Foolish Ghost won’t be alone on lead

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – New York-breds dominate the entries in an open second-level allowance on dirt and a New York-bred may be the one to beat in an open first-level allowance race scheduled for turf, the co-features on an eight-race Thursday card at Aqueduct.

Five of the seven entrants in race 6, a second-level allowance for males going six furlongs, are New York-breds. Foolish Ghost, coming off a monster six-length score in a first-level allowance on March 7, will likely get a lot of play, but the race dynamics Thursday could play out differently than that day when he was the primary speed.

Thursday, Foolish Ghost will likely have to deal with the speedy Aristocratic early.

“If he can get away with moderate fractions early, he’s going to be potent late,” said Ray Handal, trainer of Foolish Ghost.

Two starts back, on Feb. 4, Foolish Ghost was beaten by Jemography, who is back in this race Thursday and is seeking his fourth consecutive victory for trainer Mark Hennig.

Handal noted in that Feb. 4 race he was wheeling Foolish Ghost back in two weeks off “a dud effort,” which Handal said may have been caused by the horse missing some time for being sick. Handal feels he has the proper spacing between the gelding’s last race to this one.

Two other New York-breds who are likely factors in this spot are Big Engine and Runningwscissors. Big Engine finished three-quarters of a length in front of Running-wscissors when those two finished third and fourth, respectively, behind Mihos in this same condition March 13.

Previous stakes winners Montauk Traffic and Honor Up complete the field for this race, which goes as the sixth.

In race 7, the New York-bred Fetching returns from a fivemonth layoff in a first-level allowance going six furlongs over the outer turf course. Fetching, claimed for $40,000 last summer by trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci, had three consecutive seconds in this condition last fall to end her campaign.

On Nov. 7, at Aqueduct, she actually finished third, but was elevated to second by the stewards when Abuse of Power came out in front of Fetching in deep stretch.

Fetching remained in New York all winter and has four works leading to her return. Ilkay Kantarmaci, the assistant to his brother, believes Fetching is fit enough to be successful in her 5-year-old debut.

“We’re expecting a good race from her this time,” Kantarmaci said. “I think she’s going to be really tough.”

Love and Thunder, a 4-yearold Irish-bred filly, makes her first start since July and first for trainer Chad Brown, who went 3 for 3 in turf races last week at Aqueduct.

Brown sees Love and Thunder as a filly that can get up to a mile.

“I don’t think she’s limited to sprinting, I just fit her to what was offered in the [condition] book,” Brown said. “She trains with a nice, sharp turn of foot. She’s a nice horse, lucky to have her.”

Rivendell returns from a layoff for Bill Mott. Magical Soul, Gogo Shoes, Signify, and Too Sexy are other contenders in this spot.