A field of six three-year-old fillies line up in the Franklin Square on Saturday at Aqueduct. (© Cheryl Quigley | Dreamstime.com).
A compact group of six three-year-old fillies face off in Saturday’s featured race at Aqueduct, the $100,000 Franklin Square.
The six-furlong test for New York breds included a pair of undefeated fillies in Forgotten Hero, the 8-5 morning line favorite and Stonesintheroad, the 2-1 second choice.
Forgotten Hero is one of two in the field that has a stakes win, taking a New York Stallion Series race on Dec. 15.
“She’s training really well,” her trainer John Toscano Jr. said. “Every time I’ve worked her, she’s been blacktype [caliber]. She has a lot of talent. She’s maturing, and as she does, we’re just hoping she gets better and better.”
The other filly in the field with a stakes win is Maiden Beauty (5-1), who won the state bred Lynbrook in her debut last July but has not won in her last five starts.
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Despite the short field there are four runners in the group that like to be on or near the pace. I am hoping that set things up for longshot Wadadli Princess (10-1), who broke her maiden last out in her third career start despite racing against a strong inside speed bias.
Let’s head out to Aqueduct for Saturday’s featured race of the day:
Aqueduct Race 8 The Franklin Square (Post time 4:26 ET)
1 Wadadli Princess 10-1
4 Forgotten Hero 8-5
3 Stonesintheroad 2-1
6 Flush 3-1
Wadadli Princess
This filly faces winners for the first time here after breaking her maiden last out in her third career start. In that outing she stalked the early pace after bobbling at the break and came with a good late rally to get up and win by 1 ¼ lengths under the seven-pound bug Hernandez. The racing strip that day was strongly favoring inside speed. Two back she was beaten just a head after a good battle in the stretch, a race that has now produced three next out winners. She is going to get a good pace set up here as there is plenty of early zip despite the short field. She gets a jock upgrade to Lezcano and looks like decent value if she goes off near her 10-1 morning line.
Forgotten Hero
The Toscano trainee is perfect in two starts. She broke her maiden by 5 ½ lengths in her debut at 11-1 and showed that was no fluke by winning a New York Stallion Series race over a wet track in her second career outing. Now she returns off a two month break here and she owns the edge in early and mid pace numbers, but things may not be that easy up front. Solid works since her last outing and she looks like a legit threat but her price may end up on the light side.
Stonesintheroad
The filly is perfect in her two starts. She was well backed in her debut in an eight-horse field and drew clear under a hand ride to win by four lengths. She came back against state bred Alw-1 optional claimers last out and wired the field at 4-5, the winning margin 6 ¼ lengths. That was a day speed was tough to beat, six going gate to wire that day. She looks like the main early pace threat to our second choice in this spot. If the two hook up that could set things up nicely for our top pick to come calling late.
Wagering:
WIN: Wadadli Princess to win at 6-1 or better.
EXACTA: 1,4 / 1,3,4
TRIFECTA: no play
