Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
AQUEDUCT Stewart aims to continue roll
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The roll that trainer Dallas Stewart has been on the last four weeks actually began Oct. 28 at Belmont Park, when Tom’s Ready turned in the performance of his life winning the Bold Ruler Handicap.
Stewart knows Tom’s Ready will have to bring every bit of that effort if he is to end his career a Grade 1 winner when he runs in Saturday’s $750,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct.
A field from between 11 and 13 runners is expected for the Cigar Mile when entries are taken and post positions drawn Wednesday. Tom’s Ready will face the likes of Sharp Azteca, Practical Joke, and Mind Your Biscuits in the one-turn race.
“That’s a bunch of nice horses, man,” Stewart said Sunday from Churchill Downs. “It’s been a long year for some of the horses in the race, but those horses have proven they’re very good.”
Tom’s Ready was very good in the Bold Ruler, rallying from off the pace under Joel Rosario to beat Stallwalkin’ Dude by three-quarters of a length. Stallwalkin’ Dude came back to win the Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap on Thanksgiving. Tom’s Ready, who will retire to Spendthrift Farm after Saturday’s race, earned a career-best 107 Beyer Speed Figure for his effort, putting the proverbial bounce theory in play.
“I ain’t worried about any bouncing,” Stewart said. “He’s eating good, he looks good, he’s feeling good. It’s going to be a tough race.”
Though Stewart’s recent Grade 1 victories in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and Clark Handicap came for owner Charles Fipke, he will send out Tom’s Ready for the G M B Racing Stable of Tom Benson and his wife, Gayle Marie Benson. As the owner of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, Benson has been on a bit of a roll himself as the Saints had won eight straight games before a loss Sunday to the Rams.
Mike Smith is coming from California to ride Tom’s Ready, who was assigned 118 pounds, seven fewer than assigned highweight Sharp Azteca (125). Mind Your Biscuits (122) and Practical Joke (120) are the second and third highweights, respectively.
Others expected to enter include Calculator (117), Neolithic (117), Seymourdini (117), Americanize (116), Just Call Kenny (115), Beasley (114), and Summer Revolution (114). Tale of S’avall (115) and Vulcan’s Forge (114) also are possible.
Velazquez, Fipke team again
Joining trainer Dallas Stewart and owner Charles Fipke in a run of Grade 1 success in November was John Velazquez, who guided Forever Unbridled to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and Seeking the Soul to an upset score in the Clark Handicap.
Velazquez actually joined the team when he guided Eskenformoney past the Fipke-owned Verve’s Tale in the last jump of the Grade 3 Turnback the Alarm on Oct. 28. Joel Rosario had ridden Verve’s Tale and her trainer, Barclay Tagg, felt he moved too soon in that race.
“She’s got a good kick, but if you move at the three-eighths pole she’s not going to sustain it,” Tagg said.
Two days after the Turnback the Alarm, Fipke fired Rosario from Forever Unbridled and put Velazquez on that mare, though he would eventually have to pay both jockeys the same fee for the race. Fipke also put Velazquez on Seeking the Soul, who had been ridden to an allowance victory by Brian Hernandez Jr. in his previous start.
Saturday, Velazquez will be aboard Verve’s Tale in the Grade 3, $200,000 Go for Wand Handicap going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct. On Sunday, Verve’s Tale worked a half-mile in 48 seconds over Belmont’s main track.
“It was a little faster than I wanted, but it’s better than too slow I guess,” Tagg said.
Last year, Verve’s Tale recorded a 20-1 upset in the Grade 3 Comely Stakes at Aqueduct. The Go for Wand field is expected to include Going for Broke, Indulgent, Jamyson ’n Ginger, Flora Dora, and Lucy N Ethel. Highway Star, last year’s Go for Wand winner, and Julerette are possibles.
Indy Union set for Demoiselle
Trainer Jeremiah Englehart, who won a pair of stakes Friday at Aqueduct, will send out Indy Union in Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle for 2-yearold fillies.
Indy Union, a daughter of Union Rags, enters the Demoiselle off a seven-length maiden win going a one-turn mile at Belmont. Two starts before that, she finished third, beaten three lengths by Caledonia Road, in a seven-furlong race at Saratoga. Caledonia Road came back to run second in the Grade 1 Frizette before winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
As a daughter of Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags out of the A.P. Indy mare Fapindy, Englehart is confident in his filly’s ability to get the 1 1/8 miles of the Demoiselle.
“I just figure more distance for her the better,” Englehart said.
Jose Ortiz will ride Indy Union in the Demoiselle in a field that is expected to include Tempted Stakes winner Daisy, Held Accountable, Layla Noor, Maurer Power, Silver Bay, and Wonder Gadot. Stakes On a Plane, Steamy Hot, Sweet Like Char, and Vindictive Ways are possible.