Firm ground key for Disco Partner

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – On paper, Disco Partner looks to be a standout in Saturday’s $125,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship. It’s just a matter of what type of ground he and his seven rivals will get to run over that will determine whether Disco Partner will be a standout on the track as well.

Disco Partner excels on firm ground, the type generally seen more in the summer than in the fall. He did win the Belmont Turf Sprint on Oct. 6 over ground labeled good before finishing a distant third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint over yielding turf.

The Aqueduct turf was listed as firm Wednesday. It was not used Thursday due to belowfreezing temperatures. Dry and warmer weather was forecast for Friday and Saturday, but rain was predicted for late Saturday afternoon, most likely after the races.

Trainer Christophe Clement said jockey Joel Rosario told him in the Breeders’ Cup that Disco Partner was just “spinning his wheels the first quarter of a mile.”

“By the time he got going, the top two were gone and the race was over,” Clement said.

Clement said owners Frank and Patricia Generazio told him that if Disco Partner was doing well, they wanted to run the horse again this year before putting him away and bringing him back for a 7-year-old campaign.

Disco Partner will break from the outside post in Saturday’s six-furlong race. The rails will be moved from 24 feet out to 12 feet out for Saturday’s card, perhaps creating better ground on the inside part of the course.

Clement also sends out White Flag, who bombed as the favorite in this race last year. White Flag finished fifth of nine in the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita on Oct. 6 and came out of that race with a quarter crack on a hind foot, Clement said.

“He seems to be in good order now,” Clement said.

Blind Ambition was second to Disco Partner in the Belmont Turf Sprint and was excluded from the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Blind Ambitions’s trainer, Todd Pletcher, said Disco Partner is clearly the horse to beat, adding, “I guess it helps that it’s not at Belmont” where Disco Partner has recorded nine of his 11 victories.

KEY CONTENDERS

Disco Partner, by Disco Rico Last 3 Beyers: 94-106-92

◗ Compromised by yielding turf but still beat 11 rivals when third in Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint three weeks ago at Churchill.

◗ Handled good ground at Belmont, where he ran six furlongs in 1:08.50 when winning Belmont Turf Sprint by 4 1/2 lengths.

◗ Finished second in his only race over Aqueduct turf, which came going 1 1/16 miles three years ago.

White Flag, by War Front Last 3 Beyers: 94-94-90

◗ Cuts back to a distance at which he’s previously run well, including a stakes win at Belmont in fall 2017.

Hembree, by Proud Citizen Last 3 Beyers: 77-97-91

◗ Like Disco Partner, may have been compromised by yielding turf when 10th in Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Prior to that, he won two straight, including the Grade 2 Nearctic at Woodbine.