Forewarned Not to be Overlooked in Jazil

The Uriah St. Lewis-owned and -trained Forewarned  is not to be overlooked again in the $100,000 Jazil Stakes Jan. 22 at Aqueduct Racetrack. The 1 1/8-mile test is for 4-year-olds and up on the main track, one of two stakes on the Saturday program.

In his last outing, the 7-year-old son of Flat Out   rallied from seventh to collar returning rival Empty Tomb  and post a 42-1 upset in the Dec. 19 Queens County Stakes at Aqueduct.

Bred in Ohio by Preston Stables, the 10-time winner is rarely the favorite outside of his native state where he has won the 1 1/4-mile Best of Ohio Endurance Stakes three years running at Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course.

"Distance is his best friend," St. Lewis said. "He needs a mile and a quarter, but he can handle a mile and an eighth. It worked out fine for him last time (in the Queens County)—they went fast up front and that really helped him."

After winning the Best of Ohio Endurance Stakes as the mutuel choice in 2019-20, Forewarned went to post as the second betting choice in the 2021 edition in October, besting the 4-5 favorite Wicked Warrior  by 3 1/2 lengths.

"People in Ohio have been calling about him because he's been doing so good there and they would like to breed to him," St. Lewis said. "So, I think he might find himself a home there when he's finished."

Dexter Haddock retains the mount on Forewarned as the pair breaks from post 7.

Klaravich Stables' Core Conviction , a lightly raced 5-year-old American Pharoah   gelding, will make his stakes debut for four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown. Core Conviction graduated at second asking in November sprinting seven furlongs at Aqueduct with a 5 1/2-length score over Waxman , who has since won two straight races.

Core Conviction followed with a gritty gate-to-wire score over multiple stakes-placed Three Jokers  in a Dec. 12 allowance over the Aqueduct oval.

Jose Ortiz retains the mount from post 5.

John Grossi's Racing's Empty Tomb will look to turn the tables on Forewarned for trainer Robert Falcone Jr.

Empty Tomb was claimed for $80,000 from a third-place finish in a 1 1/8-mile optional-claiming tilt in August at Saratoga Race Course. Following a pair of off-the-board efforts in stakes events, Empty Tomb posted a game three-quarter length score over Jazil rival First Constitution  in a one-turn mile allowance optional claimer on Nov. 28 at Aqueduct.

Last out, racing on three weeks' rest, Empty Tomb set a pressured pace in the Queens County, besting Backsideofthemoon  by a head for place.

"He ran extremely hard," Falcone said. "It's rewarding because he ran a great race to finish second and whenever they run good it's always fun.

"Props to the winner, Forewarned, but we had a couple challengers throughout the whole race and on top of having to turn them away, he had that one come on late ... It was a great race but he did a lot of the dirty work and for him to keep running on and get beat was tough. He ran his heart out."

Empty Tomb drew post 4 under Eric Cancel.

Shesawildjoker, Captainsdaughter Meet Again in Franklin Square

A race after the Jazil, Joseph Bucci's stakes winner Shesawildjoker  brings a consistent ledger to her seasonal debut in Saturday's eighth running of the $100,000 Franklin Square Stakes for New York-bred sophomore fillies going 6 1/2 furlongs.

The Franklin Square, which was originally slated for Jan. 15, was rescheduled after the card was canceled due to extreme cold.

Every participant of the original nine-horse field have returned, while Captainsdaughter , runner-up last out in the Dec. 29 Parx Futurity, has joined the fray.

In the money in 4-of-5 lifetime starts with field best earnings of $102,750, Shesawildjoker enters from a third-place finish in the Nov. 21 Key Cents Stakes at Aqueduct, where she rounded out the trifecta at 38-1 odds behind unbeaten Classy Edition .

"She gave a good account of herself last time and I think she does the same here," trainer David Donk said. "It's probably a pretty wide-open affair, but it's a good spot for us."

The daughter of Practical Joke   earned her first black-type victory two starts back when she landed the Oct. 25 Shesastonecoldfox Stakes at Finger Lakes.

Jorge Vargas Jr. has the call in pursuit of his second Franklin Square win from post 9.

Although Joseph Birnbaum's Captainsdaughter took six tries to break her maiden, the Midshipman   filly has since proven herself a worthy competitor in stakes company with three straight runner-up finishes in black-type events. Trained by Russell Cash, Captainsdaughter was second in the Oct. 30 Maid of the Mist Stakes at Belmont Park before besting Shesawildjoker by a neck for the runner-up spot in the Key Cents. She then faced open company in the Parx Futurity, again completing the exacta.

Edwin Gonzalez has the call from post 10.

Entries: Jazil S.

Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, January 22, 2022, Race 7

• STK
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 3:20 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Why Why Paul Why (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	122	Penny Pearce	9/2
2	2First Constitution (CHI)	Jose Lezcano	118	Todd A. Pletcher	5/2
3	3Splicethemainbrace (PA)	Abner Adorno	118	Robert E. Reid, Jr.	15/1
4	4Empty Tomb (KY)	Eric Cancel	118	Robert N. Falcone, Jr.	3/1
5	5Core Conviction (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Chad C. Brown	7/2
6	6Twelve Volt Man (KY)	Edwin Gonzalez	118	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	10/1
7	7Forewarned (OH)	Dexter Haddock	122	Uriah St. Lewis	9/2

Entries: Franklin Square S.

Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, January 22, 2022, Race 8

• STK
• 6 1/2f
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 3:50 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Sandy's Garden (NY)	Jose L. Ortiz	120	Joseph R. Lee	8/1
2	2Sterling Silver (NY)	Trevor McCarthy	120	Thomas Albertrani	5/1
3	3Thinking It Over (NY)	Dylan Davis	120	Raymond Handal	9/2
4	4Thin Legs (NY)	Andre Shivnarine Worrie	120	James S. Acquilano	30/1
5	5Flip My Id (NY)	Manuel Franco	120	Michael J. Maker	15/1
6	6Leeloo (NY)	Kendrick Carmouche	120	David P. Duggan	7/2
7	7Moam (NY)	Jose Lezcano	120	Horacio DePaz	4/1
8	8Meraviglioso (NY)	Eric Cancel	120	James W. Ferraro	20/1
9	9Shesawildjoker (NY)	Jorge A. Vargas, Jr.	122	David G. Donk	6/1
10	10Captainsdaughter (NY)	Edwin Gonzalez	120	Russell J. Cash	8/1