Sweet Seventeen, who missed scoring her first stakes victory by a neck in last month’s Busanda Stakes, returns to Aqueduct Racetrack for another attempt Saturday afternoon, Feb. 25, when she heads a field of seven three-year-old fillies in the $75,000 Busher Stakes.
Trained by H. Graham Motion for Mrs. John Oxley, Sweet Seventeen set the pace as the favorite in the onemile, 70-yard Busanda on Jan. 7 but was caught in the late stages by Captivating Lass.
“She’s been slow switching leads, and I think it cost her the last race,” said Motion of the bay daughter of Hard Spun. “She’s improved the last three or four weeks, however. I toyed with the idea of shipping her to Florida and running on grass because she ran so well on the synthetic, but thought this was the more frugal route. We can try grass down the road.”
The homebred filly broke her maiden at first asking at Laurel Park in September 2011, and next posted an impressive 4 3/4-length allowance win over the synthetic surface at Keeneland on Oct. 11. She wrapped up her juvenile campaign by rallying from far back to finish second in the Glorious Song Stakes at Woodbine a month later.
“I’ve been very pleased with her,” said Motion. “Her races have been pretty well spaced out, and she’s done well since she’s been up here. She’s very honest and game.”
Sweet Seventeen, the 8-5 favorite, drew the rail with Alan Garcia aboard for the first time.
WinStar Farm’s entry of Lisa T. and Off Limits is the 2-1 second choice in the 1 1/16-mile Busher, with Lisa T. drawing post position three under Cornelio Velazquez and Off Limits post position four with Junior Alvarado in the irons.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Lisa T. has made two tours of the Big A’s inner track, breaking her maiden going one mile, 70 yards on Dec. 11, 2011 in her third start and finishing third behind Singlet in the six-furlong Dearly Precious earlier this month. Off Limits, from Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott’s barn, will be making her stakes debut after finishing fourth in an optional claimer at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 1.
Darley Stable’s Better Lucky is stretching out off a pair of inner-track sprints, having also broken her maiden on Dec. 11 and finishing a non-threatening fifth in the Ruthless Stakes behind Agave Kiss on Jan. 14. Eddie Castro has the mount aboard the Ghostzapper filly, who drew post position five at 4-1.
Rounding out the field is Plum, who closed out her juvenile campaign with three straight triumphs at Laurel Park, including the Maryland Juvenile Fillies Championship; Super Quiet, another Mid-Atlantic invader who will be making her fourth start of the year and first in a stakes, and Marvelous Margaret, who was supplemented to the race and enters the Busher off a hard-fought maiden victory on Jan. 25.
Law Enforcement ends loss streak
Law Enforcement recorded his first win in 2 1/2 years on Monday af- ternoon, Feb. 20, at Aqueduct, coming from off the pace to take the 34th running of the $75,000 Hollie Hughes Stakes for New York-breds.
Five lengths behind the field as Freudian Dilemma and Bug Juice dueled through an opening quartermile in 22.33, Law Enforcement advanced steadily around the turn as Dr. Disco took over for a half-mile in 45.72. Fifth as the field entered the stretch, Law Enforcement was angled out by Alan Garcia and closed down the center of the track, edging awaytoa11/4-lengthvictory.
Sent off as the 3-1 third choice, Law Enforcement returned $8.30 and completed six furlongs in 1:10.95.
“My horse was calm and relaxed,” said Garcia. “I had plenty of confidence because I saw there was a lot of speed in the race, so I wanted to be patient and save some ground. When it came time to move, my horse responded.”
Law Enforcement had not won a race since taking the 6 1/2-furlong John Morrissey Stakes on Aug. 6, 2009 at Saratoga Race Course. In his most recent start before the Hollie Hughes, he finished second to Dr. Disco in the Vodka overnight stakes at Aqueduct on Dec. 4, 2011. The seven-year-old son of Posse now claims a record of 6-8-1 from 26 starts, with $449,888 in earnings for owner/breeder Camelia J. Casby. He is trained by Mark Hennig.
Head Heart Hoof got a head in front of Be Bullish to secure the place, while Dr Disco, Ground Force, Freudian Dilemma and Bug Juice completed the order of finish.
A duel in the As Indicated
Marilyn’s Guy, making his first start in nearly 11 months, out-battled favored San Pablo in a lengthy stretch duel to take Aqueduct Racetrack’s $75,000 As Indicated overnight stakes by a nose last Saturday, Feb. 18.
Following a tardy start, Marilyn’s Guy raced unhurried in fifth as he trailed the field through an opening quarter-mile in 24.53, ranged up three wide to draw within striking range approaching a half in 48.45, drew even with odds-on favorite San Pablo following three-quarters in 1:12.09, gained the upper hand from that rival in the final strides.
Marilyn’s Guy, the 3-1 second choice, returned $8 for a $2 win wager and completed one mile in 1:37.37.
“I just caught [the break] at the wrong time where he threw his head and got left,” said winning jockey C.C. Lopez. “From there, I had to ad lib, because I’m supposed to be head and head with San Pablo. To make a long story short, that’s what I get the big bucks for, and I was able to pull it off. [San Pablo] ran fabulous as well, gave me all I could handle.”
The As Indicated was Marilyn’s Guy’s first outing since finishing second in the Harrison E. Johnson last March at Laurel Park for trainer Steve Asmussen, who had claimed the gelding for $50,000 out of a victory in a Big A optional claimer earlier that month. Following the Johnson, Marilyn’s Guy was transferred to the barn of Tony Dutrow, who gets the credit for the As Indicated victory.
