Saturday’s card at the Aqueduct Racecourse offers high quality-packed fields. The G1 Carter Handicap, where Speaker’s Corner needs to defy the biggest weight to score another big victory while being disadvantaged over talented First Captain or last year’s runner-up Mind Control.
The race is held at the distance of seven furlongs, which applies to a couple of G3 events as well, the Distaff Handicap for fillies and mares and the Bay Shore Stakes for three-year-olds. In the former, the G1 winner Search Results returns to the tracks after a long layoff, and in the latter, not only Todd Pletcher is looking forward to a clash of his three-year-olds, smart Dean’s List and Wit, who returns from a hiatus, too.
Distaff Handicap
This G3 dirt race is meant for four-year-old fillies and older mares who will compete at the distance of seven furlongs. With the purse of $150,000 up for grabs, the races lured in six participants, including highly talented Search Results trained by Chad Brown.
The four-year-old daughter of Flat Out has hit the track six times and has never been worse than third as she achieved her most significant victory in the G1 Acorn Stakes in June. After that triumph, Search Results finished third in the G1 Longines Test Stakes; however, she’s been on hiatus since August and might not be fresh enough to handle her talented rivals, and also the biggest weight she’s about to carry on Saturday.
Without a hint of a doubt, Search Results should be the best filly in the field, but the weight could stop her here, especially when a trio of her opponents will be considerably advantaged over her. Therefore, the facts that she didn’t run for more than seven months and will carry such a enormous weight makes her chance much less appealing than usual.
Four-year-old Dealing Justice will probably attempt winning her first Graded race by employing a front-running tactic, but she needs to fine more than then to play an impactful role here, which is the case of the impressive winner of a Stakes race, four-year-old Easy To Bless, too. Moreover, she doesn’t look like the most reliable horse in the field, so five-year-old Kept Waiting also deserves mention, given she scored a black-type race last time out. Back then, she concluded a victorious hattrick and should be taken into consideration once again.
Five-year-old Glass Ceiling has three triumphs in a row under the belt, too, succeeding in the G3 Barbara Fritchie Stakes in February, but together with Zaajel, they’re together with Search Results disadvantaged over the above mentioned trio. Zaajel has suggested that her class be enough to play a significant role among the Graded company as she bagged the G2 Mother Goose Stakes in June; however, she failed to deliver in both previous runs and subsequent runs. Glass Ceiling is a fine mare, weight and her late-running style could prevent her from adding another prestigious victory to her record here.
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds courtesy of JazzSports |
| Easy to Bless | Jacqueline A. Davis | +1200 |
| Dealing Justice | Manuel Franco | +2000 |
| Zaajel | Joel Rosario | +600 |
| Search Results | Jose L. Ortiz | +100 |
| Kept Waiting | Kendrick Carmouche | +800 |
| Glass Ceiling | Dylan Davis | +160 |
Our Distaff Handicap Top Choice is:
Search Results who is just the best horse in the field and should show it despite the weight and layoff. If you want to go against the favorite, Kept Waiting could defy the odds and run a big race here.
Carter Handicap
This $300,000 race is open to four-year-old and older horses who are about to compete at the distance of seven furlongs. As the G1 dirt event is a handicap, the chances of eight participants are supposed to be more or less equal, which is only supported by the fact that with one exception, all of the contestants scored a victory last time out and at the first sight, all of them are quite decent horses.
The biggest weight awaits four-year-old Speaker’s Corner, a progressive trainee of William Mott that bagged two Graded triumphs in 2022, especially the G2 Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes in March. His win was so impressive that despite being faced with big weight and exciting company on Saturday, Speaker’s Corner deserves to be a favorite here. Although, he might prefer a slightly longer trip.
Eight-year-old Drafted defied the odds in February when the gelding recorded his premiere Graded victory in the US as he easily won the G3 Toboggan Stakes. Because he’ll carry one of the lower weights and is in form, he needs to be considered once more. Six-year-old War Tocsin is the only participant who didn’t win on his most recent outings, but he took a close second place at the G3 scene.
A trio of contestants then bagged Listed triumphs last time out, but six-year-old Mind Control recorded numerous Graded victories in the past, including a couple of G1s. In 2021, he finished second in the Carter Handicap and scored the G2 John A. Nerud Stakes; still, the mentioned Listed success came in September.
Therefore, he probably won’t be as fresh as Bank on Sea and Green Light Go who achieved their Listed victories in 2022. It’s important to note the latter won a G2 in 2019 and placed at the G3 scene last year, so the most recent Listed outing could’ve been meant only as a trial for Saturday’s event and he should aim at a nice place.
Chad Brown relies here on four-year-old Reinvestment Risk who looked like a promising two-year-old, but upon failing to impress at the Breeders’ Cup meeting 2020, the bay had just one start in 2021. He commenced the new season with a clear Allowance win, so in Saturday’s race, he should suggest whether he really could be a G1 horse.
He’s about to carry the smallest weight, while the last to mention, First Captain, carries sort of optimal weight. He also relishes the distance and, given his premiere start of the new season resulted in a game win; the four-year-old colt could strike gold here on his journey towards the elite.
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds courtesy of JazzSports |
| Reinvestment Risk | Manuel Franco | +400 |
| Green Light Go | Dylan Davis | +450 |
| Bank On Shea | Trevor McCarthy | +1500 |
| Mind Control | Joel Rosario | +350 |
| First Captain | Jose L. Ortiz | +800 |
| War Tocsin | Dexter Haddock | +2000 |
| Drafted | Kendrick Carmouche | +1500 |
| Speaker’s Corner | Junior Alvarado | +160 |
Our Carter Handicap Betting Pick is:
Speaker’s Corner who seems to be the classiest participant and should handle the weight. If you want to go against the favourite, First Captain do well as his will to fight is enormous.
Bay Shore Stakes
Ten three-year-old colts and geldings will line up in this G3 dirt race with the purse of $200,000. At the distance of seven furlongs, trainer Todd Pletcher seems ready to take the prize as he prepares two colts for the race, while both of them have strong claims here.
Let’s start with Dean’s List, who broke his maiden in 2021 at the first attempt, then scored the Allowance race, and looked eager to please the connections in the G3 Gotham Stakes by earning some points towards the Kentucky Derby. And he did so by running in second behind Morello, but instead of stepping up the trip next time, Dean’s List returns to a shorter one where he has a big chance to strike gold gate-to-wire as he enjoys setting the pace in the race.
His colleague named Wit is another exciting three-year-old here, given he collected two places at the G1 in 2021. Upon breaking his maiden, he recorded his premiere success at the G3 level by eight lengths, but when faced with fiercer competition, he wasn’t entirely able to keep up.
The layoff probably did him some good, and on Saturday, he’ll be primed to draw on his initial successes. Seven furlongs should suit him, but he’s about to carry the most significant weight here.
The Rudy R. Rodriguez bound Doctor Jeff also has some experience with Graded races as he participated in two G2 events without creating a big impression; still, his most recent win at the black-type scene was a fine one. However, he achieved it in November.
In 2022, Scaramouche, trained by Guadalupe Preciado, broke his maiden and smoothly drew clear from his rivals in a black-type race despite stumbling at the gate, hinting he could do well among Graded company. The last to discuss here is Chad Brown’s charge Highly Respected with just one outing and one victory under his belt, yet it’s never wise to discard Brown’s runners, especially if they broke their maiden decisively as this bay colt did.
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds courtesy of JazzSports |
| Fromanothamutha | Dylan Davis | +1200 |
| Runninsonofagun | Kendrick Carmouche | +1500 |
| Doctor Jeff | Jose Lezcano | +1200 |
| Juggler | Frankie Pennington | +5000 |
| Dean’s List | Joel Rosario | +250 |
| Highly Respected | Manuel Franco | +400 |
| Outkissed | Forest Boyce | +3000 |
| Scaramouche | Trevor McCarthy | +2000 |
| Wit | Jose L. Ortiz | +200 |
| Life Is Great | Eric Cancel | +600 |
Our pick for the Bay Shore Stakes is:
Dean’s List, who can use his early speed to score the race from the front; moreover, he’s been doing well in 2022. Wit is also respected, but he needs to show he hasn’t forgotten anything he suggested as a junior.
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