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Annascaul cuts back in distance for $135K Stewart Manor

by Keith McCalmont

Waterville Lake Stables’ New York-homebred Annascaul will turn back in distance from a close sixth-place finish last out in the one-mile Grade 1 Natalma for Saturday’s $135,000 Stewart Manor, a six-furlong outer turf sprint for juvenile fillies, at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Christophe Clement, the American Pharoah chestnut saved ground from fourth position under Frankie Dettori in the Natalma, a one-turn mile over Woodbine’s E.P. Taylor turf course and skimmed the rail into the stretch run to close willingly while missing fifth by a head.

Annascaul made a winning debut in August at Saratoga Race Course with a frontrunning three-length score under Dettori in a 5 1/2-furlong state-bred turf maiden. She is out of the Clement-trained Waterville Lake Stables-campaigned Exchange Rate mare Epping Forest – a six-time winning turf sprinter, who finished second in the 2017 Listed Coronation Cup traveling 5 1/2-furlongs over firm Spa turf.

Clement said Annascaul should appreciate a return to an abbreviated distance.

“She had an impressive win in Saratoga and then we stretched her to a mile which is probably a bit far for her,” Clement said. “She didn't run a bad race, but the distance was wrong.

“It was a big jump from a New York-bred maiden to a Grade 1,” Clement added. “She might be a sprinter. Her dam was a sprinter, and she actually looks like a sprinter. So let’s keep her busy and take it from there.”

Kendrick Carmouche, who guided Annascaul through a half-mile breeze in 50.55 seconds Friday over the Belmont Park dirt training track, picks up the mount from post 7.

Stylish maiden winner Duboff [post 5, Luis Rivera, Jr.] scratched out of the 1 1/16-mile Listed Chelsey Flower on October 20 here in favor of this spot for trainer Gregg Sacco.

The New Jersey-bred daughter of Handsome Mike, owned by Cal-Ram Racing and Sacco’s son and assistant William Sacco, is named after Sacco’s late step-father, Steven Duboff, who was a singer-songwriter of prominence responsible for co-writing Crispian St. Peter’s “The Pied Piper” as well as “The Rain The Park and Other Things” and “We Can Fly” by The Cowsills.

“He was a singer-songwriter in the ‘60s and was a record producer for Tom Petty, Steely Dan, The Turtles - he wrote for everybody,” Sacco said. “I was telling my son about him and how he was such a cool guy, so why not name a horse after him. He was a native New Yorker, wrote a lot of music and played with a lot of bands.”

Duboff endured a troubled debut September 14 sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs against open company at Monmouth Park when steadied and shuffled back to 10th-of-12 under Melissa Iorio. However, the talented bay persevered and rallied to finish third at odds of 40-1, landing 3 3/4-lengths back of the victorious I’mwishingonastar.

Duboff returned on six days' rest at the Meadowlands to wire a field of fellow state-breds traveling five furlongs over firm footing, showing the way through splits of 22.29 seconds and 44.84 en route to a 4 1/2-length score under Iorio in a final time of 56.70. The winning effort registered a 52 Beyer Speed Figure.

“Based on her action we thought she'd like the grass,” Sacco said. “She ran super the first time - she came out of it really well - and we brought her back in six days as it was the only race in the book for New Jersey-breds. We took advantage of it, and she ran the way we thought she would that night and she won pretty convincingly.”

The $4,500 OBS June 2-Year-Old and Horses of Racing Age Sale purchase is out of the stakes-placed Pico Central mare Marquet Madness - a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire New York-bred Discreet Marq, who captured the 2013 Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks going nine furlongs.

Yougottahavehope [post 1, Dylan Davis], a New York homebred for Barry Schwartz, was a close third last out in the in the Grade 3 Matron on October 6 here for trainer Horacio De Paz.

The Twirling Candy dark bay was piloted through her first two starts by Ricardo Santana, Jr., winning her debut sprinting six furlongs over the Spa main track on August 4 with a powerful frontrunning effort to best next-out winner Scythian by 5 1/4-lengths. Scythian subsequently stretched out and switched to turf to break her maiden at the Spa before taking the Grade 2 Miss Grillo here to earn a berth into the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Yougottahavehope also switched to turf but remained at a sprint distance in the Matron, a six-furlong outer turf sprint over firm footing. There, the talented dark bay exited the outermost post 12 and tracked the early foot of Flirting With Time and reopposing Laurice through swift splits of 21.58 seconds and 44.48. She rallied into contention through the turn and took command with a furlong to run but could not fend off the victorious Abientot, who was a neck better than Civetta. Abientot will compete in Friday’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

“She’s a nice filly,” De Paz said. “I had high hopes for her when she first came in. She ran at Saratoga but then got sick on me. I had thought maybe we could have made the Breeders’ Cup with her.

“She’s doing good, and we’ll give her a shot,” De Paz continued. “She’s not too shabby on the dirt either, so I don’t know if we’ll try her back on the dirt once before we turn her out, depending on how she runs here. We’ve got lots of options with her.”

Yougottahavehope is out of the stakes-placed No Nay Never mare Beechwood Ella, a full-sister to multiple graded stakes-placed Sterling Crest.

Bregman Family Racing’s maiden winner Laurice [post 4, Javier Castellano, blinkers ON] enters from a pace-pressing fifth in the Grade 3 Matron.

Trained by George Weaver, the Bolt d’Oro bay chased Flirting With Time and took command briefly late in the turn but was overtaken by a cavalry charge of late runners to finish 2 1/2-lengths back of the victorious Abientot.

Laurice utilized similar tactics in her winning debut on August 21 at Saratoga, pressing the pace before taking command to notch a half-length score in a 5 1/2-furlong sprint over firm footing on August 31.

The $460,000 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase is out of the unraced Candy Ride mare Major Z. Her second dam, the stakes-placed Double Major, is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winner Shared Belief.

A talented field includes the Carlos David-trained pair of stakes-placed Me Governor [post 2, Jorge Ruiz] and maiden winner Blossoming Erudite [post 9, Eliseo Ruiz]; stakes-placed Perfect Figure [post 3, Jose Lezcano] for dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox; along maiden winners Strong Like Sara [post 6, Abner Adorno] for trainer John Servis, and Annie Goodbody [post 8, Romero Maragh] for conditioner Patrick Reynolds.

The Stewart Manor is slated as Race 8 on Saturday’s stacked 11-race card, which also features the Listed $150,000 Nashua in Race 2, the Listed $150,000 Artie Schiller in Race 4 and the Listed $150,000 Tempted in Race 10. First post Saturday is 11:20 a.m. Eastern.

The Big A will be open to the public from 10:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Saturday so racing fans can watch and wager on the simulcast of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships from Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California. Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup program is headlined by the Grade 1, $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

The Breeders’ Cup World Championships kicks off on Friday, November 1 with five races on its Future Stars program, highlighted by the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Aqueduct will host a nine-race card Friday at Belmont at the Big, featuring the $135,000 Atlantic Beach in Race 8. First post Friday is 12:40 p.m. with the property open for simulcasting from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Belmont at the Big A fall meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont at the Big A, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.