Aqueduct | Race 7 | Post Time 4:27 p.m. (ET)
This $50k claiming event is one of the most interesting races on the Friday card, featuring many runners dropping down out of tougher optional claimers. Skylander (#5) is among that group, and should vie for favoritism as he exits a much tougher N2X optional claimer. While he regressed a bit after winning three in a row on the way into that race, he actually put in a solid effort in defeat. The pace failed to develop, as the race was dominated on the front end by longshots. Skylander lost position out of the gate, finding himself farther back than he prefers to race. He actually did well to get back into the mix in mid-stretch before flattening out. He shouldn’t mind stretching back out to a mile and is arguably the horse to beat.
Runnin’ Ray (#6) also drops out of a much stronger optional claiming event where he ran deceptively well. He contested an honest pace while racing very wide early, then dropped back approaching the quarter pole before staying on late to only get beaten by 3 lengths. He’s been in pretty solid form since the claim by Gustavo Rodriguez, beating a group of $40k claimers convincingly two back. He obviously fits well at this level, and now gets winning rider Kendrick Carmouche back aboard.
Linda Rice sends out a pair of runners, of which Power Seeker (#8) is the more immediately appealing. He was kept on a steady diet of optional claiming races on this circuit last year, picking up some minor awards before breaking through at Saratoga in August. However, he did take advantage of a minor rail bias when he earned that victory two back, and was unable to replicate that form when last seen in a tougher spot later in the meet. He’s been off since then, and now drops to a realistic spot for his return from the layoff.
I just prefer this barn’s other entrant at what should be a bigger price. Margin of Air (#3) makes his first start off the claim for Linda Rice after maintaining strong form for Jamie Ness. He exits a poor performance when he came to this circuit last time, but he did not get a great ride or trip in that spot. After getting rated into the clubhouse turn, he launched an early backstretch move to race wide before getting steadied at the quarter pole. I don’t mind this slight drop in class off the claim, especially since he’s coming off a poor result and Rice places her horses realistically. He may get somewhat overlooked with Jose Lezcano landing on the stablemate and Sofia Vives riding this gelding. I expect his tactical speed to play well here, especially if either half of the coupled entry scratches.