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Law Professor back in action in $150K Queens County

by Mary Eddy

John Holleman’s graded stakes-winning millionaire Law Professor tops a competitive 11-horse field for the Listed $150,000 Queens County, a nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds and up, on Sunday, December 29 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Rob Atras, Law Professor will make his first start since October, and was scratched from the Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap presented by TwinSpires on December 7 in favor of this event.

“Time will tell if this was the right move,” Atras said, with a laugh. “The Cigar Mile was pretty salty and with this race being a mile and an eighth, hopefully we made the right decision.”

The 6-year-old Constitution gelding was last seen earning a 98 Beyer Speed Figure for a nose victory over multiple graded/group-placed Bendoog in a nine-furlong optional claiming tilt on October 25 here under returning rider Kendrick Carmouche, with the reopposing Tabeguache finishing another 1 1/4 lengths back in third.

The effort marked Law Professor’s first start since an off-the-board finish in the Lake Ouachita in May at Oaklawn Park during a brief tenure with trainer Wade Rarick.

“He really dug in to win off a long layoff and beat a nice horse like that,” Atras said. “It looked like we were going to go right by him and that horse fought, too, so I thought it was a real gutsy effort. Hopefully, we can build off of it. I don’t think the time between races is an issue for him.”

Law Professor has won 3-of-4 starts this year, including a dominant five-length trouncing of a local one-mile tilt in February that produced a 100 Beyer. Atras said the strong-minded Law Professor has found his best stride again since returning to his barn in early summer.

“He’s kind of a tricky horse to train and is very temperamental, but he really seemed to put it together going into his last race and showed it on the track,” Atras said.

Law Professor boasts a perfect in-the-money record of 7-5-1-1 at the Big A, including open-lengths wins in this event last January and the Listed Excelsior last April, as well as a strong second to Life Is Good in the 2022 Grade 1 Woodward.

“He seems to really like it there and he’s had some issues with different surfaces – even some issues in the paddock with nervousness and stuff like this, but whatever it is about Aqueduct, he likes it there,” Atras said, with a laugh. “We’ll just try to keep running him there.”

The dark bay’s consistent 24-9-2-3 record includes a win in the off-the-turf Grade 2 Mathis Mile in 2021 at Santa Anita Park when in the care of conditioner Michael McCarthy, as well as a stakes win on turf in the restricted Listed Tapit in September 2022 at Kentucky Downs.

Law Professor will emerge from post 7 in rein to Carmouche.

Steep opposition will be provided by Jeffrey Drown’s Tabeguache as he vies for his second career stakes score. Trained by dual Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox, the 4-year-old son of Into Mischief returned to the winner’s circle last out on November 24 with a determined nose victory over Winit in a one-mile optional claiming tilt.

Ridden by Hall of Famer Joel Rosario, Tabeguache stalked two lengths off the pace in fifth before steadily improving position throughout and looming in third with a five-wide bid in the turn. The bay colt dug in gamely in the final stages to run down his rival just in time and earn his first win since last August. The effort was awarded a 94 Beyer, one point lower than a career-best 95 he earned for his third to Law Professor in the aforementioned optional claimer.

“He finally broke through in New York and he’s one that has been a barn and rider favorite,” said Cox’s New York assistant Dustin Dugas. “He’s got a cool, nice stride to him and a good way of going. It was nice to see him win. He always gives good efforts but just seems to be second or third-best. He bounced out of his race in good shape and we’re excited for this one.”

Tabeguache’s last win came in the 2023 St. Louis Derby in August 2023 at Fanduel Sportsbook and Horse Racing, but the consistent colt has hit the board in 6-of-9 starts since, including a head defeat in a local nine-furlong optional claiming tilt in March and a narrow third in a similar event in May.

Dugas said Tabeguache continues to show he is a stakes-quality horse both with his victory last out and in his daily training.

“He won a stakes before and he looks like a stakes horse and trains like one, so we’ll see if he can do it again,” Dugas said.

Manny Franco rides from post 11.

FMQ Stables’ Masmak [post 1, Joel Rosario] looks to make it three in-a-row after a strong allowance victory against elders last out on November 10 here. The sophomore son of Vino Rosso graduated at fifth asking versus elders on October 5 over the local going and followed with his half-length score over Emirates Road to ace his first test against winners and earn a 96 Beyer. Both efforts came at a one-turn mile.

Trained by Rick Dutrow, Jr., both of the chestnut’s wins have come from off the pace, including his maiden win when making up nine lengths to score by a comfortable 1 1/4 lengths. Masmak made his first three outings for conditioner Brad Cox, including two attempts around two turns that resulted in off-the-board finishes.

While Masmak has done his best running from off-the-pace – including a strong debut for his conditioner when second in a seven-furlong sprint at Saratoga – Dutrow, Jr. said he expects the colt could show a new dimension when stretching back out around two turns.

“Going two turns, I’m really not expecting that [deep rally],” Dutrow, Jr. said. “I think he should be placed more forwardly naturally. I really don’t know his real good running style or his complete game yet. He ran good at a one-turn mile, and he ran big going seven-eighths at Saratoga, so we’re taking a big shot here.

“We could just go into a ‘two-other-than’ mile and we’d feel real confident about that, but if he isn’t up to this, we can always go back to the ‘two-other-than,’” Dutrow, Jr. continued. “Why not? He’s doing good and running over a track he’s done well over, so if we’re going to take a chance, we might as well do it on something he already likes.”

The $475,000 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase is out of the graded stakes-placed Harlan’s Holiday mare Nite in Rome, making him a half-brother to multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Three Technique.

Completing the field are dual graded stakes-winners Instant Coffee [post 2, Luis Rivera, Jr.] for trainer Chad Summers and near-millionaire Repo Rocks [post 6, Andrew Wolfsont] for trainer Jamie Ness; graded stakes-placed Film Star [post 9, Jose Lezcano] for trainer Linda Rice; multiple stakes-placed Quality Chic [post 5, Dylan Davis] for trainer Jason Cook; and allowance-winners Unlimitedpotential [post 8, Silvestre Gonzalez] for trainer Ilkay Kantarmaci, Phileas Fogg [post 4, Romero Maragh] for conditioner Gustavo Rodriguez, Curbstone [post 3, Madison Olver] for conditioner Tom Morley and the Panagiotis Synnefias-trained Surface to Air [post 10, Fernando Jara].

The Queens County is slated as Race 8 on the nine-race December 29 program, which marks Closing Day of the Aqueduct fall meet. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack 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 Aqueduct Racetrack, 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.