Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
AQUEDUCT Davis, horses take advantage of brief warmup
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – There was a slight reprieve Wednesday morning from the brutal cold that has enveloped the New York area for more than a week. With temperatures in the low 20s and just a gentle breeze, horsemen were able to have a fairly normal training day.
Between Belmont Park and Aqueduct, 170 horses put in workouts Wednesday morning, the calm before a snowstorm scheduled to arrive late Wednesday and impact Thursday training. The snow is to be followed by the coldest temperatures of the winter on Friday and Saturday.
Jockey Dylan Davis said he worked 10 horses on Wednesday, including four trained by David Jacobson. Davis seemed legitimately disappointed that an 11th scheduled work, on a horse trained by Bill Mott, was canceled.
“It keeps a good mindset,” Davis, whose agent is Mike Migliore, said of his busy morning. “It shows that me and my agent are here, and we have business and it’s nothing to worry about with the cancellations because we know that when we do run we’re going to have some horses.”
Aqueduct canceled three full cards of racing last week and the last five races on another card after the jockeys refused to ride, citing several areas on the Aqueduct main track that were uneven. Though Davis won three of the four races run on that day’s card, he said he agreed with the decision to stop racing.
“My horses were handling it, but they were dropping into the holes there in the soft spots,” Davis said. “All the riders knew where they were. Just having to think about the spots on the track it didn’t help because we also have to think about our positioning and our race riding. We don’t want to think about where these spots are.”
There was a spot by the threeeighths pole on the Belmont Park training track Wednesday morning that needed to be addressed by the track maintenance crew during one of the renovation breaks.
With snow and wind expected Thursday and brutally cold temperatures forecast for Friday and Saturday, it is unlikely that Aqueduct will be able to conduct racing again until at least Sunday, and possibly not until Jan. 11. Whenever racing resumes, this circuit’s leading rider, Irad Ortiz Jr., will already be unpacked in south Florida, joining his brother Jose, who began riding at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 30.
Davis said the absence of the Ortiz brothers and Rajiv Maragh, who moved to California, gives him, Kendrick Carmouche, Junior Alvarado, and other jockeys a chance to ride for leading trainers Rudy Rodriguez and Linda Rice.
Davis won 21 races (for 14 different trainers) during the Aqueduct fall meet, good enough for fifth in the standings. His average win mutuel was $19.20. His three-win Saturday was the first time he rode that many winners on one card at a New York Racing Association track. As an apprentice in 2013, he rode five winners on a card at Indiana Grand.
Come Dancing gets a work in
Among the 161 horses to work Wednesday morning at Belmont was Come Dancing, a 4-year-old filly who returned from a 13-month layoff to win an allowance on Dec. 14 by 6 1/2 lengths. Come Dancing worked a half-mile in 50.36 seconds.
Come Dancing was on the track around 8:30 a.m., but the workout was pushed back until after 9 a.m. when the outriders alerted horsemen of a problem spot at the three-furlong pole of the training track. The scheduled 9 a.m. renovation break was moved up by 30 minutes for the maintenance staff to work on the area.
Trainer Carlos Martin then had the work begin at the quarter pole and end at the sixfurlong marker. The first three furlongs of the work went in 36.47 seconds before the exercise rider pulled the filly up a few strides before the sixfurlong pole.
Martin said he was happy enough with the work, and it keeps Come Dancing on track for the $100,000 Interborough Stakes on Jan. 15. The Interborough will be run at seven furlongs this year after historically having been run at six furlongs when carded over the now-defunct inner track.
“It worked out fine,” Martin said.
‘Heaven’ likely forced to wait
There is an eight-race card scheduled for Friday at Aqueduct, but with a high of 16 degrees and wind chills forecast for below zero, it is unlikely to be run.
If by chance there is racing, the feature is a first-level allowance for 4-year-olds and up going a mile. The race would mark the first start against winners for Backyard Heaven, who on Dec. 10 won a one-mile maiden race by five lengths in his second start. The son of Tizway ran a mile in 1:38.31 and earned a 97 Beyer Speed Figure.
He drew post 7 in a field of nine for Friday, and trainer Chad Brown has named Trevor McCarthy to ride.
Rudy Rodriguez has two contenders led by Hammerin Aamer, who finished second, beaten 1 1/2 lengths in a firstlevel allowance going a mile on that same Dec. 10 card. His race went in 1:38.20. Hammerin Aamer has the rail and Paco Lopez.
Rodriguez’s other horse is Broken Engagement, fourth in that same allowance race. He is coupled in the wagering with Donji, trained by Robertino Diodoro. Donji most recently raced in Southern California but was purchased privately by Michael Dubb, part-owner of Broken Engagement.