$100,000-added Gr. 3 Stuyvesant Handicap - Race Preview
by Patricia Woo | Nov 10 2008
Our race of the week is the
$100,000-added Gr. 3 Stuyvesant Handicap, which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 15 at
Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, N.Y. It will feature 3-year-olds and up running nine furlongs on a dirt track, and with rain expected on and off through Saturday, horses may have to contend with sloppy conditions.
Argentina-bred
Solar Flare has been pointed towards this race since winning a $47,000 allowance/optional claiming race as the odds-on favorite at the Meadowlands on Oct. 27. Trainer
J. Larry Jones was pleased with the colt's final prep, saying, "Everything worked out perfectly here. We were using this race as a prep for [the Stuyvesant Handicap]… and this should be the perfect setup for him." Against recent Grade 1 competition this year, Solar Flare came in second in the Suburban Handicap and seventh in the Whitney Handicap. In the Stuyvesant Handicap, the Salt Lake colt will be carrying the fourth-most weight of 116lbs.
The top weight assignee is
Wanderin Boy at 121lbs. The
Nick Zito-trained 7-year-old's last outings include a runner-up finish behind Curlin in the $750,000 Gr. 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes in September and a third-place finish—also behind
Curlin—in the $500,000 Gr. 1 Woodward Stakes in August. Other nominees include the $350,000 Meadowlands Cup Handicap runner-up
Anak Nakal, 2008 Belmont Stakes champion
Da'Tara, last year's Cornhusker Handicap champion
Dry Martini and Uruguay-bred
Aquino. Frost Giant, who beat Solar Flare as a long shot in the $400,000 Suburban Handicap in June, is also possible, and has been assigned the second-most weight at 118lbs. His last showing was a dismal ninth place in the Gr. 1 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes in September and he will be looking to rebound.
Named for a Dutch-settled area of New York, the Stuyvesant Handicap is in its 58th running. Its most famous winner is 1977
Triple Crown champion Seattle Slew, who picked up the trophy in 1978 in his final race. Evening Attire broke a nine-race losing streak with his win in 2005. In 2006, Accountforthegold held off favorite Carminooch to win by one length. Last year, it was longshot Hunting who overtook favorite Utopia for the victory.
Who will be this year's Stuyvesant Handicap champion? Get all your
horse racing odds at Bodog Racebook.
