12/14/17
State-bred fillies clash at Aqueduct
By Bob Ehalt
It’s another Saturday at frigid Aqueduct and New York State-bred fillies will get their moment in the spotlight.
The featured race is a $150,000 New York Stallion Series Fifth Avenue Division series stakes, a six-furlong test for 2-year-old fillies bred in the Empire State.
The 7-5 favorite is Pure Silver, a daughter of Mission Impazible who was an open stakes winner at Saratoga earlier in the year.
Trained by seven-time Eclipse Award-winner Todd Pletcher, Pure Silver beat state-breds in a maiden race and then a stakes in her first two starts, each time winning by a length and a half. She then exploded with a huge effort when she took on open company for the first time, winning the Grade 2 Adirondack Stakes by 9 ½ lengths.
Pletcher then tried her in the Grade 1 Spinaway where she faded to fourth. After a dismal showing in the Maid O Mist against state-breds, she bounced back with a second in the Key Cents and seems to be heading into Saturday’s race on an upswing in form.
The main threat could come from Miss Hot Stones (8-5), who is coming off a 7 ¾-length maiden win after finishing second in her first two starts.
Another major player in the field of six figures to be Wegetsdamunnys (7-2), a shipper from Finger Lakes who was a lopsided winner against allowance company in her last start. Prior to that, the Jeremiah Englehart-trained filly was second in a state-bred stakes.
“She’s coming into the race doing well and it seems like she’s always very straight forwarded,” Englehart said. “She gives us a good, honest effort every time. Hopefully, she can compete with these horses and give us a big effort.”
Others in the field of six include Velvet Trinni (15-1), Aunt Babe (12-1) and Beaux Arts (20-1).