Promising Sprinters Clash in Capossela
A
talented quintuplet of 3-year-old sprinters headed by Majestic Affair
will vie to win the $100,000 Fred "Cappy" Capossela Stakes on Friday,
January 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Majestic
Affair, a son of Majesticperfection, by Harlan's Holiday, enters off a
second-place finish in the James F. Lewis III Stakes on November 15 at
Laurel Park. After an 8 3/4-length debut victory at Canterbury Park the
colt made an ambitious start in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special, in which
he traveled three-wide most of the way and finished eighth. In his next
start, he was roused sharply to a 1 ½-length allowance victory on
October 13 at Parx.
"He's doing very well coming up to this
race and we're happy with the way he has been training," said Chad
Brown, who trains Majestic Affair for James Covello and Thomas and
Dorothy Coleman. "We didn't have him in our barn for a long time
initially, when we took a shot in the Saratoga Special. It didn't work
out, but following that race he came back with a good performance at
Parx, and I thought he finished second to a very good [Steve] Asmussen
horse in Cinco Charlie in the Lewis."
Majestic Affair is the 7-5 morning-line favorite and will break from post 3 with jockey Kendrick Carmouche aboard.
Coming
off an impressive 5 ¼-length maiden victory in his first start, on the
Cigar Mile undercard on November 29 at Aqueduct, Ship Disturber goes out
for trainer Rick Violette and the Elkstone Group.
Making his stakes debut, Ship Disturber will break from post 2, and is 5-2 on the morning line with Jose Ortiz in the irons.
Joe
Franklin, the 2-1 second choice on the morning line, will be making his
fourth career start. While each of his starts have come at a different
racetrack, a change of scenery has yet to bother the Bernstein colt. He
has finished in the money in all three of his starts thus far and enters
off back-to-back victories.
The Kelly Breen trainee began his career with a second-place finish at Laurel Park in September, which he followed up by breaking his maiden on October 3at Keeneland. In his most recent start, an allowance victory on November 29 at Penn National, he moved swiftly to the lead and was ridden out to prevail by two lengths.
Joe Franklin will leave from post 1 for owners George and Lori Hall with C.C. Lopez aboard.
Rounding
out the field are Don Lupe, third-place finisher of an allowance race
at Parx last time out, and Made Bail, shipping in from Maryland, who has
two wins from four starts in at Laurel Park.
Source: NYRA