AQUEDUCT NOTEBOOK
APRIL 21, 2011
by John Mucciolo
A rising sprint distaffer rolled home to another victory in the lone graded
race at “The Big A.”
Distaff H. (G2): Gem Inc.’s NICOLE H (Mr. Greeley) proved that she
could handle seven furlongs with a powerful, 2 1/2-length tally in this one for
Michael Hushion. The strong four-year-old recorded her third straight stakes
victory when finishing seven-eighths on the fast main oval in 1:23 1/5 beneath
Channing Hill.
Track Stats
A total of 37 races were held over Jamaica, New York, venue, with favorites
winning at a 54 percent rate and the top two betting choices combining for 73
percent of the wins. From 32 races on the main oval, 14 animals won in
wire-to-wire fashion (44 percent), and no runners led at every call on the lawn
from five races.
Favorites and second choices fared very well for the third straight week,
this time accounting for 73 percent of the wins. Inside posts were also fairly
dominant, with 18 winners breaking from the inner three posts, and another 11
leaving from gates 4-6. Just a trio of main-track winners during the week broke
from post 7 or wider from 37 events.
The main track was consistent during the week, with speed and pace pressers
doing very well. We can’t call it a bias though, when so many favorites were
winning in this fashion, many at odds-on.
Meet Totals
| RACES: | 130 | |
| DIRT: | 119 | |
| TURF: | 11 | |
| FAVORITES: | 60 (46 percent) | |
| 2ND CHOICES: | 35 (27 percent) | |
| TURF WIRE: | 1 (9 percent) | |
| DIRT WIRE: | 35 (29 percent) |
HORSES TO WATCH
Wednesday (4/13)
3RD — Gulfstream invader JUST HOLD ON (Eurosilver) crushed this field with a
fine wire-to-wire tally, widening his margin in the lane for conditioner Bobby
Barbara. The gelded four-year-old is an obvious contender to win right back with
a reasonable hike in class.
5TH — HURRICANE KITTEN (Tale of the Cat) couldn’t have run much better
without winning and shouldn’t be a maiden for long for trainer Bruce Levine. The
sophomore miss was more than seven lengths clear of her nearest foe on this
occasion.
Thursday (4/14)
3RD — We’re not ready to write SHANDREA (Distorted Humor) off after this
debut run, as the sophomore showed speed before tiring late while well-backed at
the windows. The Leon Blusiewicz charge was only five lengths shy at the wire
and improvement is expected next time.
5TH — DIVINE CHILD (Pleasantly Perfect) was last early but closed with a
flourish to reel in a clear leader and win going away under Lopez. The Chris
Englehart-trained gelding came home in :24 flat for the final half-mile and
should be ready to face open foes before long. We’ll also watch for this one on
the grass.
8TH – The six-year-old RODMAN (Malibu Moon) set a moderate early tempo and
powered home in strong fashion to post an easy win in this one for trainer
Michael Hushion. The Kentucky-bred ran his last half-mile in :47 2/5 after
running in :47 1/5 for the opening four panels — impressive!
Friday (4/15)
2ND — RIPPLES N’ WAVES (Malibu Moon) came in from Gulfstream and meant
business for Jimmy Jerkens, taking over readily approaching the final turn and
striding home an easy winner under Edgar Prado. The well-bred sophomore could be
of stakes quality and develop nicely over the summer.
5TH — FAR ISLE (Indian Charlie) took over in early stretch and ran on well
despite being collared by the 4-5 choice in this one for trainer Gary Contessa.
The four-year-old was well clear of third and should graduate soon.
Saturday (4/16)
9TH — We know that QUALIA (Saarland) is better than what she showed in this
one, and we’re hoping that the Robert Ribaudo trainee just need that start and
will be much better next time.
A Look Ahead
Saturday’s $150,000 Jerome S. (G2) is the closing-week feature at Aqueduct.