How to bet the Key Cents Stakes

A cast of nine New York-bred two-year-old fillies will jaunt one mile over the Aqueduct main turf oval in Thursday’s $125,000 Key Cents S. The Chad Brown-trained #5 Maria Callas burned some money at first asking while going long, but made up for that last time out in a dash on this surface. The Caravaggio homebred was asked for run turning for home, and she responded in a big way, eventually driving home a 4 1/4-length maiden winner. 

Key Cents Wagers

• $25 win #5 Maria Callas ($25)
• 50-cent superfecta 5 with 1,4,8 with 1,4,8 with all ($18)

Maria Callas earned a race-best 84 Brisnet Speed rating for her win and has obvious room for improvement going forward with just a pair of lifetime runs to her credit. The gray has recorded a quartet of morning drills in preparation for her stakes debut and looms large in her second try on the surface with Manny Franco retaining the ride. 

#1 She’s Country, one of three fillies in the field for George Weaver, cruised home a facile six-length debut victress while going long at Saratoga in her unveiling, which preceded a fourth-place result in the subsequent Selima S. last time. The $80,000 daughter of Combatant will cut back in distance to a sprint following a pair of route tries to date, and she wouldn’t be a surprise from the fence under Javier Castellano.

Weaver’s #8 Fancy Lights has some speed in a field lacking pace, and the juvenile lass will also have Flavien Prat in the stirrups, so her inclusion is warranted. The gray daughter of Galilean has registered a pair of nice runs in succession on the course in advance of Thursday and figures to receive a favorable voyage while always in range, too. 

The third Weaver pupil, #4 Boomington, was a sharp first-out winner at Saratoga going 1 1/16 miles prior to falling 5 3/4 lengths short in the deep Miss Grillo S. (G2) on the oval last time out. The $260,000 Maxfield filly retreats to a sprint for the first time, and she also drops back in with state-bred company following an ambitious placement most recently. She will make one run from the back beneath John Velazquez.