Aigue Marine Closes Career With Long Island Win

 

Haras du Mezeray and Skymarc Farm, Inc.’s Aigue Marine finally found the winners’ circle in her third attempt at the Grade 3, $200,000 Long Island Handicap at Aqueduct on Saturday, as the 5-year-old mare closes out her racing career.

 

Invading Humor showed the way through the opening mile and a quarter under fractions of :24.89, :51.16, 1:18.00 and 1:44.67 for the opening mile. Aigue Marine settled just behind Viva Rafaela (BRZ) on the inside in third ahead of Danza Cavallo and Giant Shadow. The rest of the field traveled closely together with Songoficeandfire and Meri Shika trailing early.

 

Invading Humor relinquished her lead exiting the final turn as the field converged with three-sixteenths of a mile to go. Danza Cavallo, favored at 8-5, took control and attempted to draw away from the field. Guided by Hall of Famer Johnny Velazquez, Aigue Marine dropped in along the rail ahead of the fading Invading Humor and drove home to catch the favorite by a neck at the wire.

 

Maximova finished third while the scratched-in also-eligible Songoficeandfire closed from the back to finish in fourth.

 

Tabreed (GB), Meri Shika (FR), Auld Alliance (IRE), Hellenistic, Invading Humor, Viva Rafaela, Giant Shadow and Embarr completed the order of finish. Angegreen (ITY) and also-eligible Bohemian Dance (IRE) were scratched.

 

Held on a yielding turf course, the final time for the 1 ½ mile marathon was 2:35.37. 

 

Aigue Marine was one of three Long Island ‘Cap entrants for winning trainer Christophe Clement, who also saddled Tabreed (GB) and Maximova, but today was all Aigue Marine.

 

"She went a bit off form last time, otherwise she's always been a nice filly,” Clement said. “We've tried to win the Long Island with her for a few years; it's wonderful she's done it this year. She's going to go back to Europe and become a broodmare now.”

 

Sixth in this race last year and a close third in the 2012 edition, today the winner paid $15.20, $6.00 and $4.90. Aigue Marine came into this race following a fifth-place effort in the Grade 3 Glen Falls at Saratoga on Aug. 31 after scoring her first Grade 3 win in the Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes at Delaware in July.

 

The daughter of Galileo improves her lifetime record to five wins, four seconds and three thirds from 17 starts to amass career earnings of $423,555.