Rice has strong hand in $135K Say Florida Sandy with Acoustic Ave, El Grande O

Linda Rice, leading trainer at the Aqueduct Racetrack winter meet, will send out the pair of multiple stakes-winners Acoustic Ave and El Grande O in Saturday’s $135,000 Say Florida Sandy, a seven-furlong sprint for older New York-breds, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

A. Bianco Holding Limited’s Acoustic Ave looks to build upon a strong local victory last out in a salty optional claimer sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs on January 23. There, he defeated a field that included graded stakes-winners Baby Yoda [second] and Bold Journey [third]. The wire-to-wire score was awarded a 97 Beyer Speed Figure, his best number since earning a career-best 100 for a head second to stablemate and returning rival El Grande O in a six-furlong optional claiming sprint in October here.

“Typically, I like to see him sitting off the pace, but there was a lack of speed in that race,” Rice said of the last-out win. “He went to the lead and he ran great.”

The 6-year-old Maclean’s Music gelding began his career with trainer Christophe Clement, winning four of his first five starts in 2022, including three state-bred stakes sprinting on dirt. He went on to be claimed three times before Rice dropped the slip for $45,000 out of an off-the-board finish here last March. Since then, the consistent chestnut has hit the board in 9-of-10 starts for Rice, including four wins, a third in the state-bred Hudson in October, and a game second to Just Beat the Odds in the six-furlong Grade 3 Elite Power on December 6 here.

Acoustic Ave has made 28 starts, all between 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 furlongs. The Say Florida Sandy will be his farthest test to date, but Rice said she expects the seasoned gelding will rise to the occasion.

“I was a little surprised he hasn’t gone seven before. About a year ago, Jose Lezcano told me he thinks he’ll stretch,” Rice said. “I think when he’s good, he can do seven just fine. We’ve had him close to a year and he’s been very good to us.” 

Bred by Chester and Mary Broman, Acoustic Ave is out of the Street Boss mare Rock Ave. Road, a half-sister to Grade 3-placed Sand Devil and stakes-winner Can You Diggit.

Jose Lezcano, who has been aboard for eight of Acoustic Ave’s starts and each of his last three, returns to the saddle from post 2.

Barry Schwartz’s New York homebred El Grande O [post 4, Sahin Civaci] returns to the races after being scratched out of the January 23 optional claiming tilt won by Acoustic Ave. The 5-year-old son of Take Charge Indy makes his seasonal bow following a 2025 campaign that saw him enter the starting gate four times, but only declared a starter three times.

“He had a foot bruise, so we had to take him out [of the January 23 race], but he’s doing OK now,” Rice said. “I hope I have him in top form, because he’s going to need it. On any given day, he can run a huge effort, so we’ll just hope we’ve got him close to that form right now.”

Last year, El Grande O was third in his seasonal bow in February and did not return until late August, when he did not have a fair start in a seven-furlong optional claimer at Saratoga Race Course and was declared a non-starter. He bounced back with aplomb next out, capturing the aforementioned optional claiming tilt in October by a head over Acoustic Ave that garnered a lifetime-best 100 Beyer.

Last out, El Grande O bobbled at the start and stalked the pace in the Elite Power and failed to threaten when landing 6 1/2 lengths back of the victorious Just Beat the Odds in fourth.

“I think his race last out was subpar and he didn’t get the greatest trip. Hopefully, we get a better effort out of him,” said Rice, who added she is looking forward to getting El Grande O back to state-bred company.

El Grande O graduated at third asking over the turf in 2023 at Belmont Park, and went on to land an 8 1/4-length victory in the state-bred Bertram F. Bongard over the Say Florida Sandy course and distance. That start and the mishap at Saratoga were the only times El Grande O has seen seven furlongs, but Rice said she is confident the dual graded stakes-placed dark bay will relish the distance.

“I think seven furlongs is a great distance for him,” Rice said.

Trainer Danny Gargan sends out Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s National Identity [post 3, Kendrick Carmouche] as he hopes to keep a solid three-race win streak afloat.

“He’s a talented horse and we’ve always liked him,” Gargan said. “There’s a lot of good New York-breds out there right now, but we’ve been pretty high on him, so it’s nice to see him really start maturing so much.”

The Solomini 4-year-old has been a model of consistency, hitting the board in each of his nine starts for a 4-3-2 record that includes four stakes placings against state-bred and state-sired competition. Most recently, he brought his win streak to three-in-a-row with a dominant 4 1/4-length score under Flavien Prat in a local six-furlong allowance facing open company on January 4. The effort was awarded a lifetime-best 97 Beyer.

The win came after a state-bred optional claiming coup on November 7 in which he closed from fourth-of-8 and 7 1/2 lengths back, a much different trip than he got last time when pressing the pace set by Prince Valiant, who returned to win an open-company allowance on Friday at the Big A that garnered a 100 Beyer.

“We put him up in the race a little more than we wanted to, but we thought the horse to beat could get loose, so Flavien said he took it to the other horse and he went on and galloped,” Gargan said. “He’s pretty versatile – he can either lay up right on it [the pace] or right off of it. He’s a good horse, and we’d like to win a few stakes with him. It’s always good to have the New York-bred condition in your pocket.”

Gargan said National Identity has blossomed both with maturity, and since having an issue with his throat corrected.

“He’s doing really good,” Gargan said. “We did a tie-back on him, and that’s why he’s come back better. He always had a bit of a throat problem, and he was still running well, but since we’ve done it, he’s been a lot better horse. He’s a big, hard-trying horse. He’s a level-headed guy and has never given us any problems at all, and he’s matured. Hopefully we can keep it going.”

National Identity was a narrowly-beaten second in three consecutive stakes at the Big A in 2024 and 2025, landing a head back of Sacrosanct in the $500,000 NYSSS Great White Way, a neck behind Sand Devil in the Damon Runyon and a nose back of Soontobeking in the Gander. Bred by Hunter Valley Farm, National Identity has banked $359,550 in purse earnings.

Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher’s Grade 1-placed The Wine Steward [post 7, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] makes his return to state-bred company and his 5-year-old debut following a non-threatening sixth in the six-furlong Thanksgiving Classic in November at Fair Grounds Race Course.

Trained by Mike Maker, the son of Vino Rosso’s last effort against state-breds was dominant, earning a career-best 99 Beyer for a 2 1/4-length score in the 6 1/2-furlong Hudson in October at Belmont at the Big A after cutting back from a sixth in the 1 1/16-mile Presque Isle Mile over synthetic in September.

The Wine Steward is 3-for-4 in New York-bred races, including a head victory in the Funny Cide as a juvenile at Saratoga. He followed that performance with a half-length second to Locked in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland and two more close seconds in a pair of Grade 3s as a sophomore. He scored an open-company stakes victory last year in Oaklawn Park’s Listed Fifth Season traveling a two-turn mile.

Bred by Sequel Thoroughbreds, Lakland Farm and Mark Toothaker, The Wine Steward was a $340,000 purchase at the 2023 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. He has banked $747,010 through a lifetime record of 14-5-4-1.

Completing the field are stakes-winner General Banker [post 1, Ruben Silvera] for trainer Jimmy Ferraro; and multiple stakes-placed contenders Dr. Kraft [post 6, Manny Franco] for trainer Ilkay Kantarmaci and Quick to Accuse [post 5, Jaime Rodriguez] for trainer Panagiotis Synnefias.

The Say Florida Sandy is slated as Race 9 on Saturday’s 10-race card, which also features two rescheduled state-bred stakes from February 7 with the Damon Runyon in Race 4 and the East View in Race 2. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.

 

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Dual stakes-winner Arctic Beast will look to return to winning form as he gets back around one turn in Saturday’s $135,000 Damon Runyon, a seven-furlong sprint for New York-bred 3-year-olds, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
 
The Damon Runyon, originally slated for February 7, was moved to Saturday and re-drawn as Race 4 after live racing was canceled at Aqueduct due to frigid temperatures in the New York metropolitan area.
 
Six of the original eight combatants have re-entered with defectors including the John Ortiz-trained Drop Me a Dime as well as Chummers, who entered a Wednesday optional-claimer here for owner-trainer Ray Handal.
 
Trained by Mike Maker for Paradise Farms Corp., JP Racing Stable, David Staudacher, Zilla Racing Stables and Jennifer Rice, Arctic Beast won his first three career starts, all in state-bred sprints, in impressive fashion.
 
Arctic Beast [post 6, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] debuted in August at Saratoga Race Course, posting a narrow nose win over Valentine Crusader in a six-furlong sprint that earned an 82 Beyer Speed Figure. He stepped into stakes company in the 5 1/2-furlong Aspirant on September 22 at Finger Lakes Racetrack and drew off to a 7 1/4-length score over sloppy and sealed footing to register an 86 Beyer. Arctic Beast doubled up on stakes scores at Finger Lakes with another prominent romp in the six-furlong New York Breeders’ Futurity, winning by 5 3/4-lengths.
 
The Yaupon colt was last seen landing second to gate-to-wire winner Express Kid in the Listed Springboard Mile around two turns on December 20 at Remington Park. There, he exited the inside post under returning rider Ricardo Santana, Jr. and saved ground in fourth position before angling out and making a move through the turn, but could not reel in the runaway winner, who scored by 6 1/4-lengths.
 
"He handled the two turns just fine,” Maker said. “He just got outrun – second best. He was maybe further back than I liked, but hat's off to the winner - he broke sharp, put himself right in the race and took control.”
 
Maker said the Damon Runyon was a logical spot for Arctic Beast, who returns to sprinting against his own kind.
 
“It's a New York-bred race and the distance and conditions suit him,” said Maker, who won this event in 2022 with Rotknee.
 
Arctic Beast was selected by Maker for $275,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale. The dark bay, bred by Rockridge Stud, Saratoga Glen Farm and Beal’s Racing Stable, is out of the dual stakes-winning Frost Giant mare Frostie Anne – a half-sister to dual stakes-winner Freudie Anne.
 
Also entered are Mission Critical [post 1, Jose Lezcano] for trainer Jeremiah Englehart; Combat Mission [post 2, Kendrick Carmouche] for trainer John Kimmel; Portadown Lad [post 3, Jose Gomez] for trainer James Ferraro; Time to Roll [post 4, Jaime Rodriguez] for conditioner Horacio De Paz; and Royal Riddle [post 5, Manny Franco] for trainer Joe Sharp.

 
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The $135,000 East View [Race 2], a seven-furlong sprint for New York-bred sophomore fillies, was also part of the canceled February 7 card and re-drawn with 6-of-7 original entrants. The lone defector was the maiden Into Hijinks for trainer Louis Linder, Jr.
 
Waterville Lake Stables’ Galinda [post 4, Jaime Rodriguez] will be in the spotlight as she steps up in class off a strong debut that earned a field-best 82 Beyer Speed Figure.
 
Trained by Miguel Clement, the Good Magic bay pushed the tempo sprinting six furlongs versus fellow state-breds over good and sealed dirt on January 10 here and held a half-length advantage at the stretch call. Princess Jane drew up to her outside and the pair dueled all the way to the wire, with Galinda gamely holding on by three-quarter-lengths under returning rider Jaime Rodriguez in a final time of 1:12.02.
 
“I thought that debut was incredibly impressive,” Clement said. “In regards to her speed ratings, whatever figures you believe in, it was rather fast. That was no surprise because we liked her shipping up from Payson Park. She has class. She is a very talented filly by Good Magic.”
 
Bred by Daniel J. Burke and Kathleen Burke Schweizer, Galinda, a $120,000 purchase at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale, is out of the stakes-winning Super Saver mare Super Humor. Her second dam is multiple stakes-winner Heavenly Humor, who produced Grade 2-placed Funny How and multiple stakes-winner Funny Guy, both New York-breds.
 
A top challenger will be Sanford Goldfarb, Estate of Ira Davis, Steven Speranza, and Jay Goldberg’s Pinky Brier [post 1, Manny Franco], who is 2-for-3 since being haltered for $50,000 out of a dominant local win in October by dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox.
 
The McKinzie dark bay won a 6 1/2-furlong open starter allowance in November here first off the claim ahead of a head defeat in a local seven-furlong state-bred allowance to returning rival Rina’s Revenge in December. Pinky Brier returned to the winner’s circle last out sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs in a state-bred optional claimer on January 10 here, earning a career-best 76 Beyer in the three-quarter-length victory over stakes-placed Hot Currency.
 
Bred by Danzel Brendemuehl and Colleen Smith, Pinky Brier, out of the Grade 2-placed Tapiture mare Exchange Vows, was a former $225,000 purchase at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale.
 
The field includes stakes-winner Victory Hall [post 2, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] for trainer John Ortiz; allowance-winner Rina’s Revenge [post 6, Reylu Gutierrez] for trainer Ken McPeek; as well as maiden-winners Purple Divine [post 3, Jose Lezcano] for conditioner Chris Englehart and Blue Note [post 5, Sahin Civaci] for trainer Linda Rice. 

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