Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Stymie lures Velazquez, Ortiz
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Sunday’s $125,000 Stymie Stakes at Aqueduct features a game of jockey musical chairs that includes the return to New York – at least for one day – of John Velazquez and Jose Ortiz.
Velazquez, who hasn’t ridden in New York since Dec. 2, will be here to pilot Send It In for Todd Pletcher in the Stymie. Manny Franco has ridden Send It In to victory in six of his last eight starts but is committed to ride Sunny Ridge, on whom he won the Jazil Stakes in January.
Ortiz, who left New York in early February to ride at Gulfstream, is back to ride the undefeated Diversify, whom he guided to wins in his first three starts, all against New York-breds. Irad Ortiz Jr. was on Diversify for a win against open company on Jan. 14. Irad Ortiz Jr. is committed to ride Royal Posse in the Stymie.
Royal Posse will try to end a quirky 0-for-7 career drought over the inner track. He has finished second on three occasions over the inner track. Last time, in the Jazil, he stumbled badly at the start and was virtually eliminated. He ended up finishing fourth, 15 lengths behind Sunny Ridge.
“I’m not going to [blame] the track,” said Rudy Rodriguez, the trainer of Royal Posse. “If he gets beat, he gets beat. He needs to break through, and maybe Sunday’s the day. There’s going to be enough speed, and he can put himself in a good position.”
The Stymie is run at 1 1/8 miles around two turns. Royal Posse has won six of his last eight starts in 1 1/8-mile races around two turns. Overall, Royal Posse is 9 for 12 at 1 1/8 miles.
The Stymie field, from the rail out, is: Sunny Ridge, Admiral Blue, Royal Posse, Doyouknowsomething, Send It In, Dolphus, Turco Bravo, Diversify, Splashtastic, and Grasshoppin.
Heaven’s Runway sidelined
Trainer Rudy Rodriguez will be well represented in Saturday’s Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap with Sassicaia and All Star Red, but one of his other stakeswinning sprinters will be sidelined until at least the fall.
Heaven’s Runway, who won the Grade 3 Fall Highweight at Aqueduct last November and the Dave’s Friend Stakes at Laurel in December, had surgery to remove a knee chip and will be out four to five months, Rodriguez said Thursday.
The chip was discovered following Heaven’s Runway’s seventh-place finish in the Grade 3 General George at Laurel on Feb. 18.
Rodriguez claimed Heaven’s Runway for $62,500 last August. Three starts later, he upset Stallwalkin’ Dude in the Fall Highweight at odds of 32-1.
Rodriguez said Heaven’s Runway should be able to return in late fall or early winter.
Highway Star targets Distaff
Highway Star, who scratched out of last Saturday’s $150,000 Heavenly Prize Invitational, worked a half-mile in 48.11 seconds Thursday over the Belmont Park training track.
She likely will be pointed to the Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff Handicap, a seven-furlong race over Aqueduct’s main track on April 9.
Trainer Rodrigo Ubillo said he scratched Highway Star from the Heavenly Prize because she was coughing following a morning training session the day before the race.
“We scoped her, and she had some irritation on her throat, some kind of pharyngitis,” Ubillo said. “We could have run, but she was not going to be 100 percent, so we decided to scratch her.”
In her last start over Aqueduct’s main track, Highway Star won the Grade 3 Go for Wand going a one-turn mile.
McMullen named head starter
Though he has basically been doing the job since Dec. 31, Mike McMullen was officially tabbed last weekend as the new head starter for the New York Racing Association.
McMullen replaces Roy Williamson, who retired. Williamson had worked on the gate crew at NYRA since 1985 and was the head starter since 2007, when he replaced Richard Brosseau during the Saratoga meet.
McMullen, 47, has worked on the gate crew at NYRA for 21 years. He became the first assistant to Williamson in 2007.
“The starter has a first and second assistant, so the first assistant backs up the starter, and we pretty much are in charge of setting up the program in the afternoon, the loading process,” McMullen said. “We keep pretty detailed records of every horse that comes through the gates.”
The starters also work at the gate in the morning for schooling. Currently, there is training only at Aqueduct and the Belmont training track, but in April, the Belmont Park main track opens, as does Saratoga’s training track.
McMullen said he doesn’t expect many changes to gate protocols but added: “I’m also just diving into this, so to speak. We’ll see as time goes on, but I don’t foresee many changes.”