Longstanding Queens County tops the Aqueduct’s Saturday card
Longstanding Queens County tops the Aqueduct’s Saturday card
By the New York Hot List Staff // December 18
The 115th running of the Queens County will be contested on the main track at Aqueduct going a mile and an eighth. A field of seven older male dirt horses will vie for the $100,000 purse. Past winners of the race include hard-knocking horses like: War Story, Ron the Greek, and Evening Attire.
The Argentina-bred Mirinaque will make his fourth start in America and the first for trainer Wesley Ward who sends the colt to New York from his Keeneland barn. Ward took over his conditioning recently, although he had been stabled in his barn by past trainer Maria Munoz.
“Maria asked if I could take over the training when she went back to Argentina,” Ward said. “She was stabled in our barn at Keeneland and I got to know her going into the Fayette.”
In his most recent start, he was second in a Grade 2 race at Keeneland on the Breeders’ Cup undercard.
“I have a tobacco barn that’s adjacent to Keeneland. It sits up on the hill where the breeze blows through it,” Ward added. “That’s where all my Royal Ascot horses go; all my horses going to Europe all stable there. Horses that go up there seem to relish it a lot and demolish their feed tub and that’s really what happened to this guy. We look forward to hopefully a good run. He ran well last time.”
Here are the Hot List picks for the Queens County:
The $100,000 Queens County, Aqueduct, Saturday, Race 9.
(3) Empty Tomb has been facing very tough competition against recent big name winners like Hog Creek Hustle, Performer, and Knicks Go. This Mike Maker runner likes to press the pace and that should be helpful against this field in which only one other horse shows any early speed. The added distance and easier competition make his 6-1 morning line odds attractive. (2) Mirinaque ships up to Aqueduct from Kentucky for Wesley Ward after running second in a long distance Grade 2 at Keeneland last month. His endurance will be an asset on the typically slow and tiring surface at the Big A. (4) Backsideofthemoon is a veteran 8-year-old with an impressive record at Aqueduct of 18: 5-4-4 with a win last time out in a second-level allowance going the nine-furlongs on a sloppy track. (5) Musical Heart was claimed back last start by Rob Atras from a neck loss to Backsideofthemoon. He, actually, has been claimed in three of his last four starts for prices ranging from $25,000 to $62,500. It is likely, that Kendrick Carmouche will put him on the lead.
Analysis of the other New York Hot List races and the Special Saturday Pick 3 are available free of charge at this website.