Arena Elvira will be seeking her fourth consecutive stakes win when the 4-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper tops a nine-horse field in the $150,000 Go for Wand Handicap (gr. II) Nov. 25 at Aqueduct.
Carolyn Wilson’s filly trained by Bill Mott will break from post position 6 under Jose Lezcano. She has been established as the 5-2 morning line favorite while carrying top weight of 120 pound in the race for fillies and mares that is contested as a one-turn mile.
Arena Elvira’s win streak began with a 1 1/4-length score in the Madame Jumel at Saratoga, followed by a 1 1/2-length victory in the restricted Sightseek Stakes, also at the Spa, and ended with a 6 3/4-length romp over four rivals in the Turnback the Alarm. All three races were contested around two turns at 1 1/8 miles.
“(Arena Elvira is) coming back quickly, shortening up and this is probably the last race of the season for her as well,” Mott said. “She’s doing well and we’ll give it a try. She’s really been a gem of consistency.”
Arena Elvira, who has also been entered in the Falls City Handicap (gr. II) Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs, has never been worse than third in 11 starts and sports earnings of $274,930.
Rick Dutrow Jr., leading trainer at the Aqueduct meet, will be represented by a pair of stakes winners in Paul Pompa, Jr. and Taylor Brothers Properties’ All Due Respect and Eric Fein’s C C's Pal.
All Due Respect, assigned 118 pounds and made the 3-1 morning-line second choice, has not started since finishing third behind Blind Luck and Unrivaled Belle in the May 6 La Troienne (gr. II) at Churchill Downs. A 4-year-old Florida-bred daughter of Value Plus, All Due Respect is 4-4-4 in 15 career efforts with earnings of $334,470.
C C’s Pal, a daughter of Alex's Pal also bred in Florida, is coming off a win in the overnight Miss Golden Circle Stakes at Belmont Park.
The Go for Wand has also attracted Risky Rachel and Lovely Lil, the top two finishers in the seven-furlong Friendly Island Iroquois on Oct. 22, New York Showcase Day, at Belmont Park.
Trained by H. James Bond for her New York owner-breeder Sanford Bacon, Risky Rachel has won three of her last four outings.
Lovely Lil will look to turn the tables on Risky Rachel, having dueled for the lead in the Friendly Island Iroquois from post position 3 and yielding in upper stretch to the winner. Trained by Mike Hushion for Barry Schwartz, the Tiznow filly won the Union Avenue for New York-breds in August at Saratoga and was third in the Foxwoods Gallant Bloom Handicap (gr. II) in September at Belmont.
“I don’t know if a mile is her best distance or not; you have to go back to the race in Philadelphia (a second at Parx Racing in September 2010 to Check Point),” said Hushion. “In her last race [Iroquois] we had a little bit of a duel with (Risky Rachel). We gave her seven pounds. I would have been more comfortable if she had been able to place herself a little better. But, she was second-best.”
$150,000 Go for Wand Handicap (gr. II), Race 9, 3:49 p.m.) Fillies & Mares, 3 & Up, 1 Mile
PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer, ML Odds
1. Lovely Lil (NY), C H Velasquez, 115, M E Hushion, 15-1
2. Risky Rachel (NY), P Lopez, 114, H J Bond, 12-1
3. All Due Respect (FL), J Alvarado, 118, R E Dutrow, Jr., 3-1
4. Katy Now (KY), C S Nakatani, 116, T A Pletcher, 4-1
5. Legend (KY), A Garcia, 114, C G Reese, 20-1
6. Arena Elvira (KY), J Lezcano, 120, W I Mott, 5-2
7. Spa City Princess (NY), J F Chavez, 113, P J Kelly, 20-1
8. Persuading (KY), D Cohen, 116, D L Romans, 8-1
9. C C’s Pal, R Curatolo, 115, R E Dutrow, Jr., 6-1