Aqueduct | Race 7 | Post Time 4:14 p.m. (ET)
I'll be interested to see how the public approaches Wynstock (#5), who I tentatively pegged as the morning line favorite in this competition $100k claimer. He's sharply moving up in class, but he did absolutely romp against weaker foes last time, drawing off to win by over 7 lengths with a 113 TimeformUS Speed Figure. A repeat of that performance could beat this field, but I'm wondering if he will be as effective cutting back slightly to a one-turn mile.
Bourbon Day (#3) offers a little more appealing as he also turns back from longer races. He has been successful going shorter in the past, and he was facing a pretty tough field in the Queens County last time. He won convincingly first off the trainer switch to Linda Rice two back, and might play out as the horse to beat if he can get back to that 118 TimeformUS Speed Figure.
Bramito (#4) is coming off a win at this level, albeit against what might have been a slightly softer field than the group he meets here. He did run very well within the context of the track profile that day, as he was guided down to the inside for the stretch drive on a day when horses generally wanted to avoid the rail. He might have to run a bit faster to beat this field, but he goes out for a capable barn.
I actually prefer a horse who finished just behind that foe last time. Crushed It (#6) disappointed as the 5-2 second choice in that Jan. 11 race at this level, but he lost all chance at the start. He got brushed coming out of the gate and then was shuffled to the back of the pack early. That's not a position from which he's has much success, but he actually did well to slice through the pack around the turn and move into contention before flattening out late. This time the Pace Projector is predicting that he can make the lead, and I don't Flavien Prat will rate him after those tactics failed last time.