Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Contact: Jon Forbes
TIME IS
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Bahia Beach, a veteran of the allowance ranks at Charles Town, will make her stakes debut on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack in the $75,000 Affectionately, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares.
Owned by Silverton Hill,
Trainer Jeff Runco said the change in seasons has benefited
“She seems to be doing better with the cooler weather,” said Runco. “We stretched her out, and she did well, and then ran her back going seven furlongs against a small but talented field. I think she’ll like the inner track and that she wants more distance. Seven furlongs is a little short for her, actually.”
With
“Now’s a good time to try to get stakes placed in
David Cohen will ride
Trainer Todd Pletcher has entered a pair in Saturday’s race, with Katy Now the 8-5 morning-line favorite and Love and Pride the 4-1 fourth choice.
Katy Now, owned by Nicholas Brady’s Mill House, earned her first stakes victory three starts back when she defeated a trio of opponents in the Dispute overnight stakes on September 30 at
Mike McCarthy, assistant to Pletcher, said the 1 1/8-mile Ladies was probably beyond Katy Now’s scope.
“Katy Now is one who seems to have distance limitations,” said McCarthy. “Last time, a mile and an eighth and two turns may have been a little too far, but this time of year those are the races you are going to get.”
Junior Alvarado has the assignment aboard Katy Now from the rail.
Green Hill Farm’s Love and Pride has finished third in her three most recent starts, including the Grade 1, 1 1/8-mile Gazelle on the Aqueduct main track November 26. Whit Beckman, Pletcher’s other New York-based assistant, said she “may have regressed a little” when she faded to third, beaten 8 ½ lengths, in the Let Me Linger, a one-mile, 70-yard race on the inner track December 18.
“She trained well up until the [Let Me Linger] and never give us any indication that she wouldn’t run her best that day,” added Beckman. “She had everything her way, but she just didn’t run the kind of race she can run.”
Love and Pride will leave from post 2 with Cornelio Velasquez in the irons.
The Affectionately field also includes Bahama Bound, Indian Burn, and Orbiston Parva.
The field for the $75,000 Affectionately:
PP | Horse | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | Odds |
1 | Katy Now (KY) | J Alvarado | 120 | T A Pletcher | 8-5 |
2 | Love and Pride (KY) | C H Velasquez | 120 | T A Pletcher | 4-1 |
3 | Bahama Bound (KY) | A Garcia | 116 | J C Guerrero | 3-1 |
4 | Indian Burn (KY) | I Ortiz, Jr. | 116 | J O Hertler | 12-1 |
5 | Orbiston Parva (KY) | A S Arroyo | 120 | R Preciado | 7-2 |
6 | | D Cohen | 116 | J C Runco | 15-1 |
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