Prospect Watch: Check out these 6 at Aqueduct, Oaklawn
February is winding down, but racing action is heating up. The final weekend of the month includes highly promising maiden special weights for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct and Oaklawn Park, with a half-brother to Point of Honor and Wicked Whisper among the expected starters.
Let’s highlight half a dozen of the best-bred runners slated to debut:
Saturday
Aqueduct Race 5: Maiden special weight (six furlongs, 2:50 p.m. EST)
No. 3 Knight Legend
Age: 3
Pedigree: Street Sense–To the Brim, by Ascot Knight
Purchase price: $240,000
Trainer: George Weaver
It seems safe to say Knight Legend has the pedigree to succeed running long. Sire Street Sense won the 2007 Kentucky Derby, and dam To the Brim previously has foaled the stakes-winning route runners Duff and Bold Curlin.
With this in mind, it seems unlikely Knight Legend will show his best sprinting six furlongs on debut. But down the road, when he tackles longer distances, look for this $240,000 auction acquisition to develop in a promising direction.
No. 6 Highly Respected
Age: 3
Pedigree: Dialed In–Revered, by Dixie Union
Purchase price: $65,000
Trainer: Chad Brown
Since 2017, trainer Chad Brown has compiled a solid 15-for-69 (22 percent) record debuting horses over the Aqueduct main track. This lofty win percentage bodes well for Highly Respected, a son of Grade 1 Florida Derby winner Dialed In.
Dialed In sires a solid 11 percent winners from first-time starters, and the dam side of Highly Respected’s pedigree is geared toward early success as well – half-brother By Your Side won his debut as a juvenile shortly before adding the Sanford (G3) to his resume.
Highly Respected has put together a solid work tab at Palm Beach Downs, so this Triple Crown nominee looks ready to fire a strong shot in his first run under colors. Keep in mind, jockey Manuel Franco has gone 4-for-8 (50 percent) teaming up with Brown over the last two months.
No. 8 Flowing River
Age: 3
Pedigree: Laoban–Flomar, by Two Punch
Purchase price: $25,000
Trainer: Anthony Dutrow
Could Flowing River be something special? Though he sold for only $25,000 as a juvenile, Flowing River brings promising credentials to his debut. For starters, he’s been nominated to the Triple Crown. For another, he has shown meaningful speed during morning training, most notably blazing a bullet half-mile in 47 seconds over the Belmont Park training track.
Trainer Anthony Dutrow hasn’t saddled a winning first-time starter in the last three years, but 10 of his 26 starters during that timeframe have cracked the trifecta. Overall, Dutrow’s win rate with debuting runners stands at 15 percent since 2000, so don’t be surprised if Flowing River outruns expectations on Saturday.
No. 9 Mystic Quest
Age: 3
Pedigree: Curlin–Zayanna, by Bernardini
Purchase price: N/A
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
One of the most exciting horses debuting this week is Mystic Quest. A son of two-time Horse of the Year and elite sire Curlin, Mystic Quest is a full brother to Black-Eyed Susan (G2) winner Point of Honor (who placed five times at the Grade 1 level) and a half-brother to Frizette (G1) heroine Wicked Whisper.
Since 2017, trainer Todd Pletcher has gone 11-for-39 (28 percent) debuting horses over the Aqueduct dirt, so Mystic Quest – much like Highly Respected – figures to be primed for a strong performance. The chestnut colt has turned in promising workouts at Palm Beach Downs (including five furlongs in 1:00.6 seconds) and arguably ranks as the runner to beat.
Oaklawn Race 10: Maiden special weight (six furlongs, 5:49 p.m.)
No. 6 Lundberg
Age: 3
Pedigree: Uncle Mo–Runway Ready, by Mr. Greeley
Purchase price: $400,000
Trainer: Brad Cox
Uncle Mo was a juvenile champion who sires 14 percent winners from first-time starters, a stat that includes the winning debut of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist. Runway Ready was quick enough to place in the Giant’s Causeway, sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs over the Keeneland turf course.
This is a pedigree containing plenty of speed, so look for Lundberg to come out running on Saturday. High-percentage trainer Brad Cox has sent Lundberg through a promising series of workouts, including a swift half mile in 48 seconds at Oaklawn Park, and jockey Ricardo Santana (a 29 percent winner teaming up with Cox over the last two months) is named to ride. What’s not to like?
No. 11 Plausible Denile
Age: 3
Pedigree: Pioneerof the Nile–Kid Silver, by Silver Ghost
Purchase price: $375,000
Trainer: James P. DiVito
It’s easy to understand why Plausible Denile sold for $375,000 as a juvenile. The gray colt is a son of Pioneerof the Nile (the sire of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah) out of Kid Silver, the dam of stakes-winning sprinters Lucy N Ethel, Jake N Elwood and Hey Kiddo.
Plausible Denile has been living up to his training during morning workouts. On Feb. 11, he clocked five furlongs from the Oaklawn starting gate in 1:00.6 seconds. Then on Monday, he traversed the same conditions in a bullet 59.4 seconds. Dismiss this well-bred gray colt at your own risk.