The Long Island (Grade 3)- $300.000 Purse
AQU- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and Three Eighths on the Inner Turf
November 10, 2024

Sunday racing at AQU will feature the 20th running of the Long Island, which is a long Grade 3 on the inner turf course for fillies and mares. Six horses will head to gate to try and pick up the winner’s share of the $300.000 purse. It will be the third year that has been the purse amount, which is double what it was early on, but short of the $400.000 high that had been offered. Last year’s winner was Ponzi Scheme, for TwinTowersRacing, and she continued to run well after the win, getting four victories in 2024 and then finishing third last week in the BC Fillies and Mares Turf. That’s a good one for these six to look up to, so let’s meet them now:

1- Superface Party (Mb Stables, ridden by W T Buick)- Well, we’re going to start this preview off with a horse that is going to be very hard to beat. Superface Party has won three of her last four races, and that includes the Grade 3 Jockey Club Oaks and the Grade 1 QE II Challenge Cup. She also won the Grade 3 Lake George at SAR. Okay, so why wasn’t she in the BC, again? She was second in points for the BC Fillies and Mares Turf, after all, but Mb Stables entered three others into that, leaving Superface Party to potentially bully around these rivals. The race won’t be handed to her on a silver platter, but she should be an overwhelming favorite here.

2- Nijinsky (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- Last month, Nijinsky finished fourth in the Grade 2 Rodeo Drive at SA with a come from behind effort. She would get a 100 SRF for that, which is a career high, so if she could pull that off again, she could be a threat to Superface Party. Prior to that, she ran last in the $150.000 ELP Turf, so I don’t know if we can just necessarily trust her to duplicate a performance as she has had her inconsistent moments.

3- Sound Bath (Mb Stables, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Picked up by the trainer for $35.000 in private sales, and the filly is 2-for-2 since then. She had always shown the signs of being better on turf, but her prior trainer still ran her on the dirt more often than not. With Mb Stables, she’s only run on the grass, and that’s led to those two wins, including the Grade 2 Sands Point right here last month. Like her stablemate, she’s also a three-year-old, and that gives a three-pound weight allowance on her elders. A 1-2 Mb finish here is very possible.

4- All By Myself (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This seven-year-old mare will try to get the trainer back to the winner’s circle for the second year in a row here. In 47 starts, she has six wins and has made over $1,200.000 in her career and had a solid third in the Grade 1 Taylor Stakes at WO two back, a race that saw her stablemate Ponzi Scheme come out on top. While that was good, her run last month in the Rodeo Drive was concerning but she has had races that like on occasion and recovered fine.

5- Ginger Lucy (The Sidley Stud, ridden by M Franco)- It’s career start number 35 for this Ginger Haggis mare, and she will be looking to pick up her first win of the year. Despite going winless, she has hit the board five times in nine starts and has been second in three of her last four, all of which are at the graded level. Came from well off the pace last month to finish in that spot in the Grade 2 Dance Smartly Stakes at WO. Can be competitive, but I couldn’t pick her to beat Superface Party.

6- Right As Rain (Alydar Stables, ridden by F Geroux)- If this race was in the summer, I could be a little more excited about her. After all, she has back-to-back second place finishes in the BEL Oaks and the SAR Oaks, but did not cash a check in her last two. She’s still running against top competition there, but I would have liked to have seen be closer to Superface Party last month in the Grade 1 QE II Challenge Cup. Hasn’t won since New Year’s Eve.

Prediction: 1-3-2-6

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES