I might have found my early Kentucky Derby horse.
I really liked the effort of Awesome Again in his Gotham Stakes (G3) win on Saturday. It was the colt’s first start off a four month layoff and his first go over conventional dirt.
Sure, he did not beat a very tough group. But the colt appears to have plenty of upside potential, and will be seen next in the Wood Memorial (G1) at Aqueduct on April 3.
The colt has the pedigree, a son of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Awesome Again out of the Mr. Prospector mare Houdini’s Honey.
It gives Eclipse Award winning jockey Julien Leparoux another possible Derby mount.
The jockey is the regular rider of American Lion, the Eoin Harty trainee that was third in the Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita in his last start. The colt is being pointed toward the San Felipe or possibly the Sunland Derby in his next outing.
Awesome Act was part of the field in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. The field closed at 3/1 on Sunday.
I did find the colt at 20/1 at one of the offshore racebooks. Other runners that have my interest in the futures are Conveyance and Dublin.
Conveyance closed at 28/1 in Pool 2. The Bob Baffert trainee makes his next start in the Arkansas Derby or Wood Memorial.
Dublin is trained by another hall of fame conditioner in D. Wayne Lukas. The colt closed at 10/1 in Pool 2, but doing some shopping online, I can find a more generous price on the son of Afleet Alex, who will make his next start in the Rebel Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
Let’s make some dough at the Big A today.
To purchase my full card report for Aqueduct that includes analysis, selections, fair odds, and wagering recommendations for today click here.
Here is today's opening race from Aqueduct to get our day off to a good start:
AQU Race 1 $12,500 (1:00 ET)
#3 Emmz 8/5
#2 Magical Solution 4/1
#6 Artistic Ability 3/1
#7 Valuable Lady 5/1
Analysis: #3 Emmz saved ground early, altered course to the outside in the stretch and made a good later rally to finish in the runner up spot, beaten 1 1/2 lengths for the top spot. The filly caught an inner surface that was kind to speed that day. It was a solid effort in her first go against winners, the filly breaking her maiden two back. The filly owns a solid pace profile throughout and hard to knock anything Pletcher has been sending out, the trainer is hitting at a 38% clip at the meeting.
#2 Magical Solution pressed the early pace, opened up a lead on the far turn and could not hold off the winner late, beaten a half length for the top spot. The filly was nearly seven lengths clear of the rest of the field in the effort. Espinoza may have made his move a bit prematurely last out, her maiden score coming from off the pace.
Wagering
WIN: #3 to win at 8/5 or better.
EX: 2,3 / 2,3,6,7
TRI: 2,3 / 2,3,6,7 / 2,3,4,6,7
Today's Featured Race of the Day from Aqueduct:
AQU Race 8 Alw $43,000N1X (4:25 ET)
#2 Spell Check 5/1
#7 Ampart Ridge 2/1
#3 Gold Record 3/1
#5 Autumnlady 7/2
Analysis: #2 Spell Check came off nearly a year layoff to post her maiden win in a good looking effort. She had finished in the runner up spot in 6 of her first 8 career starts before hitting the sidelines. She obviously has matured, and I am looking for her to move forward off her maiden win and has a good shot of winning right back here in her first try against winners.
#7 Ampart Ridge set the early fractions and battled on gamely in the stretch, coming up a nose shy at the wire. The third place finisher in the race was Dancing Daisy, who came back to beat state bred Alw-2 optional claimers in her next start on Mar. 4. She owns a solid pace profile throughout with the edge in early and mid pace numbers. The cut back to a mile should suit.
Wagering
WIN: #2 to win at 3/1 or better.
EX: 2,7 / 2,3,5,7
TRI: 2,7 / 2,3,5,7 / 1,2,3,5,7
Live Longshots:
These are price plays for exotic players looking to find a couple of extra contenders to use in their trifecta and superfecta wagers. Or for those with smaller bankrolls, you might want to get in a small win-place wager.
Aqueduct
R6: #3 Digger Karakorum 10/1
R6: #8 Fortunate Run 12/1
R7: #6 Centripital 12/1
R9: #10 Omega Cipher 12/1
Good luck today!
