OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Miguel Clement hopes the horse-for-course angle bears fruit for his stable Saturday in a pair of turf stakes being run at Aqueduct.
In the $150,000 Artie Schiller Stakes, for older males at one mile, Clement sends out Big Everest, who is 5 for 9 over the Aqueduct turf courses, including victories in both the 2022 and 2023 Artie Schiller and a neck defeat in this race last year.
A few hours later, in the Grade 3, $175,000 Glen Cove for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs, Clement sends out Love Cervere, who is 2 for 2 over Aqueduct’s turf including a victory in the Take the A Train Stakes here in May. Clement also has entered Annascual, who may not have won at Aqueduct, but her two defeats here have each come by less than a length.
Big Everest, a 7-year-old English-bred gelding, comes into the Artie Schiller off a last-place finish in the four-horse Red Bank Stakes at Monmouth Park. Big Everest, off a step slow that day, was rank and jockey Paco Lopez had him sitting second early on, which is not where Big Everest does his best running.
“Big Everest loves Aqueduct, he’s a mile specialist. My only instructions will be to go to the lead,” said Clement, who has Manny Franco to ride Big Everest Saturday from post 6.
Major Dude, a multiple stakes winner and earner of more than $1.3 million, is 1 for 2 at Aqueduct with his win coming in the Grade 2 Pilgrim Stakes over yielding turf in October 2022. His defeat was by a neck to Big Everest in an allowance race here in June 2024.
Major Dude, trained by Todd Pletcher, is winless in seven starts this year, all stakes. Most recently, he finished fifth in the Grade 3 Mint Millions Stakes at Kentucky Downs.
Monmouth-based trainer Lindsay Schultz is 2 for 4 at Aqueduct this meet and ships in Sand Pipes for this race. Sand Pipes, a 4-year-old son of Summer Front, has won his last two starts, both when ridden by Samuel Marin, who will be aboard for Saturday’s race.
“Sammy rides him with confidence. He’ll be slow out of there but he’s pushed him to go forward and get him in a good rhythm. That’s probably helped him,” Schultz said. “This is obviously deeper waters, but he’s earned the shot.”
Horsepower, trained by Joe Orseno, was second in the Grade 3 Vigil Stakes over Woodbine’s synthetic surface on Sept. 13. This will be the first time Horsepower has run beyond seven furlongs.
Lucky Score, fifth in the King Edward Stakes last out at Woodbine, and Otago, eighth in an allowance at Kentucky Downs, complete the field.
Glen Cove Stakes
Love Cervere comes into the Glen Cove off a fast-closing second to Saturday Flirt in a stakes-caliber allowance at Kentucky Downs.
Ninth of 12 turning for home, Love Cervere had to slice her way between and inside of horses before getting to the outside in deep stretch and falling three-quarters of a length short of Saturday Flirt, who won for the fourth time in five starts.
“Eventful was the best way to phrase it,” Clement said. “She was flying late, a bit unlucky.”
Clement also felt Love Cervere was unlucky when third in the Galway Stakes at Saratoga, having a wide trip and finishing narrowly behind Pop Idol and Abientot, both of whom show up in the Glen Cove.
Annascual won a New York-bred allowance last out at Saratoga. In May, she was fourth, three-quarters of a length behind Love Cervere in the Take The A Train. She is drawn on the outside in this 10-horse field.
Trainer George Weaver sends out the pair of Pop Idol and Flat Out Time. Pop Idol was a 17-1 winner of the Galway Stakes at Saratoga and then got used in a pace duel and faded to fourth in a stakes at Woodbine on Sept. 21.
Flat Out Time, a daughter of Not This Time, will be trying turf for the first time. She comes out of a third-place finish to Praying in the Grade 3 Prioress on Aug. 30 Praying came back to win last weekend’s Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of American Stakes at Keeneland.
Flat Out Time is out of the dam Flat Out Speed, a winner of 8 of 9 – all on dirt – and a half-sister to Grade 2 turf stakes winner Can Group.
Me Governor, trained by Carlos David, won the Stewart Manor Stakes here as a 2-year-old last November. She is coming off an allowance win at Colonial Downs on Aug. 1.
Abientot, trained by Mark Casse, won the Grade 3 Matron here in October 2024 but is 0 for 6 since.
It Ain’t Two, trained by Riley Mott, has not won in five starts this year, but did finish second to Love Cervere in the Alywow Stakes at Woodbine in June.
Italian Soiree, trained by John Terranova, won the Grade 3 Coronation Cup at Saratoga before finishing 11th in a Kentucky Downs allowance.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.