last three starts and was thriving after getting claimed by Rudy Rodriguez last fall. He is coming into this race off a minor layoff, but that may have been partly due to Rodriguez's suspension into early January. His tactical speed should ensure that he works out a good trip in a race that doesn't feature an abundance of pace, yet I do think that this is a minor step up in class for him.
LIAM SMITH
Trainer: Jeff Mullins
Last race: Feb. 6, 6th
Finish: 1st by 11
Beyer: 90
Two weeks after claimed for $50,000 from highly rated maiden win, 3-year-old dueled early and ran away late to crush starter allowance. Eligible to entry-level allowance, nice sprint prospect.
Is it worse being really wrong or nearly right?
If nearly right you can take heart in your process, but those tough beats really hurt. If you’re dead wrong you might wonder what the hell you were thinking, but at least losing doesn’t sting as much.
Last weekend at Gulfstream, Redland Rebels led three jumps before the wire and two jumps after it at odds of 9-1. That stung. Looking for a salve in three solid opinions this week.
Robert B. Lewis
Starting point: Beat favored Desert Gate.
RACE 7: WARM SUN AND BREW wound up second after an ideal stalking trip last time out in a sprint at this level. He graduated over a mile on the front end at Del Mar and should be dangerous with his tactical speed. Longshot FREEPORT JOE, who hasn’t won in three years, was a troubled fifth two back in an identical spot and can rally off the speed. SIR PERCIVAL, part of the pace, was a hard-trying second when returning from a three-month break Jan. 10 and has since worked well on the synthetic training track. (3)
CHRISTA MCAULIFFE
Trainer: Steve Miyadi
Last race: Jan. 30, 7th
Finish: 5th by 5 1/2
Beyer: 54
Debut filly bumped and off half-step slow, ran up on heels backstretch, cut corner into lane, evenly. Better-than-looked debut by full sibling to stakes winner Rose Maddox.
Fourth-place Captain Cook ran best among the newly turned 4-year-olds in the Pegasus last weekend. The others, Disco Time and Tappan Street, finished, respectively, eighth and 12th. Tappan Street’s the last horse to beat Sovereignty, and some are treating the Pegasus like a referendum on the 3-year-old class of 2025.