Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
For Rice, winter of ’17 should have never ended
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With temperatures still in the midto upper 30s early Monday, it certainly didn’t feel much like spring despite the proclamation that the new season officially began at 6:29 a.m.
One could excuse trainer Linda Rice if she wanted to hold on to winter a tad longer. Rice has enjoyed a pretty solid first 78 days of 2017. Her 34 wins rank eighth nationally, while her $1.5 million in purse earnings rank 10th.
She will finish Aqueduct’s inner-track meet, which officially began Dec. 7, as the second-leading trainer, behind Rudy Rodriguez, in wins and purse money won. At Laurel, since Jan. 1, Rice has gone 10 for 23, with two stakes victories, including the Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie.
“I’ve been very happy, it’s been a good winter for us,” Rice said Monday. “With us running three days a week [at Aqueduct] ... I’ve found a solution. If I can’t get them in at Aqueduct, I’ll run at Laurel. If we’re going to stay here all winter and fight the conditions, it made sense.”
Last Saturday, Rice won her 10th race of the year at Laurel when Matt King Coal survived a stretch duel and an objection to win the Harrison E. Johnson Stakes by a head over Afleet Willy. Rice chose the Harrison Johnson over a third-level allowance race scheduled for this Saturday at Aqueduct in part because she’s not sure the latter will fill.
Matt King Coal, who earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure for the Johnson, is a candidate for either the $1.25 million Charles Town Classic on April 22 or the Grade 3, $200,000 Westchester going a mile at Belmont on May 6.
“Timing-wise, it’s probably better going back to the Westchester, but I don’t know about cutting back to a mile from a mile and an eighth,” said Rice, who also noted the significant difference in purse money. “Matt has got a lot of speed, and I thought a flat mile in the Westchester would be a great spot. But everybody who rides this horse says he just keeps going afterwards.”
Carradine, a New York-bred 3-year-old who won an opencompany, first-level allowance race by eight lengths at Aqueduct on March 10, is a candidate for either the $125,000 Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel on April 22 or the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 8.
“Leaning towards the Tesio, but the Wood’s still a possibility,” Rice said.
On Sunday, High Ridge Road, the Barbara Fritchie winner, worked six furlongs in 1:15.45 over Belmont’s training track. She is on target for the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland on April 8.
On Saturday, Rice will look to end Aqueduct’s inner-track meet in style with Sounds Delicious in the $100,000 Cicada Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Sounds Delicious is 3 for 3, and the Cicada field looks to be coming up light in numbers.
Kid Cruz injured, retired
Rice said goodbye to one of her stable stalwarts Sunday after Kid Cruz was injured during Aqueduct’s third race and was subsequently retired from racing.
Kid Cruz bowed a tendon in his left foreleg. He was pulled up in the stretch of a $40,000 claiming race and was vanned off. The breeder of Kid Cruz, Machmer Hall Farm in Kentucky, agreed to take the horse. He will be gelded and likely trained for a second career as a riding or show horse.
Kid Cruz, a son of Lemon Drop Kid, retires with a record of 7-5-3 from 25 starts and earnings of $792,985.
He began his career with Black Swan Stable and trainer Bill Mott. Rice claimed Kid Cruz out of a winning effort for $50,000 on behalf of the Vina Del Mar Thoroughbreds of Steven Brandt and Rick Boylan. Black Swan Stable later bought back into the horse.
As a 3-year-old, Kid Cruz won the Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico and the Easy Goer and Grade 3 Dwyer stakes at Belmont Park. He also finished third in the Jim Dandy and fourth in the Travers at Saratoga. At 5, he won the John B. Campbell Stakes at Laurel and the Grade 3 Excelsior at Aqueduct.
Clothes Fall Off has options
Clothes Fall Off, a 4 1/4-length winner of last Saturday’s Correction Stakes, will make her next start in either the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland on April 8 or the Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff at Aqueduct on April 9, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Monday.
Both races are at seven furlongs, a distance at which McLaughlin feels Clothes Fall Off can be effective.
“I think seven-eighths should be excellent for her if we get pace,” McLaughlin said from Florida.
In the Barbara Fritchie, going seven furlongs at Laurel, Clothes Fall Off appeared to flatten out late, finishing third behind High Ridge Road and By the Moon.
“I think Rajiv [Maragh] gets along with her very well,” McLaughlin said. “He made a comment to me after the Barbara Fritchie [that] he thought she had a short run, so he has to hold her up, hold her up, and let her run the last three-sixteenths.”