Green holds strong hand with Minorinconvenience and You’re Lookin Good in $135K Gander

Trainer Amelia Green will look to secure a fourth career stakes win when she sends out Minorinconvenience and You’re Lookin Good in Saturday’s $135,000 Gander, a one-turn mile for New York-bred sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Minorinconvenience [post 5, Ricardo Santana, Jr., 123 pounds] returns from a more than six-month layoff from his last-out victory in the state-bred Funny Cide on August 27 at Saratoga Race Course. There, he earned a 68 Beyer Speed Figure for a pace-pressing four-length score over Fourth and One, who was off-the-board in Saturday’s Grade 3 Gotham here.

“I'm excited to get him back to the races,” said Green, whose other stakes winners both came at the Big A with On Command in the Listed License Fee in May and with Two Bits in the Ruthless on February 6. “It's his first time going this distance but the way he's been training, he definitely acts like it shouldn't be a problem. I'm excited to get him back and use this as a starting point for the rest of the year.”

The Mendelssohn colt, owned by Green, Amanda Gillman and Upland Flats Racing, required time off to deal with bone bruising while training up to the Grade 1 Champagne on October 4 at Belmont at the Big A won by Napoleon Solo, who ran fifth in Saturday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, at Gulfstream Park.

The talented grey was off-the-board in his July 4 debut on turf at Saratoga but followed up on July 31 there with an eye-catching 10 1/2-length maiden score traveling seven furlongs against state-breds in an off-the-turf event contested over a muddy and sealed main track.

Minorinconvenience has trained steadily over the Belmont Park dirt training track for his return, including a five-eighths breeze in 1:01.60 Saturday in company with well-regarded maiden winner Easy Decision.

"They've turned out to be a good pairing,” Green said. “He did a solid five-eighths work with a very strong gallop out all the way and pulling up after a mile. I don't think I can get him any more fit in the mornings, now it's just getting him to the races and getting him racing fit.”

Green said returning rider Ricardo Santana, Jr. will have options in terms of race strategy with the professional Minorinconvenience.

"He's a very easy horse in the mornings. He won't do too much - he'll do just what you ask him. I don't see him being on the lead, I see him stalking and hopefully making one run. If he ends up on the lead, I wouldn't be mad but if you asked me my idea of a perfect trip, it would be a stalking trip and hopefully go on down the lane,” Green said.

Minorinconvenenience was bred by Steve Barberino and purchased for $20,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.

Green will also send out JP Racing Stable and Paradise Farms Corp.’s You’re Lookin Good [post 4, Reylu Gutierrez, 119 pounds] from a sixth-out maiden score over course and distance on February 15. There, the Mendelssohn gelding tracked from fourth position early in the state-bred $40,000 maiden claiming event before angling out in upper stretch and powering away under strong urging from Jaime Rodriguez to score by six lengths in a final time of 1:41.45. The winning effort earned a 57 Beyer.

You’re Lookin Good made four off-the-board starts – three of them on turf - as a juvenile and was gelded ahead of his seasonal debut here when third in a one-turn mile state-bred maiden claimer.

“The way he ran last time and drew away from that field, I felt it was worth giving him a shot in here,” Green said. “It maybe took him a start after castrating him, but the way he ran last time was how he's always trained.”

Green is hopeful for a strong showing from both her Mendolssohn-sired charges on Saturday, but believes You’re Lookin Good may prove to be better on the lawn.

“I thought the way he ran on the turf last year - even though he wasn't paying a whole lot of attention because he was still a colt - was good. His pedigree suggests turf, but that's not always the case,” Green said.

Bred by Graceville Breeding, the $60,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale purchase is out of the Curlin mare Emotional Words – a half-sister to dual stakes-winner Stilettos. His second dam is the Grade 1-placed Unspoken Word, a half-sister to Grade 2-winner Emotional Kitten.

Pura Vida Investments’ Wamo [post 1, Kendrick Carmouche, 119 pounds] will make his stakes debut for trainer Mike Maker.

The Yaupon bay, with Katie Davis up, crossed the wire first at third asking in a local 6 1/2-furlong maiden sprint on October 24, but was disqualified and placed second for interference in the lane after herding out pacesetter Pantherian.

Wamo made amends next out with Flavien Prat aboard, overcoming lunging at the break from the outermost post to travel in sixth-of-10 early before rallying wide down the lane to post a nose score over the more prominent next-out winner Party in the Army.

The $210,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale purchase stumbled at the start of a seven furlong state-bred allowance sprint on December 11 here but recovered quickly to chase from second and eventually land a 10-length third to the victorious Time to Roll, who exited that effort to run third in the state-bred Damon Runyon on February 14 here.

Wamo arrives from a sixth-length second to Party in the Army in a local optional-claiming sprint on January 11 over a muddy and sealed track where the hard-luck bay again found trouble while brushing with rivals out of the gate.

Bred by Larry Goichman, Wamo is out of the Grade 3-placed Giant’s Causeway mare Seeking Her Glory. His third dam is dual Grade 3-winner Atlantic Ocean.

Also entered are three-time winner Sculcos Folly [post 2, Jaime Rodriguez, 121 pounds], who earned a field-best 91 Beyer for a recent 9 3/4-length sprint score here versus open optional-claiming company for trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr.; and maiden winners Mission Critical [post 3, Jose Lezcano, 119 pounds], who landed fourth last out in the local state-bred Damon Runyon for trainer Jeremiah Englehart; as well as the second and third-place finishers of a Friday starter event here in the Dutrow, Jr.-trained The Obliterator [post 6, Christopher Elliott, 119 pounds] and Anyway [post 7, Manny Franco, 119 pounds, blinkers ON] for conditioner Linda Rice.

The Gander is slated as Race 4 on Saturday’s nine-race card which also features the $135,000 Maddie May in Race 8. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

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