Betsy Blue Gets More Ground in Interborough

Cloud Nine Stable's Betsy Blue  receives added ground as she seeks to begin her 5-year-old season on the right foot in the $100,000 Interborough Stakes for older fillies and mares going seven furlongs over the main track at Aqueduct Racetrack Jan. 21.

Betsy Blue, who boasts a record of 9-7-2 in 20 starts and field-best earnings of $604,510, enters off a 1 1/4-length triumph in the six-furlong Garland of Roses Stakes Dec. 10 at Aqueduct. The daughter of Tonalist   took to the rear of the five-horse field, moving off the rail into the stretch to collar pacesetter Beguine  in the final strides to the wire.

Bred in New York by Blue Devil Racing Stable, Betsy Blue was claimed by trainer Linda Rice out of an Aqueduct starter optional claimer for $50,000 in March 2021. Two starts later, she earned her first stakes conquest when capturing the Bouwerie Stakes that May at Belmont Park by 5 1/4 lengths.

She competed mainly against open company last year, including a six-length romp in August at Saratoga Race Course going the Interborough distance. Following a close fourth in the state-bred Iroquois Stakes in October at Belmont at the Big A, Betsy Blue tried graded stakes company for the first time in the Go for Wand Stakes (G3) Dec. 3, going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct, finishing third beaten eight lengths.

"I think her kick is most effective at 6 1/2 furlongs," said Rice, who captured the 2016 Interborough with La Verdad . "She likes a fast pace in front of her and then to just lay off it. But she's pretty versatile and gives you an effort every time whether it's a mile, seven, or six (furlongs)."

Rice will also saddle Winning Move Stable's Piece of My Heart , who recently defeated local allowance company going seven furlongs on Jan. 5. The 6-year-old Flat Out   chestnut has finished no worse than second in her last four starts, including a runner-up effort behind Betsy Blue in September over the Ozone Park oval. Her last out triumph was her first victory since capturing Oaklawn Park's Gardenia Stakes in May 2020, when trained by McLean Robertson. Piece of My Heart was claimed by Rice for $62,500 following a fourth-place finish in July at Saratoga.

"I think the seven-eighths is a good distance for her. Six furlongs is a little short, she's always struggling to get going by then," Rice said.

Betsy Blue will be piloted by Jose Lezcano from post 5, while Kendrick Carmouche picks up the mount aboard Piece of My Heart, who will leave from post 3.

Aveen Campion's Flight to Shanghai  enters off a distant fourth in the Go for Wand for trainer Horacio De Paz. The 5-year-old Shanghai Bobby  bay boasts a consistent 3-3-2 record in 16 starts, including a third-place finish in the two-turn Serena's Song Stakes in May at Monmouth Park for former trainer Jane Cibelli.

The Go for Wand was Flight to Shanghai's first start for De Paz, who said he was encouraged by the effort.

"She's been very forward and consistent in her training," De Paz said. "The Go for Wand was a pretty good, honest effort on her part. If you consider the field of horses she ran against, it was a huge step up."

Entries: Interborough S.

Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, January 21, 2023, Race 8

• STK
• 7f
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 3:47 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Self Isolation (CA)	Dylan Davis	120	David Jacobson	6/1
2	2Miss T Too (KY)	Eric Cancel	118	Michael W. McCarthy	5/1
3	3Piece of My Heart (FL)	Kendrick Carmouche	118	Linda Rice	4/1
4	4Flight to Shanghai (KY)	Jorge A. Vargas, Jr.	118	Horacio De Paz	10/1
5	5Betsy Blue (NY)	Jose Lezcano	122	Linda Rice	3/5
6	6Easy to Bless (KY)	Jacqueline A. Davis	118	James W. Ferraro	20/1