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MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2019
by: Valerie Mellema
It was an exciting weekend of racing across the country from Los Alamitos to Aqueduct. Here's your weekend stakes update!
Go For Wand Handicap (G3) at Aqueduct
It was all SPICED PERFECTION in the Go For Wand this weekend, as she went wire to wire to take her third graded stakes victory. She came in carrying a high weight of 124 pounds, but went to the lead as the 7-5 favorite and proceeded to set fractions of :24.74 and :49.09 in a relaxed style. With plenty left in the engine as the field rounded the turn, she spurted down the track and drew off to win by 2 1/4 lengths with ease. The final time for the mile race was 1:39.11. SAGUARO ROW and OUR SUPER NOVA finished second and third respectively. If you followed used our Cigar Mile Wagering Guide, you did well as our picks finished in nearly this exact order.
Demoiselle Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct
LAKE AVENUE jumped out of the gates brushing the stall door but still managed to go four wide into the turn and taking the lead as the field entered the backstretch. The track was very slow and she cruised along setting very slow fractions of :50.76 and 1:15.93. CRITICAL VALUE threatened at the quarter pole, but LAKE AVENUE was urged along by jockey Junior Alvarado and pulled way midstretch. She completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:54.55. MAEDEAN came up between horses to take second by a neck over BLAME DEBBIE. Our wagering guide also had LAKE AVENUE for the win.
Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct
SHOTSKI broke and never looked back under jockey Luis Saez. The colt set fractions of :24.26 and :50.08 and opened up a three length lead in the upper stretch. AJAAWEED challenged down the lane, but SHOTSKI held him off to take the lead by a half length. AJAAWEED held on for second followed by CHASE TRACKER finished third three and three quarters lengths back. With the win, SHOTSKI earned himself 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Not bad for a $25,000 yearling.
Cigar Mile (G1) at Aqueduct
MAXIMUM SECURITY and SPUN TO RUN came in to the Cigar Mile as rivals. But it was MAXIMUM SECURITY who went to the lead and set incredibly fast fractions of :22.80 and :46.17 on a day when the track had some painfully slow races. At the half mile, owner Gary West was concerned that he was going to fast and wouldn't have it in him to finish, but at the end he drew away to take the win in the stretch by three and a half lengths. SPUN TO RUN couldn't get ahead of him like he did in the Breeders' Cup Mile and finished second two lengths ahead of TRUE TIMBER in third.
Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) at Los Alamitos Race Course
On the West Coast, THOUSAND WORDS broke slow from the gate. HIGH VELOCITY quickly went to the lead on the rail, but THOUSAND WORDS didn't let him get too far away and pressed the pace. ANNEAU D'OR and WRECKING CREW stalked the duo closely as well. At the top of the stretch THOUSAND WORDS got ahead by a neck and ANNEAU D'OR went wide coming off the turn to challenge. THOUSAND WORDS dug deep to get ahead at the wire for the win followed by ANNEAU D'OR and HIGH VELOCITY five lengths back. The final time for the 1 1/16 race was 1:43.19.
THOUSAND WORDS earned 10 points toward the Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Have a great week!
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