Sophomores Morello, Shotgun Hottie Take Aqueduct Stakes

Blue Lion Thoroughbreds, Craig Taylor, and Victoria Taylor's Morello  swooped to an emphatic score Feb. 6 in the rescheduled $100,000 Jimmy Winkfield Stakes, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomores at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Jimmy Winkfield was initially slated for last Sunday's card which was canceled due to the impact of a powerful winter storm in the New York City metropolitan area.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen and piloted by Jose Lezcano, Morello broke sharp from the outermost post 5, settling in third position as Hagler  punched his way to the front through an opening quarter-mile in :22.60 over the good main track.

Hagler led the field to the turn with Life Is Great  stalking in second and Beast Or Famine  advancing along the rail. Morello made an early wide move prompting Life Is Great to pop outside of Hagler midway through the turn to take command after a half-mile in :45.55.

Morello continued to make up ground outside of Life Is Great and surged clear down the lane en route to a five-length win in a final time of 1:23.30. Life Is Great completed the exacta by 4 1/2 lengths over Beast Or Famine with Dance Code  and Hagler rounding out the order of finish.

A $250,000 purchase by BL Racing out of Sequel Bloodstock's consignment to the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, the Classic Empire   chestnut entered from an impressive 4 1/4-length debut score in a six-furlong maiden special weight Nov. 27 at the Big A.

"He broke very good today. Last time, he broke a little slow but today it was good," Lezcano said. "He was in the bridle the whole way and was really going like a good horse. I didn't have to touch him with the whip or anything. I just let him go. He had the same kick as last time."

Dave Lyon, founder and managing partner of Blue Lion Thoroughbreds, said he was impressed with the effort by the colt he named after Tom Morello, guitarist for the rock band Rage Against the Machine.

"This was the plan all along. Sprint him, then take him to seven," Lyon said. "The allowance race we were looking at didn't go, but we thought this would be the right race to move forward. It looked like by the way he galloped out he could go longer. He handled this field pretty well and we're excited for the future."

Lyon said he will speak to Asmussen and his Belmont Park-based assistant Toby Sheets about a potential start in the March 5 $300,000 Gotham Stakes (G3), a one-turn mile for sophomores offering 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) qualifying points to the top four finishers.

"I'm going to let Steve and Toby make that decision, but I think it's a realistic spot. I don't think he needs too much time," Lyon said. "That race is on March 5, so we'll talk to the guys who lead the charge in the training barn and make a decision on that. We're excited, we think we have a good quality horse."

Morello improved his bankroll to $99,000 while remaining perfect through two starts. Sent to post as the 7-5 favorite, he returned $4.80 for a $2 win bet.

He was bred in Kentucky by Robert Tillyer and Dr. Chet Blackey out of the winning Congrats  mare Stop the Wedding. The mare has since produced a 2-year-old Cairo Prince   filly and a yearling Paynter   filly. She was bred back to Classic Empire for 2022.

Video: Jimmy Winkfield S. (BT)

Shotgun Hottie Up Late in Ruthless

Later on the card, Omar Aldabbagh and Jeff Ganje's Shotgun Hottie  got her nose on the wire in the nick of time, gunning down Champagne Poetry  to capture the $100,000 Ruthless Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going seven furlongs.

The daughter of Gun Runner   was making her first start for trainer Bill Morey, arriving off a fourth-place finish in the Dec. 26 Untapable Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots for Tom Amoss. A third-out maiden winner in her two-turn debut at Churchill Downs in November, Shotgun Hottie handled the cutback in distance well, making a devastating rally under Trevor McCarthy in the final sixteenth to get up just in time.

Breaking from the outermost post 7, Shotgun Hottie settled in fifth as Lady Milagro  commanded the field through an opening quarter-mile in :22.72 over the good main track. McCarthy started to get busy aboard Shotgun Hottie around the far turn as Lady Milagro continued to lead through a half-mile in :45.95.

Lady Milagro maintained her advantage in mid stretch with Champagne Poetry in striking range and Shotgun Hottie looming large from the outside. Lady Milagro relinquished inside the final sixteenth as Champagne Poetry briefly held command in the final strides to the wire. But Shotgun Hottie's outside rally proved to be superior as the two fillies hit the wire in tandem, with Shotgun Hottie winning the photo finish in a final time of 1:24.91.

Champagne Poetry finished another 1 3/4 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Lady Milagro.

Bred in Kentucky by Vincent Colbert, Shotgun Hottie is out of the unraced Malibu Moon mare Re Entry and was bought for $45,000 by Ganje out of Gene Recio's consignment at the 2021 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Re Entry has since produced a yearling Palace Malice   filly and was bred to Echo Town   for 2022.

Returning $5.80 for a $2 win bet as the favorite, Shotgun Hottie banked enhanced her lifetime earnings to $134,720. Her record stands at 2-1-0 from five starts.

"She made a great run and so did the runner-up. We were charging at the wire and caught a good bob on the wire," Morey said. "She's a nice filly and I think she wants to go further. Trevor is riding as good as anybody here so I trusted him. Our outside draw dictated where we would be. I didn't want to be quite that wide. I thought we could tuck over (into) a little tighter spot, but that's horse racing and it all worked out for us today."

"My filly ran good. Bill said to ride her like she's the best horse in here," McCarthy said. "The rail got really good the last couple races, so I was a little worried being wide with her, but she's a filly that wants to run further. She's a bit of a grinder. That last eighth of a mile it was, 'Come on, come on,' but she just keeps grinding. She gave a great effort and all the credit to Bill and his crew for doing a great job."

Morey said he would like to keep Shotgun Hottie in New York.

"We were dialed in on this race now and we haven't looked forward, but I'll talk to my clients and see. I think we'd like to keep her here but I'll have to talk to them," Morey said.

Video: Ruthless S. (BT)