NYRA Photo

Ellen Jay back to dirt for $135K Garland of Roses

by Mary Eddy

LNJ Foxwoods’ Kentucky homebred Ellen Jay will switch back to the main track for Sunday’s $135,000 Garland of Roses, a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by dual Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox, Ellen Jay was last seen besting fellow sophomore fillies in the Listed Glen Cove sprinting this distance over turf on October 18 here.

The daughter of Constitution improved her turf ledger to 3-for-3 with the pace-pressing victory under Flavien Prat, pouncing in the turn to edge clear to a 1 1/2-length score over Agra. The effort, which followed four starts against elders, was awarded an 87 Beyer Speed Figure and came after earning a career-best 92 Beyer for an allowance romp sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs on August 10 at Ellis Park.

Ellen Jay made her first two starts over dirt, finishing a closing fourth on debut in May at Churchill Downs and following with a well-beaten third in June over the same course. Dustin Dugas, Cox’s New York assistant, said Ellen Jay trains like she is ready to try the main track again in her sixth lifetime start.

“I think she gets over the dirt really well and I don’t have any complaints about her over it,” Dugas said. “I know Flavien the other day thought she warmed up over the dirt good, and she’s always breezed over it in a great way. I don’t see it being any different. She’s growing up and is more mature physically and mentally.”

Ellen Jay is out of LNJ Foxwoods’ Covfefe, whom Cox trained to dual Eclipse Award honors in 2019 as Champion 3-Year-Old Filly and Champion Female Sprinter. Ellen Jay has remained at Belmont Park since her Glen Cove score, posting five works that included a half-mile in 49 seconds flat on Sunday over the dirt training track.

Dugas said he was pleased with the recent breeze.

“She’s doing really good. She’s a very energetic filly and very forward in her training,” Dugas said. “She’s been full of herself, and I’m happy with the way she’s been training.”

Prat retains the mount from post 6.

Storyteller Racing’s Mystic Pleasure [post 7, Florent Geroux] has been a model of consistency for conditioner Rodolphe Brisset, and looks to notch her first stakes victory after three previous placings this year.

The 4-year-old Good Magic chestnut arrives from a prominent second in the six-furlong Listed Dream Supreme on November 9 at Churchill. There, she tracked one length off the early pace and was coaxed along by Florent Geroux in the turn to be within a half-length of the lead, but was outkicked by Upper Case and settled for place 1 1/4 lengths back.

Brisset said he was happy to see the filly deliver the performance after eking out a half-length win on October 13 over Upper Case in a Keeneland optional claimer, a performance that was awarded a career and field-best 93 Beyer.

“It was very good, and we ran her back a little quick off a race at Keeneland where the number came back extremely fast,” Brisset said. “I was 50/50 to run her back, but she was training with good energy and carried good weight, so we decided to go ahead and run her. She ran a really good race and she got beat by a nice filly we beat the time before.”

Mystic Pleasure, who finished third going one mile in both the Listed Groupie Doll at Ellis Park and Twixt at Laurel Park earlier this year, was purchased for $110,000 at the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. She is out of the dual graded stakes-winning Giacomo mare Disposablepleasure.

“I found her at Keeneland and we were able to buy her for a reasonable price and she’s won a few races and placed in some stakes. It would be great for her broodmare career to be able to win a stakes,” Brisset said.

Ken Wheeler, Jr.’s consistent New York-bred dual stakes-winner Kant Hurry Love [post 8, Romero Maragh] returns from a nearly six-month respite dating to a successful title defense in the state-bred Dancin Renee on June 23 here.

Trained by David Duggan, the 5-year-old Kantharos bay was a pacesetting winner of the six-furlong Dancin Renee, where she was pressured early by Majestic Return before disposing of that foe and being met with another challenge from Leeloo. Kant Hurry Love dug in gamely in the lane to win by three-quarter lengths in a final time of 1:10.11.

After making her first 11 outings for trainer Christophe Clement, Kant Hurry Love moved to the Duggan barn last February and has been on the board in 10-of-11 starts since, including her first stakes score in last year’s Dancin Renee by a nose over Grannys Connection.

Bred in the Empire State by Dr. John M. McDermott and Laura G. McDermott, Kant Hurry Love boasts a 14-4-5-2 record at the Big A with $525,600 in total purse earnings.

Also entering off a local state-bred stakes win is Richard Greeley’s Cara’s Time [post 1, Manny Franco], winner of the 6 1/2-furlong Iroquois on October 27.

Trained by Mitch Friedman, the sophomore Not This Time gray overcame a slow start to stalk and pounce to the gritty head score over returning rival Captainsdaughter for her second lifetime stakes score. She added to a win last September here in the Joseph A. Gimma, as well as local runner-up efforts in the Maid of the Mist and Key Cents.

Bred in New York by Stephen Crestani, Jr., Cara’s Time was a $175,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred Preferred Yearling Sale and holds a 12-4-3-1 record with $346,850 in earnings.

Completing the field are the pair of Grade 3-placed Ain’t Broke [post 2, Eric Cancel] and five-time winner St. Benedicts Prep [post 3, Jose Lezcano] for trainer Linda Rice; last-out local optional claiming winner Autumn Evening [post 4, Kendrick Carmouche, blinkers ON] for Hall of Fame conditioner Todd Pletcher; and the aforementioned multiple stakes-placed Captainsdaughter [post 5, Luis Rivera, Jr.] for trainer Russell Cash.

The Garland of Roses is slated as Race 8 on Sunday’s nine-race card. 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.