Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
$99K carryover up for grabs
The Saturday and Sunday cards last weekend at Aqueduct were not kind to pick-six players. There was only one winning favorite in the 12 races, and the New York Stallion Stakes divisions, which topped each program, went to $81 and $77 longshots.
The result is a two-day carryover of $99,703 into the Christmas-week opener on Thursday.
The pick six is on races 3 to 8. While not easy, the sequence looks fairly straightforward, with smallish fields, except in the finale, which has 11 entrants. Races 3, 6, and 8 can be narrowed down to a few contenders.
Race 3 is a second-level optional claimer for New York- bred fillies and mares at a mile. The improving 3-year-old Land Mine and the hardened 6-yearold Literata figure to take the bulk of the wagering.
Land Mine comes into this race off a promising victory over statebred first-level allowance rivals. Literata is not in top form but takes a meaningful class drop after facing more difficult open-company foes.
Land Mine is 2 for 3 since being transferred to trainer Phil Serpe following the retirement of Mike Hushion at the end of the Belmont Park spring meet. Owned and bred by Chester and Mary Broman, the daughter of Mineshaft is a halfsister to $1.5 million earner Bar of Gold, who closed out her career by upsetting the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 4.
In her first start for Serpe, Land Mine won a maiden race at the end of the Saratoga meet. She weakened and finished fifth against allowance company when moved to turf in her next start, but rebounded nicely Nov. 8.
Land Mine relaxed while racing inside horses in the second flight of that mile race, angled outward around the leaders nearing the stretch, and pulled away to win by 2 1/2 lengths.
“I think she answered a lot of questions,” Serpe said. “I was impressed with her running style.”
Land Mine’s two dirt races for Serpe have been a big improvement over her first two for Hushion.
“I don’t know what happened in her races for Mike,” Serpe said. “What we discovered as we moved along with her was that when we attempted to give her short, quicker works, she wasn’t responding. Once we started to give her longer, slower works – six furlongs, a mile – she started to come around.”
Land Mine has worked twice over the Belmont training track since her allowance win. She went six furlongs in 1:19 on Dec. 3 and a mile in 1:48.20 on Dec. 14.
Trained by Rudy Rodriguez, Literata won the Saratoga Dew for statebreds at Saratoga on Aug. 14. She has since finished third and sixth in open secondlevel optional-claiming races, and seventh in the Empire Distaff Handicap. She is entered for a $40,000 claiming price Thursday, the lowest price for which she has been offered since Rodriguez claimed her for that sum in January 2016.
Race 4 is a $25,000 claiming race for New York-breds. Bobby On Fleek, who showed great promise early in his career, has been transferred from Chad Brown to Rodriguez and will be making his first start since June. If he is a shadow of his former self, he wins. If not, the race opens up for Thirst for Victory and Katalox.
Race 5 is a $16,000 claiming race for non-winners of two lifetime. The seven-horse field is evenly matched and not very inspiring. It may be best to cast a wide net.
Open $16,000 claimers square off at a mile in race 6. Are we having fun yet won at this level in his last start and makes his debut for Gary Gullo, who claimed him from Michelle Nevin. Are we having fun yet is clearly the horse to beat, especially since Gullo’s stable is hot and has gone 8 for 15 at Aqueduct and Gulfstream Park in December.
If you can’t completely trust Are we having fun yet, who is 2 for 9 this year, others to consider include Marnesia Big Girl, who races for Linda Rice – 15 for 37 this month – and the class-droppers Maddizaskar and Doin what she likes.
Race 7 is a six-horse first-level allowance. While Satin Sheets has speed and will likely be favored, she is no cinch. Nobody in this group is truly allowance caliber or, for that matter, trustworthy.
The pick six ends with a $40,000 maiden-claiming race for 2-year-olds.
CK Dexter Haven has finished second in all three of his starts, all against straight maidens, while racing at Monmouth Park, Gulfstream, and Gulfstream Park West. Trained by Todd Pletcher in those races, he has been working at Palm Beach Downs. He races for George Weaver on Thursday.
While CK Dexter Haven is the horse to beat, Blinded Vision, who races for Gullo, has good speed and drops back in for a claiming tag. There may not be much separating the two.