Fall Highweight Handicap (gr. II) winner Kashatreya will seek his second straight graded stakes win when he faces 12 rivals in Saturday's $75,000 Gravesend Handicap (gr. III) at Aqueduct. Also entered in the six furlong races are 1998 Gravesend winner Say Florida Sandy and Carter Handicap (gr. I) winner Brutally Frank.
After winning the restricted Hollie Hughes Handicap in his 2000 debut at Aqueduct in February, Seymour Cohn's Kashatreya finished third n Brutally Frank's Bold Ruler Handicap (gr. III) and seventh in both the Carter and True North (gr. II) Handicaps. The 6-year-old gelding was given some time off and returned in November, finishing fourth in an overnight handicap -- won by Brutally Frank -- while prepping for the Fall Highweight. Under 131 pounds in the Highweight, Kashatreya rallied through the stretch, completing the six furlongs in 1:11.03. The son of Daring Groom has won nine of 34 career starts and earned $475,225.
The field for the Gravesend will consist of:
1--Brutally Frank, Shaun Bridgmohan, 120
2--Exciting Story, Emile Ramsammy, 117
3--Mister Tricky, Paul Toscano, 113
4--Oro de Mexico, C.C. Lopez, 115
5--(E)Jab, Aaron Gryder, 114
6--Say Florida Sandy, Joe Bravo, 116
7--Lake Ponchartrain, Norberto Arroyo Jr., 116
8--Kashatreya, Heberto Castillo Jr., 118
9--Liberty Gold, Jean-Luc Samyn, 115
10--Unreal Madness, Jose Martinez Jr., 114
11--Appealing Danger, Diane Nelson, 112
12--Balancethebudget, Mark Johnston, 115
13--(E)Riot, Aaron Gryder, 112
(E)--Coupled entry
