Boisterous Works for Red Smith

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey looks to have a strong hand in Aqueduct Racetrack’s early turf stakes, with Boisterous aiming to defend his title in the Grade 2, 1 3/8-mile Red Smith Handicap on opening Saturday and Hit It Rich looking to repeat in the Grade 3 Long Island Handicap a week later.

Both horses worked Sunday morning, with Boisterous covering a half-mile over the inner turf in 48.19 and Hit It Rich clocked in 51.03 for the same distance. Boisterous was sent in company with Breeders’ Cup Turf hopeful Point of Entry, who was timed in 47.64.

“Boisterous is doing really, really good,” McGaughey said of the 5-year-old son of Distorted Humor. “He came out of his last race really good and he was dying to work.”

Boisterous picked up a repeat victory in the Grade 3 Knickerbocker at Belmont Park on October 13, which followed a ninth-place finish in the Grade 1 Arlington Million in August. Owned by Phipps Stable, he has four graded stakes wins to his credit.

“I didn’t want to do too much with him in between races, so I waited until today,” McGaughey said. “He worked really well and he ran so good in there last year, I’m hoping he can do it again.”

According to NYRA Stakes Coordinator Andrew Byrnes, Bombaguia, Hailstone, Queens’splatekitten, and Westside Corral are also targeting the Red Smith.

Hit It Rich, a multiple Grade 3 winner, will attempt to cap her career with a second victory in the 1 ½-mile Long Island on November 10. Campaigned by Stuart Janney, III, she most recently finished ninth in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational on September 29 at Belmont.

“She’ll run in the Long Island and that will be it for her,” McGaughey said. “She’s got a date with War Front.”