Big Birthday not a lock in allowance

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Big Birthday has yet to live up to her big price tag. The 4-yearold daughter of Mineshaft will likely be a big favorite in Friday’s first-level allowance feature at Aqueduct, but she is far from a lock.

Big Birthday was purchased at a 2-year-old in-training sale for $575,000 by Peter Brant and turned over to trainer Chad Brown. Big Birthday has just one win from six starts.

Her two tries at this level do appear to be against better than she meets Friday. Satisfy beat Big Birthday in October, and has since come back to clear the first-level allowance condition. Pause for the cause beat Big Birthday in December, and then finished third in a New Yorkbred stakes.

Among the alternatives to Big Birthday are multiple winners Our Girl Abby and Gypsie Janie.

Trainer Danny Gargan claimed Our Girl Abby for $20,000 last March 21 at Gulfstream Park. Gargan had to wait four months to run her back because the filly kicked a wall in her stall and injured a hind leg.

In seven starts for Gargan, Our Girl Abby has two wins and three seconds. Most recently she was beaten two lengths finishing second to DJ’s Favorite in a $40,000 claimer over a sloppy track. A claim for her in that race was voided by the stewards for administrative reasons.

“I think the filly that beat us last time freaks in the mud when she runs in it,” Gargan said. “Our filly’s a gutsy little filly.”

Prior to her last race, Our Girl Abby had won two straight, both over Aqueduct’s main track.

Mike Luzzi, who has ridden Our Girl Abby in her last three starts, is back aboard on Friday.

Gypsie Janie is 6 for 14 in her career and is coming off a win for $25,000 from which she was claimed by Lolita Shivmangal, who has taken over the training of the stable for her father, Doodnauth. Gypsie Janie is 3 for 5 over a wet track, the type of surface that may be in play Friday.

Rafael Hernandez rides Gypsie Janie from the outside post in the seven-horse field.

This race carries a claiming option of $25,000, but no horse is being offered for the claiming price. Devilish Romance is listed as running for the tag, but her connections are invoking the waiver claiming option. Under a NYRA house rule, an owner or trainer may declare a horse ineligible to be claimed provided the horse has not started for a minimum of 180 days and is running for a claiming price equal to or greater than the price at which it last started. Devilish Romance was claimed for $25,000 out of a fifthplace finish last Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park.

Completing the field are Shimmering Moon, who went winless in seven starts in 2018; No Deal, who has won her last two after losing her first 13 starts; and Hattie L, a first-out winner in the slop for Todd Pletcher.