The $150,000 Bay Shore (gr. III) for three-year-olds at seven furlongs drew a field of 11 Saturday as part of the Wood Memorial program at Aqueduct Park. Trainer Linda Rice entered Richard L. Golden's Second in Command, particularly worth watching if rainy weather persists. Rice is still finding out about the Silver Deputy colt who has three wins in eight career starts, including a huge 8 3/4-length victory in the slop in Best Turn on the Aqueduct inner track on Feb. 22. A Maryland-bred, Second in Command was last in the six-furlong Horatius at Laurel Park on March 23."When he won the Best Turn, we pointed for the Bay Shore with the idea that the track might come up wet," Rice said. "We're kind of grasping at straws with this horse. He's run some big races, and he has had some bad ones. The Huntington (seventh-place finish on Nov. 17) was a nightmare trip for him. It is hard to imagine how much trouble he was in. Then, we ran him at Laurel, and he had another horrible trip. I mean, he got in trouble in a five-horse field, and it certainly cost us second money."Frankly, I don't think he cared at all for that cuppy track in Maryland. So, we're going to keep him on surfaces that we know he likes. I think he can rate, but every time he has been in trouble, it has been when he was behind horses and taking dirt. Maybe he just needs to be in the clear."Jockey Jean-Luc Samyn, who rode him to victory in the Best Turn, has the call on Second in Command for the Bay Shore. Edward P. Evans' Halo Homewrecker debuted in the mud at Belmont last June and finished fourth while running wide and green. After surgery to remove bone chips from his ankle and colic surgery, Halo Homewrecker returned on Feb. 22 to win a Gulfstream Park maiden special by a neck at the Bay Shore distance. He followed that with a 6 3/4-length win one month later, this time covering seven furlongs in 1:22."I hope we haven't gotten to the bottom of him yet," said trainer Mark Hennig. "He's still learning; he was green in both efforts this year. (Jockey Jerry) Bailey said there were multiple times in his last race when he didn't know how much horse he had left, but when he asked him to run, he really responded. I think Halo Homewrecker has been kind of distracted this year, and I'm not sure how he is going to fit at this level right now. He'll be a much better horse in mid-summer."As in any stakes race these days, attention must be paid to any horse entered by Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel. In the Bay Shore, he will go with Juddmonte Farm's Special Rate, who arrived here Wednesday morning with Wood Memorial favorite Empire Maker and Carter Handicap nominee Aldebaran.
Special Rate, a son of Pulpit, won a six-furlong sprint at Santa Anita at first asking on Feb. 16, then stretched out to a mile on May 12, where he ran third to the Bob Baffert-trained During, who also shipped from California for the Bay Shore.$150,000 Bay Shore Stakes (gr. III), 3-year-olds, 7 furlongs
PP. Horse, Wgt., Jockey
1. Stanislavsky (L), 116, Santos, Jose
2. Gators N Bears (L), 116, Migliore, Richard
3. During (L), 118, Stevens, Gary
4. Deadline (L), 118, Wilson, Rick
5. Special Rate (L), 116, Bailey, Jerry D
6. Halo Homewrecker, 116, Velazquez, John R
7. Don Six (L), 116, Gryder, Aaron
8. Midnight Charlie (L), 116, Castillo Jr, Heberto
9. Fifth of Hennessy (L), 116, Nelson, Diane
10. Infinite Justice (L), 120, Bridgmohan, Shaun
11. Second in Command(L), 120 Samyn, Jean-Luc