OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With turf racing done for the year on this circuit, it will be all dirt for the next four-plus months at Aqueduct. Unsurprisingly, five of the eight races carded for Thursday drew fields of seven horses or fewer.
The most interesting race Thursday looks to be the first, a one-mile maiden race for 2-year-old fillies featuring starters from many of the higher-profile barns on the grounds.
Kiss Me Slow, a daughter of Into Mischief owned by St. Elias Stable and trained by Chad Brown, makes her second start against potential favorite Sharp Smile, who makes her third start for trainer Brad Cox and owners Jeffrey Drown and Don Rachel.
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Kiss Me Slow debuted at Saratoga on July 21, finishing fourth, 3 1/4 lengths behind Immersive, who came out of that race to win three consecutive Grade 1 stakes, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
In the six-furlong race, Kiss Me Slow dropped well out of it down the backside, came with an inside rally and galloped out pretty well past the wire.
“She debuted pretty solid, then she got sick on me, I had to back off her a bit,” Brown said. “She’s back training along nicely, we think she’s got a bright future. Hopefully, she can step forward on the stretch-out, then we’ll plan her 3-year-old year after this.”
For the first time since late September, there is a chance the main track could be wet Thursday with much-needed rain in the forecast for the metropolitan area. Kiss Me Slow is out of the dam Teresa Z, who won the 2018 Turnback the Alarm Stakes by six lengths over an Aqueduct main track labeled good.
While Kiss Me Slow will break from the rail under Flavien Prat, Sharp Smile drew the outside post under Manny Franco.
About two hours before Kiss Me Slow debuted on July 21, Sharp Smile made her debut in a 1 1/16-mile turf race where she finished fifth behind Virgin Colada. On Oct. 13, Sharp Smile made her next start in a seven-furlong maiden dirt race where, after racing a bit keen and pressing the pace, she had to settle for second behind Fully Subscribed while finishing five lengths in front of the rest of the field.
Cox is taking blinkers off Sharp Smile. Over the last three years, Cox is 6 for 13 with a $2.90 return on investment when taking blinkers off a 2-year-old in a maiden race.
Keepthedreamalive looks to be a well-bred firster for Bill Mott and owner/breeder Tommy Town Thoroughbreds. She is by Into Mischief out of the Grade1-winning mare It Tiz Well.
Delicious Diva, by Hard Spun, brought $400,0000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale in 2023. She was training as early as May in Saratoga for trainer Kenny McPeek, but then was off the tab for two months during the summer. She is coupled in the wagering with She’s Fascinating, trained by Tony Dutrow, as Harold Lerner is part-owner of both fillies.
Trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole have the entry of Vanilla Sundae, who ran sixth on debut in the mud in August at Saratoga, and Ice Cream Boat, who was fourth in the same race in which Sharp Smile was second.
First post Thursday is 12:10 p.m.
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