Keith McCalmont

A seasoned runner with two graded placings, Cooke Creek is slated for the Listed Queens County worth one hundred fifty thousand dollars, a 1 1/8-mile dirt event for 3-year-olds and older. Set for Saturday, the 27th of December at Aqueduct Racetrack, he meets five others—so six line up in total, for example a compact cast suited to tactical speed.

Mike Maker handles the training for Jay Provenzano’s Flying P Stable, and the Uncle Mo gelding, now 6, shows a 27:6-3-4 slate with $604,527 earned—for instance, six wins among those starts. In the 2025 NYRA owner standings, Provenzano is tied for sixth with 24 victories [142-24-21-23, $1.4M], and he aims to pad those local numbers.

“This is home for me, and New York racing is what I love,” said Provenzano. “I’m counting the days until the new Belmont Park opens—I’ve already taken a suite—and while Kentucky and Oaklawn are great, the purses here are excellent, and I grew up just outside Belmont’s gates.”

Claimed for $40,000 from a Churchill Downs win in May 2024, Cooke Creek then promptly posted two optional-claiming scores with Jose Ortiz aboard; as a simple example, both came with positive pace placement.

“He struck us as a horse who required a particular ride and still had back class,” Provenzano explained of the claim. “We wanted to inject some pace into his game; he won the day we reached in and then took three straight with Jose Ortiz—think of it like finding the right pilot for a nimble car.”

When stepped up for last year’s Grade 2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs, the streak nearly continued: after making the running, he was denied by a neck by Hit Show, who later captured the Group 1 Dubai World Cup, while finishing 3 1/2 lengths ahead of Rattle N Roll, who came back to win the Grade 2 Clark—an example of strong form-lines.

After that, four subsequent tries produced no placings, including sixth in the Clark and another sixth in the Grade 3 Louisiana in January at Fair Grounds; following a fade to 13th in the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap in February at Oaklawn Park, he was given a freshening. For context, such breaks can reset a horse’s rhythm.

“That neck loss to the horse who then won the Dubai World Cup told us plenty,” Provenzano said. “We believed we’d tapped into something, but the rides that followed weren’t his style—like using the wrong gear on a hill.”

He resurfaced in August at Saratoga Race Course, finishing sixth in an optional claimer taken by Film Star over Full Screen, form that set the veteran up for a success in the Battery Park on September 28 at Delaware Park. As an illustration, that prep tightened the screws.

Provenzano phoned jockey Jaime Rodriguez before the nine-furlong Battery Park, and although Cooke Creek broke a half-step slow from the rail, he still controlled every stage over the muddy, sealed track to defeat graded winner Awesome Aaron by three lengths, with multiple graded-placed Gould’s Gold another length back in third. Think of it as a front-running clinic.

He exited that to a troubled eighth in the Clark on November 28 at Churchill, leaving the inside stall again, brushing a rival at the break and fading thereafter—an example of how draw and start can shape outcomes.

“Nothing fell his way last time, and when that happens he doesn’t always bring his ‘A’ run; maybe that spot was just a bit salty,” Provenzano said. “He’s sound, so we’ll build his confidence and place him right. ‘Cookie’ is a cool horse, but he needs things under his own terms.”

Flavien Prat, the leading rider of the Aqueduct fall meet, takes the call on Cooke Creek from the outside stall 6. Prat guided Flying P’s Ole Crazy Bone to the Grade 2 Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational worth 2.5 million dollars in September at Kentucky Downs, so instructions likely won’t be necessary—for example, top jockeys read a race quickly.

“Flavien delivered the biggest purse win I’ve ever had with Ole Crazy Bone this year,” Provenzano remarked. “He’s the Eclipse Award-winner; what exactly are you going to tell someone like Flavien?”

Dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox fields two: Full Screen [post 4, Manny Franco] and Kinetic [post 1, Christopher Elliott]. As a quick example, that gives the barn speed and stalking options.

Owned by Sanford Goldfarb, Steven Speranza and Crown Stable, Full Screen is an Ontario-bred 6-year-old by Big Screen who was claimed for $100,000 at Saratoga in July. From 35 outings he owns a 6-5-9 resume and $551,543, and since the claim he has tried three optional claimers, most recently crushing by six here over Grade 2-placed Bendoog at 1 1/8 miles; that victory produced a career-top 100 Beyer Speed Figure, and his local mark stands at 6-1-3-2. For handicapping, those figures hint at consistency.

Godolphin’s Kentucky-homebred Kinetic returns after roughly nine months away, last seen finishing a distant fifth in the Grade 3 Essex Handicap on March 22 at Oaklawn Park—illustrating why fitness off the bench matters.

The 4-year-old Street Sense colt put together five straight races finishing first or second between August 2024 and January 25 of this year, capped by a three-quarter-length win in the restricted General MacArthur at 1 1/8 miles at Oaklawn Park. As an example, that run shows versatility sitting or pressing.

Kinetic, out of the Bernardini mare Collective, is a full brother to dual graded winner Shared Sense and graded winner Comparative, both campaigned by Cox for Godolphin—classic dirt-track pedigrees.

St. Elias Stable’s Kentucky-homebred Classicist [post 2, Kendrick Carmouche] seeks a third straight victory against elders for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, a notable step for a sophomore. For example, beating older runners twice is no small feat.

The Curlin 3-year-old raced twice at two, finishing third here last September in a race won by Praetor by a neck over Sovereignty, who later captured two legs of the Triple Crown—context that flatters the effort.

Classicist, a half-brother to Pletcher’s Grade 2 turf winner Jouster, is unbeaten in two front-running tries at 1 1/8 miles this year: he broke through in July at Saratoga and then, on September 13 here, prevailed by a nose over Grade 2-placed Tuscan Gold, keeping the win after an inquiry for drifting late. Think of it as passing a steward’s review.

The lineup also features Grade 2-placed Film Star [post 5, Jaime Rodriguez] for trainer Gustavo Rodriguez and nine-time winner Bourbon Day [post 3, Jose Lezcano] for Linda Rice, adding depth and pace—two contrasting profiles, for instance.

Queens County timing and card notes: scheduled as Race 8 of 11 on Saturday, December 27; first post is 11:20 a.m. Eastern, and gates open at 10:30 a.m.

America’s Day at the Races will air live coverage and analysis of each Aqueduct Racetrack fall-meet program across FOX Sports outlets; consult the broadcast schedule and channel finder on the track’s site.

NYRA Bets serves as the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack and the preferred way to play the entire fall meet; it’s available nationwide, and the NYRA Bets app can be downloaded on iOS and Android through the company’s website.