aqueduct turf sprint championship | Horse Racing Free Tips

Lael Stable's homebred Arrest Me Red made every pole a winning one, staving off an inside rally from Pulsate to prevail in Saturday's $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Trained by Wesley Ward, Arrest Me Red was scratched out of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint on November 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., which was won by his stablemate Golden Pal. Re-routed to the Big A, the sophomore son of Pioneerof the Nile turned back older company with a game display in the six-furlong outer turf test.

“He did great. He ran very, very professional,” Ward said. “I just feel bad that he had a minor foot issue, otherwise he would have had a good run in the Breeders' Cup.”

Arrest Me Red, with Paco Lopez up, marked off splits of :22.69 and :45.60 over the firm going with defending race winner Turned Aside tracking in second and Backtohisroots pressing three-wide in third.

Pulsate, with Manny Franco up, settled into fourth position as Arrest Me Red took the field to the turn with Backtohisroots advancing with purpose. Arrest Me Red opened up a one-length lead at the stretch call and kicked for home with a ground-saving Pulsate trying to surge up the rail.

Lopez kept to task aboard Arrest Me Red and the talented bay held on for a neck win in a final time of 1:09.43. Pulsate completed the exacta by 1 3/4 lengths over the late-running Chewing Gum.

Lopez, aboard Arrest Me Red for the first time, said he was impressed by the colt's winning efforts in the Mahony in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and the G3 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., last out on October 2.

“I saw his last couple races and knew he was fast,” Lopez said. “There wasn't much speed today. I broke and put my horse in the race and waited for competition. I saw the horse coming to the inside [Pulsate] and I put a little pressure. That horse is a very good horse. Wesley knows what he is doing.”

Franco said Pulsate, who he guided to victory in the Lucky Coin in September at the Spa, was timid when asked to pass along the hedge.

“I had the room to go through, but my horse just hesitated a little bit,” Franco said. “He was coming the last sixteenth of a mile. When I rode him to the wire, he responded to me. He just got a little bit tired. He ran well though.”

Backtohisroots, Value Proposition, Big Package, Maxwell Esquire, Omaha City, and Turned Aside completed the order of finish. Grateful Bred, who broke through the gate ahead of the race, was scratched.

Bred in Kentucky by his owners, Arrest Me Red banked $82,500 in victory while improving his record to five wins from seven starts. He paid $6.50 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes Sunday at the Big A with a 10-race card featuring the $150,000 Autumn Days in Race 7, the $200,000 G3 Fall Highweight in Race 8, and the $100,000 Tepin in Race 9. First post is 11:50 a.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

The post Arrest Me Red Goes Gate To Wire In Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Trainer Wesley Ward said Lael Stables' Arrest Me Red will make his next start in the $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship at six furlongs for 3-year-olds and up on Nov. 27 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Arrest Me Red was scratched out of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 6 at Del Mar, which was won by the Ward-trained Golden Pal. Arrest Me Red breezed a half-mile in :48 flat Wednesday over the Keeneland main track.

“He had a little foot abscess issue we were dealing with out in California, so we erred on the side of caution and scratched him,” Ward said. “We brought him back and he's had a great work here at Keenland, so he should be ready to go.”

The Pioneerof the Nile sophomore joined Ward's stable for his 3-year-old campaign, winning the Mahony in August at 5 1/2-furlongs over firm footing at Saratoga Race Course. The talented bay followed with a gate-to-wire score in the six-furlong Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational over firm going on October 2 at Belmont Park.

Ward said Arrest Me Red had initially been under consideration for the Grade 2 Woodford at Keeneland before setting course for Belmont.

“He came back [from the Mahony] and had some nice works and we were going to go in the Woodford with him, but there was no sense in going against my other horse, Golden Pal, so we looked for another option and he ran and won nice,” Ward said.

Arrest Me Red made four starts in a juvenile campaign for his former conditioner Arnaud Delacour, posting a first-out maiden win at Laurel Park in August 2020 and a two-length score in the six-furlong Atlantic Beach last November over the Big A turf.

CJ Thoroughbreds' Miss Alacrity, a chestnut daughter of Munnings, will return to the main track in Sunday's $100,000 Key Cents, a six-furlong sprint for juvenile fillies at Aqueduct.

Out of the multiple graded-stakes winning Menifee mare Just Jenda, Miss Alacrity launched her career with a 10-length maiden win sprinting five furlongs over Big Sandy in May. She followed with an impressive score in the Colleen, a five-furlong turf test in August at Monmouth Park.

Last out, Miss Alacrity stumbled at the start of the Speakeasy, a five-furlong turf test on Oct. 1 at Santa Anita, and settled for fourth.

“I think she was soundly beaten. We went out there with her winning that race at Monmouth and we wanted to see where she was at. There were no excuses, she just got beat,” Ward said. “It was a credible race. She ran well but she just got beat by better horses on the day.”

Miss Alacrity will remove blinkers while retaining the services of Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez from the inside post in a loaded field that includes the well-regarded Classy Edition for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and the speedy Makin My Move for conditioner John Kimmel.

“This time of year, I generally take the blinkers off of everything with 2-year-olds. It keeps them focused at the beginning of the year and now that they're older and more seasoned, I like to take the blinkers off to go a little further,” Ward said. “She should be more aware of her surroundings and a little more relaxed in the race with the blinkers off.”

Lyrical Poet, a 4-year-old Kitten's Joy gelding owned, bred and trained by Ward, posted a claiming score traveling 5 1/2-furlongs over the Saratoga turf in July.

He is out of the speedy Bring the Heat mare One Hot Wish, who won a pair of sprints for Ward led by an 8 ½-length allowance romp at Gulfstream Park in 2008 that garnered a 91 Beyer.

Lyrical Poet was last seen finishing second in September in a Kentucky Downs turf allowance sprint won by Rustler, who exited that effort to win the Carle Place in October at Belmont.

Lyrical Poet breezed five-furlongs in 1:00.80 on Nov. 16 over the Keeneland main track in preparation for Race 2 on Saturday at the Big A, a six-furlong starter allowance on the turf for 3-year-olds and up.

“He's training good. I've taken my time with him. Kitten's Joys take a little time to get going and he was a late foal,” Ward said. “I own him so I can afford the time I think they need and he's rewarding that patience now. His dam was very fast.”

Listed at 3-1 on the morning line, Lyrical Poet will exit post 7 under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

The post Scratched From Breeders’ Cup With Foot Abscess, Arrest Me Red Returns In Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post