Pick 4 of the Week: Aqueduct Saturday [Sept. 27]

A total of five graded stakes events will headline a fine Saturday of racing at Aqueduct, with three of the marquee events being part of the middle Pick 4 on the 12-race card. 

Race 4 Wager

• 50-cent Pick 4: 2,5 with 1,3 with 2,6,7 with 4,6,8,9,10,11 ($36)

Race 4 – Belmont Turf Sprint S. (G3)

The opening leg of the difficult sequence will have seven speed six furlongs on the green. #2 Dancing Buck will be a big price while making just a second run off the extended layoff. He was not especially sharp in his comeback attempt at Saratoga on Aug. 31. However, the Michelle Nevin pupil is four-for-seven on the oval with a second, and the War Dancer gelding looks like controlling speed in the dash. He won the race for fun in 2022, and it would be a great way to commence the play. 

#5 Twenty Six Black, also by War Dancer, comes off a pair of fine runs at Saratoga, and if he can do the same here, then the bay will be tough to deny beneath Prat. 

Race 5 – Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. (G1)

Trainer Charlie Appleby holds a strong hand with two top-class performers in the compact field of five. While I don’t think the race is a clear-cut one, the duo of Sword Dancer S. (G1) hero #1 El Cordobes and globetrotting superstar #3 Rebel’s Romance will be a formidable pair for Godolphin. 

Race 6 – Woodward S. (G2)

Seven will vie in the competitive nine-furlong tilt in the third leg. Multiple Grade 1 winner #7 Locked is two-for-two on the oval, led by a fine win in the 2024 Cigar Mile H. (G2) in his most recent local run. The son of Gun Runner comes in fresh, and I’m expecting him to run his best with Johnnie V back in the irons. 

I’ll also include #2 Post Time and #6 Phileas Fogg, as both are surely talented enough to win the historic contest. 

Race 7 – Maiden Special Weight

A dozen juvenile fillies will travel 1 1/16 miles in the closing piece of the play. I can’t find a standout in the tilt and will use multiple contenders to cap the sequence. #4 Atenea, #6 Spectacular Belle, #8 Livin the Breeze, #9 Cosmic Candy Girl, #10 Considerate City, and #11 Valiant Diva will be the ones to close things out.