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Paris Lights Shines Bright In 2021 Debut At Aqueduct

WinStar Stablemates Racing's Paris Lights capped her sophomore campaign with a graded stakes score and made her anticipated 4-year-old bow with similar success, running down Portal Creek in the final jumps to capture Friday's Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff Handicap by a half-length at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The 66th running of the Distaff, a seven-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares, was the first stakes of the 11-day Aqueduct spring meet that started Thursday and runs through April 18.

Paris Lights was last in action nearly nine months prior, when she tracked in second position before edging Crystal Ball by a head to win the nine-furlong Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks in July at Saratoga Race Course.

Off the respite, Paris Lights utilized a similar trip in the Distaff, breaking sharp from post 4 under jockey Junior Alvarado and sitting in second position behind pacesetter Portal Creek, who led the compact five-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 24.04 seconds and the half in 48.28 on the fast main track.

Kendrick Carmouche kept Portal Creek to the inside out of the turn, with Paris Lights tenaciously attempting to overtake her from the outside. The duo linked up in the stretch, with Portal Creek initially repelling her rival's initial charge before Paris Lights re-gained command in the final sixteenth, hitting the wire in 1:26.99.

The trainee of Hall of Famer Bill Mott won for the fourth time in five career starts and fourth straight following a third-place debut effort in April 2020 at Gulfstream.

“I was hoping she would give me a good break so I could put myself in the race in a stalking position, and that's how it worked out,” said Alvarado. “I got to the lead and she started wandering a little bit and kind of waited on horses. Being off a little while, she got lost on me a little bit, but it was still a great effort.

“She doesn't have a six or seven-furlong kick, she just grinds on little by little,” he added. “Once I got clear, she wandered a little. I tried to keep her attention and move my reins a little and keep her moving forward. This distance is not her game, she was just the best horse today.”

Alvarado, a stalwart on the NYRA circuit, was riding his first day back in New York since notching 53 wins – including seven stakes – during Gulfstream Park's championship meet. On Friday, he continued his success riding for Mott.

“We've been a great team for the past eight years,” he said. “Last year and this year, we've been pretty strong with Bill Mott. I'm just enjoying the ride I'm on right now. It's just been great working with him. I might call him before the race if something looks a little tricky and we'll try and figure it out. I'll say this is what [agent] Mike [Sellitto] and I want to do, but you decide. It works out most of the time.”

Paris Lights' time off did not deter bettors, who made herthe 6-5 favorite. The Curlin filly, carrying 121 pounds, returned $4.60 on a $2 win wager. Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, Paris Lights improved her career bankroll to $370,412.

“Obviously, it's not her best distance, but she showed up and ran well,” said Mott assistant Leanna Willaford. “This gives her plenty of time for the [Grade 1, $500,000] La Troienne [on April 30] at Churchill Downs. No complaints. She's been here since Wednesday and has been doing great.”

Ten Strike Racing's Portal Creek, carrying 120 pounds, ran second for a second consecutive stakes, edging a rallying Honor Way to her outside by a neck. The 5-year-old Shanghai Bobby mare was also the runner-up in the Heavenly Prize Invitational going a one-turn mile on March 6 at the Big A for trainer Juan Carlos Guerrero.

In the stretch, Portal Creek angled off the rail closer to Paris Lights, who was making her move near the middle of the track. Carmouche said the drifting might have made the difference.

“The filly ran very game,” Carmouche said. “She only runs one way and she fought it out to the wire. Carlos had her ready today. My filly wanted to fight it out with the other horse, but she was so far out by the time you drift out there, you're not going to win the race.”

Honor Way, who ended her 2020 year with back-to-back wins in the Garland of Roses and Pumpkin Pie, respectively, earned blacktype in her first start as a 7-year-old. Trained by Charlton Baker, Honor Way, the 124-pound highweight, has finished in the money in her last six starts.

Kansas Kis and Lady Kate completed the order of finish.

Live racing resumes Saturday with an 11-race card that features five stakes, headlined by the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino at 5:58 p.m. Other stakes include the first Grade 1 of the 2021 NYRA circuit in the $300,000 Carter for 4-year-olds and up going seven furlongs; the Grade 3, $250,000 Gazelle for sophomore fillies at nine furlongs; the Grade 3, $200,000 Bay Shore for 3-year-olds sprinting seven furlongs; and the $150,000 Excelsior for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

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Junior Alvarado Bringing South Florida Momentum To New York Jockey Colony

Following a successful winter in South Florida, a determined Junior Alvarado will resume riding in New York on Friday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

After many years of staying in New York for the Big A winter meet, Alvarado, 34, instead took his tack to Gulfstream Park for their championship meet where he finished sixth in the jockey standings with 53 wins, including seven stakes scores.

“For a long time, I've waited for this opportunity and it felt like the right time, so I took advantage of it and I thought it went better than expected,” Alvarado said. “The first couple of weeks were a little slow, but that was a lot of people getting to know me and trying to figure out the track and knowing when and where to make your move. Things began picking up after that.”

Much of Alvarado's success this winter came on the turf for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. He guided Annex, a sophomore Constitution colt, to stakes scores in the Palm Beach and Cutler Bay as well as capturing the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant with White Frost, a 3-year-old Candy Ride filly.

Both Mott trainees could be contenders this summer in NYRA's lucrative Turf Triple series, implemented in 2019 as the turf equivalent of the Triple Crown, with all legs contested at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.

Alvarado also picked up Gulfstream stakes wins with Venezuelan Hug in the Grade 3 Canadian Turf for trainer Danny Gargan; Gray's Fable for Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield in the Grade 3 Kitten's Joy; and Pacific Gale in the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie for John Kimmel.

Alvarado's mounts banked more than $2.3 million in earnings at the Gulfstream meet, where he boasted a record of 377-53-75-48 while finishing in the money at a 47 percent clip.

“This is the first year where I've started things off with this much success,” Alvarado said. “Coming back to New York, I've been riding a lot of good horses that I picked up down in Florida. Coming into the spring, I don't know that I've ever had this many good horses lined up, so I am very confident moving forward. It gives me a lot of confidence in the decisions I make in riding.”

Alvarado departed for Florida after a strong fall campaign in New York, notching five stakes wins during the Big A fall meet and six stakes victories during the Belmont fall meet, including Grade 1 scores aboard Dayoutoftheoffice in the Frizette and Gufo in the Belmont Derby Invitational.

On Saturday, Alvarado will have the chance to parlay his South Florida prosperity to the Empire State, with mounts in four of the five graded stakes on a lucrative card.

In the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino, Alvarado will pilot Frank Fletcher Racing Operations' Candy Man Rocket, who will try to make amends after an off-the-board effort as the beaten favorite in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 6.

The Mott-trained son of Candy Ride tasted sweet victory in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs on February 6 but did not get the most favorable of runs into the first turn of the Tampa Bay Derby, where he broke awkwardly and was shuffled to mid pack in between horses.

Alvarado, in search of his first Wood Memorial win, will guide Candy Man Rocket from post 7 in a field of 9. He said the outside post in Saturday's nine-furlong event will be beneficial.

“Things just didn't go our way that day,” Alvarado said of the Tampa Bay Derby effort. “There was some bumping going into the first turn and we had to start over and go to the outside. I would draw a line through that race. We have a good post to the outside on Saturday. Hopefully, he breaks well and gets a race similar to what he did in the Sam Davis, when he was in the clear on the outside.”

The Wood Memorial offers 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers and a good result on Saturday would propel Candy Man Rocket, currently 32nd on the leaderboard with 10 points, into the starting gate on the first Saturday in May.

Alvarado's previous Derby mounts include Mohaymen [4th, 2016], Enticed [14th, 2018] and Tax [14th, 2019].

Alvarado's stakes lineup on Saturday incudes mounts aboard multiple Grade 1-winner Mind Control in the Grade 1, $300,000 Carter [Race 6]; Modernist in the Grade 3, $150,000 Excelsior [Race 8]; and Mia Martina in the Grade 3, $250,000 Gazelle [Race 9], which offers 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points. He will also partner Lady Sansa in her North American debut in a turf allowance in Race 7 for trainer Christophe Clement.

Alvarado formally returns to action on Thursday at the Big A, and is named to ride Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks winner Paris Lights in the Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff [Race 7]. He also is scheduled aboard Olympique [Race 1], Runabout [Race 2], and Box N Score [Race 6].

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‘Clock’ Turned Back in Bay Shore

Despite a solid runner-up finish last out in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S., Drain the Clock (Maclean's Music)'s future appears to be around one turn, and he figures to be an overwhelming favorite in Saturday's seven-furlong GIII Bay Shore S. at Aqueduct.

Romping to a six-length debut graduation as an 8-5 favorite in a Gulfstream off-the-turfer Sept. 12, the Saffie Joseph trainee repeated in a Gulfstream West allowance/optional claimer Oct. 28 before losing his rider when making his stakes bow in the Jean Lafitte S. Nov. 30 at Delta. Redeeming himself with a comprehensive win in the Limehouse S. back at Gulfstream Jan. 2, the chestnut romped again in the GIII Swale S. there Jan. 30 before setting the pace and besting all but top GI Kentucky Derby contender Greatest Honour (Tapit) in the Fountain of Youth.

“He's never gotten beat going one turn. He ran a credible race in the Fountain of Youth but I think he's best at one turn and we're hoping he'll show up and run his usual race,” Joseph told the NYRA notes team.

Opposing Drain the Clock in this five-horse field are Too Boss (El Padrino), a 5 1/2-length local maiden breaker Jan. 17 for Todd Pletcher, Garoppolo (Outwork), a second-out winner last July who hasn't been seen since running fourth in the GII Saratoga Special S., Whiskey Double (Into Mischief), a late-running allowance victor last out Feb. 28 at Oaklawn, and Beren (Weigelia), who triumphed in his last two outings at Parx for Butch Reid.

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Mischevious Alex Returns to Grade I Company in Carter

Last winter, Cash is King and LC Racing's Mischevious Alex (Into Mischief) created a buzz with back-to-back graded stakes victories, but was unable to sustain that momentum while making just two more starts in his 3-year-old season. The buzz is back for him after two more good-looking triumphs to start 2021, and he'll get another chance to prove his mettle in Saturday's GI Carter H. at Aqueduct, the first Grade I race in New York this year.

Romping by seven lengths in last February's GIII Swale S., Mischevious Alex successfully stretched out to a mile when annexing the GIII Gotham S. here a month later, but was taken off the GI Kentucky Derby trail before running fourth in the GI Woody Stephens S. and sixth in the GI H. Allen Jerkens S. Transferred from the John Servis barn to Saffie Joseph after that, he came back with a facile allowance/optional claiming success Jan. 10 at Gulfstream, a race that earned him a 103 Beyer and featured next-out wins from the second, fourth and sixth finishers. Back in graded company in the GIII Gulfstream Park Sprint S. Feb. 13, he notched a similarly easy score, and the bay has lit up the track in the mornings since, most notably drilling five furlongs in an eye-popping :58 2/5 (1/21) Mar. 14.

Multiple Grade I winner Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) returns to his favorite racetrack in his 5-year-old debut. Hero of the GI Hopeful S. and H. Allen Jerkens at two and three, respectively, he started his 2020 campaign with scores in the local GIII Toboggan S. and GIII Tom Fool H., but failed to find the winner's circle in his next six tries, most recently running third in the GIII Mr. Prospector S. Dec. 19 at Gulfstream. The Greg Sacco trainee has a record of four wins and one second from five starts at Aqueduct.

Shoplifted (Into Mishief) rates an upset chance, particularly if the pace gets hot. Third in both the Woody Stephens and H. Allen Jerkens last year, he flew home from last to just miss when second by a neck making his seasonal debut Feb. 6 at Oaklawn. Rounding out the quintet are last-out Tom Fool winner Chateau (Flat Out) and Souper Stonehenge (Speightstown), who was a close runner-up to ill-fated G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen upsetter Zenden (Fed Biz) in the Pelican S. Feb. 13 at Tampa.

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