Salutos Amigos rallies for Tom Fool win but speed still strong at Aqueduct

AQUEDUCT NOTEBOOK

There was a single graded event at Aqueduct this past week.

Tom Fool H. (G3): Trainer David Jacobson and Southern Equine’s SALUTOS AMIGOS (Salute the Sarge) moved eight wide at the top of the lane and put in a huge late rally to post a 2 1/2-length score beneath Cornelio Velasquez. The classy six-year-old sped six panels on the fast main oval in 1:10.

Track Stats

A total of 36 races were held over the inner strip at the Long Island, New York, venue, with favorites winning at a 44 percent rate and the top two betting choices combining for 61 percent of the wins during the week. From 36 races on the dirt, 12 animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (33 percent).

Speed on the inner was not as dominant as last week, but it was still very good with a dozen leading throughout, including four apiece on Thursday and Saturday. Of the 12, eight came in sprint runs while the remaining four occurred in two-turn events.

Meet Totals

RACES:               470

DIRT:                   470

FAVORITES:        184      (39 percent)   

2ND CHOICES:   90        (19 percent)   

DIRT WIRE:         136      (29 percent)

HORSES TO WATCH

Thursday (3/10)

3RD – APPEALING MAGGIE (Successful Appeal) sped to the front, opened up a big lead in the lane, and then got home in the clear in securing a second straight score for trainer Michael Hushion. The three-year-old filly has improved her BRIS Speed figure in each lifetime run and could be stakes bound in the near future.

6TH – DAVID ROCKS (Bustin Stones) came up short in the lane on this occasion, but the gelding showed good speed to late stretch in a race he may have needed being off since October. The Bruce Levine pupil should build off of this one and could be in line for a nice 2016 campaign with improvement.

8TH – MAKING HAVOC (Gotcha Gold) earned a healthy 104 BRIS Speed figure in this allowance romp and is surely come back a different animal from a pair of races in 2016 for conditioner Michelle Nevin.

Friday (3/11)

5TH – CLAIR DE LUNE (Malibu Moon) is two-for-two this season with a pair of wire-to-wire wins to her credit, and the three-year-old filly still has a lot of room for growth being so lightly raced. The Chad Brown pupil could be a good one with stakes in her future with more progression.

Saturday (3/12)

2ND – HEY BRO (Congrats) put in a fine effort in the lane to just miss behind a loose-on-the-lead winner, and the four-year-old will be super tough right back with even a slight move forward for conditioner Danny Gargan.

4TH – Todd Pletcher’s NOBLE AND TRUE (Giant’s Causeway) was not very live in the wagering, but the debuting gelding ran a big one going long at first asking. The sophomore was more than nine lengths clear of third while behind a favored winner, and we imagine the Kentucky-bred won’t be a maiden for long.

5TH – SEND IT IN (Big Brown) has now won four straight and five of his last six, while posting a wicked 107 BRIS Speed number in this romp. We’ll tab this Pletcher for a try with black-type foes next time out in near-impeccable form right now.

Sunday (3/13)

6TH – CHUBBY MASTER (Mineshaft) took a short lead in early stretch and poured it on in the lane en route to a fine score for trainer Rudy Rodriguez. We have a hunch the dark bay colt might have more races in him of this nature as he gets more seasoning.

A Look Ahead

There is no graded action this weekend at Aqueduct. Saturday’s $125,000 Correction H. is the feature.