Waralo much the best in Saturday’s $150K Ashley T. Cole on Closing Weekend at Aqueduct Racetrack
My Purple Haze Stables’ Waralo flashed his tremendous turf form with yet another frontrunning stakes score in Saturday’s $150,000 Ashley T. Cole, a six-furlong outer turf sprint for New York-breds 3-years-old and up, at Belmont at the Big A.
Aqueduct Racetrack, which opened its doors to the public on September 27, 1894, welcomed a vociferous crowd on Saturday as part of a Closing Weekend celebration at the South Ozone Park oval.
The track will cease live racing following the Sunday, June 28, program which will consolidate The New York Racing Association, Inc.’s (NYRA) operations to the new Belmont Park, which will open on September 18, and historic Saratoga Race Course. Aqueduct Racetrack will remain open for simulcasting through Monday, September 7.
For a full listing of onsite activities for Sunday’s nine-race card and to order tickets in advance, please visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/visit/farewell/.
Trained by Chris Englehart and piloted by Jose Lezcano, the 7-year-old War Dancer gelding made his first 18 starts on the main track, winning six times while competing mainly in allowance company. Last May, Englehart switched Waralo to turf and the dark bay adopted a freewheeling style, while reeling off three straight wins, including twice at the Big A.
He was runner-up in an open optional-claimer here on October 4 and landed a one-length second in his stakes debut in the state-bred New York Turf Sprint Championship three weeks later to close out his campaign with rejuvenated form. He entered the Ashley T. Cole from a frontrunning win in the local Listed Elusive Quality in his seasonal debut on May 2 to secure his first career stakes win.
Englehart marveled at Waralo’s frontrunning prowess propelling the gelding to a 7-5-2-0 record over turf.
“He used to come from off the pace on the dirt up at Finger Lakes, but he’s finally found a home [up front on turf]. He likes the grass, he likes going to the lead, and he’ll fight when something comes to him,” Englehart said. “He ran well on the dirt early in his life – most of it was at Finger Lakes, but he ran a few good races on the dirt in New York [Aqueduct Racetrack], so I didn’t want to mess with it. I know War Dancer is more of a turf sire, but he does get some horses that like the dirt. He started tailing off on the dirt and ran a couple of poor races, so I said ‘I’ve got to try the turf with him.’ The rest is history."
On Saturday, Waralo wasn’t the quickest away from the inside post but soon wrestled the lead from Sacrosanct as the pair dueled through splits of 22.71 seconds and 44.87 over the firm footing in front of a stalking pair of Courtly Banker and Dancing Buck.
Waralo turned for home with a one-length lead as Bold Journey was asked to make his trademark late run, but there was no catching the frontrunner, who was still one length in front while crossing the wire in a final time of 1:07.57.
Lezcano praised the tenacious nature of Waralo.
“This kind of horse, he breaks, he waits for the other horses to challenge him,” Lezcano said. “When I asked him at the quarter [pole], he took off like he broke out of the gate. He did everything right, this horse. He loved the grass. That's the thing with him, he loves running on the grass."
Sacrosanct completed the exacta by a half-length over Bold Journey with Run Curtis Run, Courtly Banker, Dancing Buck and Three B’s rounding out the order of finish. Twisted Filigree, Counter Move and main-track only entrant Light Man were scratched.
Englehart indicated Waralo could make his graded debut in the Grade 2, $300,000 Troy, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for 3-year-olds and up on August 9 at Saratoga Race Course.
“I haven’t looked ahead. I’m not used to running in these kinds of races anyways, so I’ll have to do some studying. [The Troy] might be a spot I’ve got to look at,” Englehart said.
Waralo, bred by Casey Newick, earned $82,500 in victory while improving his record to 25-11-7-2. He returned $6.46 for a $2 win bet as the mutuel favorite. Waralo, a half-brother to stakes winners Bust Another, Bustin It and May Shares, is out of the winning Intidab mare I Drink Alone - a half-sister to Grade 3-placed Pavo.
Saturday’s festivities saw each of the undercard races named in honor of select Big A racing participants.
In Race 1, the Ilkay Kantarmaci-trained and Heman Harkie-ridden Open Soul Autism [No. 3, $12.06] captured the Lottsa Talc, named for the all-time leading stakes winner at the Big A, a New York-bred mare with nine local stakes wins for trainer Tim Kelly.
In a recent NYRA feature, Nick Santagata, a former jockey and current valet, praised the hearty mare.
“Horses like Lottsa Talc improved the New York-bred program and made people interested in it and bringing better stallions here,” said Nick Santagata, who rode Lottsa Talc to victory in two Big A stakes. “She won $1.2 million in those days. She was a hard-trier.”
Spinning Class [No. 4, $5.24] won Race 2 under Jose Lezcano for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, the April Run, honoring the back-to-back winner of the Big A’s Turf Classic in 1981-82, propelling her to Champion Grass Mare status in the latter year.
One race later, the Mike Maker-conditioned Calling Card [No. 4, $3.74*] won the Pleasant Colony [Race 3], celebrating the victor of the 1980 Remsen and 1981 Wood Memorial, who went on to capture both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes en route to Champion 3-Year-Old Colt honors.
Jeffrey Fell rode Pleasant Colony to a three-length win in the Wood Memorial in place of the suspended Jorge Velasquez, who spoke to James Tuite of the New York Times after the race.
''He'll be one, two or three in the Derby,'' said a prophetic Velasquez. ''I was not surprised. I was banking on a fast pace so he could come on at the end.''
Sin Nombre [No. 7, $38.96], with Katie Davis up for Jesus Romero, captured the ‘Leading Riders and Trainers of Aqueduct’ [Race 4], as tribute was paid to many of the great racing participants in the Big A’s storied history.
Richard Migliore, the Big A’s all-time leading rider with 2,238 wins, expressed his affection for Aqueduct in NYRA’s Closing Weekend program feature.
“I’ve always felt that Aqueduct has been a bit underrated, an underdog track if you know what I mean,” said Migliore who won 4,450 races in his career and is now a television commentator for NYRA’s America’s Day at the Races program. “The best and most knowledgeable fans in the sport that I’ve encountered are typically at Aqueduct. They know the game and they’re tough. They can get on you, but when they do, it’s not without reason. They absolutely understand the nuances of racing and are incredibly passionate about it. Aqueduct has been such an amazing blue-collar track and, really, the heart of New York racing.”
In Race 5, the Wesley Ward-trained After Taxes [No. 8, $3.74*] was guided to victory by Dylan Davis in the Bellamy Road, the outstanding 17 1/2-length winner of the 2005 Grade 1 Wood Memorial for future Hall of Fame connections in trainer Nick Zito and jockey Javier Castellano.
“In my opinion, when you look at the horses that have won the Wood Memorial, it has to be one of the great races of all time,” Zito told NYRA in a 2025 feature. “I’m a traditionalist. I love tradition, and for races to survive, you better remember what happened years ago. The Wood Memorial is a great race.”
Starlight Dancer [No. 3, $8.04], with Kendrick Carmouche aboard for trainer Michelle Nevin, prevailed in Race 6, which was named for Hall of Famer Easy Goer, who took down the Grade 2 Gotham – in a still-standing stakes and track record for one-mile of 1:32 2/5 - and Grade 1 Wood Memorial Invitational in 1989 en route to a memorable Triple Crown battle with Sunday Silence, spoiling his rival’s Triple Crown bid in the Belmont Stakes.
The Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet’s current leading trainer and jockey, Linda Rice and Manny Franco, teamed up to win Race 7 with Sully [No. 9, $6.50] honoring Congaree, which feted the four-time graded stakes winner at the Big A, who captured the 2001 Grade 2 Wood Memorial, back-to-back runnings of the Grade 1 Cigar Mile Handicap in 2002-03 and the 2003 Grade 1 Carter Handicap for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
Aeolian [No. 1, $4.20*], trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Dylan Davis, was elevated to victory in Race 9, the Gun Bow, named for the Hall of Famer that bested fellow enshrine Kelso by a nose in the 1964 Woodward.
In Race 10, Eliminate [No. 8, $12.96], with Carmouche up for Rice, captured the Hillsdale, named for the winner of the 1959 Aqueduct Handicap, the first stakes contested at the Big A following it’s re-build. The original Aqueduct Handicap trophy was onsite for all of the day’s race presentations.
Saturday’s action was completed with a win by the Ward-trained and Frankie Pennington-piloted Super Dave [No. 4, $4.72*] in the King’s Swan [Race 11], a winner of 31 career starts, including 22 at the Big A led by eight local graded stakes wins that earned him the title of the ‘King of Aqueduct.’
As a 5-year-old, King’s Swan was claimed by trainer Rick Dutrow, Sr., and his son and assistant, Rick Dutrow, Jr., recalled on Saturday the win-friendly bay as a strong-minded horse.
“He didn’t want people around, so we just left him alone. He was his own fella,” said Dutrow, Jr., who noted his favorite Aqueduct memories are of the times spent here with his father. “When dad claimed him, the first time he got to run him was when he was 6-years-old, and man, he won going six furlongs, seven-eighths, all the way up to a mile and an eighth – all past 6-years-old and [nearly] all stakes. When he was 10, he finished second twice in graded stakes and third three times in graded stakes.”
Live racing resumes Sunday at the Big A with a nine-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
America’s Day at the Races presents live coverage and analysis of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.
NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont at the Big A, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
