Franco, Rice Capture Winter Meet Titles At Aqueduct

Jockey Manny Franco captured his fourth winter meet riding title at Aqueduct, posting 63 wins at the meet that ran from Jan. 1 to March 26. Linda Rice paced all trainers with 37 wins, while Windylea Farm secured their first NYRA-circuit owners title with 12 wins.

“It means a lot to me. This is what we're here for,” said Franco, who is represented by agent John Panagot. “I want to be one of the top riders here on the New York circuit, and I work hard to make it happen. I want to thank all the trainers and owners that support me during the year. I'm happy to be back on top again.”

“It's been a really good winter,” added Rice. “We've had a good fall and we had a good meet before that as well. Then to come back and have a really good winter meet was great. We had a couple stakes winners, Betsy Blue and Downtown Mischief. But, in general, the whole barn and my entire staff has been working real hard and it showed up in the afternoon.”

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Downtown Mischief Stays Unbeaten In Cicada

Downtown Mischief (Into Mischief) brought another stakes win home for super sire Into Mischief on Saturday afternoon at Aqueduct Racetrack. The New York-bred filly is now a perfect three-for three after her victory in the Cicada S.

Breaking her maiden on-track Jan. 14, the Linda Rice trainee won that debut by a sparkling 7 3/4-lengths at six panels and followed that up at Ozone Park Feb. 17 by clearing the next optional claiming hurdle in the slop by 1 1/4-lengths over the next-out winner, Midtown Lights (Redesdale).

Supported at the windows to the hilt, the 1-2 favorite tracked leader Fabulously Funny (Practical Joke) briefly from the fourth position down the backstretch, but decided to make her move for the front as Hot Little Thing (Army Mule) tried to make up ground after a slow start. As the trio dueled around the far turn, the chalk poked her head in front and past the eighth pole dug down to find enough in the end to win by 1 1/2-lengths over the late charging Tappin Josie (Anchor Down).

“I told Jose [Lezcano, aboard Downtown Mischief] that I thought the little filly on the inside of us had tremendous speed. She looked fast in the paddock. I was also a little concerned about the four-horse on the outside, but Jose had ridden her before and he said she's not that fast. I said, 'OK, you're going to be sitting second to the two.' And he said, 'that's probably where we'll be, sitting right outside.' It totally went upside down. The two doesn't break and then she comes rushing up through, but Jose is such a pro and he never loses his cool. When he needed to hold his ground, he did–and I think that makes a difference.”

Second dam Alpha Mama (Unbridled's Song) is a sister to GISW Marylebone, and she is also responsible for GSW Alpha Kitten (Tale of the Cat). The winner is Downtown Mama's first progeny, but she does have a yearling filly by Maclean's Music and was bred to Violence last year.

CICADA S., $100,000, Aqueduct, 3-18, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:13.72, ft.
1–DOWNTOWN MISCHIEF, 118, f, 3, by Into Mischief
          1st Dam: Downtown Mama, by Speightstown
          2nd Dam: Alpha Mama, by Unbridled's Song
          3rd Dam: Desert Queen, by Wavering Monarch
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O/B-Lady Sheila Stable LLC (NY); T-Linda
Rice; J-Jose Lezcano. $55,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0,
$133,100.
2–Tappin Josie, 122, f, 3, Anchor Down–Homemaker, by
Afternoon Deelites. ($15,000 Ylg '21 EASOCT). O-Darryl E.
Abramowitz; B-Charles Blanford (PA); T-Horacio De Paz.
$20,000.
3–Fabulously Funny, 119, f, 3, Practical Joke–Just Fabulous, by
Include. ($210,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Harold
Lerner LLC, AWC Stables, Nehoc Stables, Scott K. Akman and
Paul Braverman; B-International Equities Holding, Inc. (KY);
T-Anthony W. Dutrow. $12,000.
Margins: 1HF, 3HF, 3HF. Odds: 0.50, 9.30, 9.20.
Also Ran: Fancy Azteca, Hot Little Thing, Musicmansandy.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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