OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Mother Nature could very well spoil the proceedings Friday at Aqueduct, where four scheduled turf races on the nine-card are likely to be impacted by a forecast that calls for as much as an inch of rain in the New York metropolitan area.
Friday's card starts with a carryover of $22,381 in the pick six after the wager went unsolved on Thursday.
Seven 3-year-old fillies with perhaps an eye toward the Grade 2, $300,000 Wonder Again Stakes next month at Saratoga were entered in a first-level allowance scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on turf. The race was to include the 3-year-old debut of Lavender Disaster, a daughter of Into Mischief who hasn’t run since being carried out and eliminated in the Grade 2 Miss Grillo Stakes on Oct. 6 over this course.
Trainer Chad Brown was hoping to use that race as a stepping-stone to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, but obviously couldn’t go off that effort. Lavender Disaster is the first foal out of the mare Cafe Americano, who did win a first-level allowance over good ground and ultimately won the Grade 3 Pucker Up.
Brown has another entrant in the field in Forward Deployed, a daughter of War Front who was third in this condition at Tampa Bay Downs. Brown would be equipping Forward Deployed with blinkers for the first time.
Trainer Brad Cox has shipped Serendipity to New York after she wound up three-deep on the also-eligible list for this same condition Thursday at Churchill Downs. Serendipity won a maiden race at first asking at Gulfstream Park, a race from which the third- and fourth-place finishers came back to win their next outings.
Trainer Todd Pletcher has the pair of Capturing and Obeissante in this spot. Capturing, a daughter of More Than Ready, won at first asking at Gulfstream before finishing second behind Starship Impulsive in a first-level allowance, also at Gulfstream, on April 5. Starship Impulsive came back to win the Honey Ryder Stakes at Gulfstream last Saturday.
Obeissante, a daughter of Into Mischief, won her maiden April 10 at Gulfstream going one mile. Scarlet Sands, the third-place finisher from that race, came back to win a maiden $50,000 claimer going one mile last out.
Rare Art returns to New York, where last year she finished second, beaten a nose by Opulent Restraint, in the Chelsey Flower Stakes at Aqueduct.
Pookie makes her 3-year-old debut in this spot after finishing sixth behind Laurelin in the Tepin Stakes on Nov. 17. Laurelin came off the bench to win the Memories of Silver Stakes on April 27.
In the event this race comes off the turf and is run at one mile on dirt, Cat Chat, the lone main-track-only entrant in the field, becomes the likely favorite. Cat Chat, trained by Mark Hennig, came from way off the pace to win her maiden in her third career start going seven furlongs at Gulfstream.
Friday’s eighth race, a first-level allowance for older males scheduled for a mile on turf, becomes a mess if it comes off the turf. Yes, there are five main-track-only entrants in the field, but two contenders – Badge of War and Rock the Weekend – will have to scratch because they are entered back in the same condition on Saturday’s card.
Skylander’s last two starts on an off track would make him the one to beat in this one-mile heat.
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