OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Jay Em Ess Stable’s Happy Medium will attempt to carry a strong second-out maiden coup into allowance company in Race 8 on Saturday, when facing six other winners going six furlongs over the Aqueduct main track.
Trained by Michelle Nevin, Happy Medium emerged off six months’ rest to break his maiden in September going six furlongs at Belmont Park by an emphatic 9 ¼ lengths, garnering a 103 Beyer. The bay son of Runhappy battled to the outside of a rival down the backstretch while under a strong hold from jockey Manny Franco, kicking clear in upper stretch and was wrapped up inside the final furlong.
“He had been training really well into his maiden win,” Nevin said. “He definitely showed up the right way, so we were extremely happy.”
On debut, Happy Medium displayed similar frontrunning tactics going seven furlongs in March at Aqueduct and finished third beaten 3 ½ lengths.
“In his first start, he was in against a salty group,” Nevin said. “Seven furlongs is always a tricky distance to try first out, but he still ran well. He was sort of an immature horse at the time, but we knew he was a good horse.”
Both starts for Happy Medium have taken place over a fast main track, but the weather calls for a high chance of precipitation on Saturday. Nevin expressed uncertainty of how the track might play.
“He’s trained really, really well,” Nevin said. “With the rain, we don’t know how much that will affect the track, but we’re happy with the way he’s going at the moment. We haven’t thought much past this race, we just want to allow him to develop.”
Bred by Colts Neck Stables, Happy Medium was a $300,000 purchase at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the Coronado’s Quest mare Well Spring, who also produced multiple grouped stakes winner Mendip.
Nevin also entered J and N Stables’ Our Last Buck, winner of the Say Florida Sandy in January at the Big A, as a main-track only entrant for Saturday’s $150,000 Artie Schiller scheduled for the inner turf.
Nevin said multiple stakes-winner My Boy Tate has been training well since his recent stakes victory in the Leon Reed Memorial on October 11 at Finger Lakes. The victory came just one week after defeating allowance company at Parx Racing.
Owned by Nevin in partnership with Little Red Feather Racing, the New York-bred son of Boys At Tosconova won the Hollie Hughes and the Haynesfield at Aqueduct in the winter and has not finished worse than fourth in nine starts this year.
“He’s doing well. He ran two races really close together, so we haven’t picked out anything yet for him,” Nevin said.
Aqueduct Racetrack week 2 stakes probables
Saturday, November 20
G2 Red Smith
Probable: Cold Hard Cash (Linda Rice), Doswell (Barclay Tagg), Price Talk (Tony Dutrow), Serve the King (Chad Brown), Shamrocket (Todd Pletcher), Soldier Rising (Christophe Clement), Tide of the Sea (Mike Maker), Value Engineering (C. Brown)
Possible: Channel Cat (Jack Sisterson)
Sunday, November 21
$100K Notebook
Probable: Bali’s Shade (Rudy Rodriguez), Cool Laoban (Mark Casse), Daufuskie Island (Kelly Breen), Hoboken Jack (Danny Gargan), Senbei (Clement)
Possible: Bustin Pietre (Bruce Levine)
$100K Key Cents
Probable: Caragate (Mitchell Friedman), Cupid’s Heart (Levine), Makin My Move (John Kimmel), Shesawildjoker (David Donk), Silver Fist (James Lawrence)
Aqueduct Saturday 10-Race Card
NYRA Press Office
Photo: My Boy Tate with Trainer Michelle Nevin after he won the 100k NY Bred Hollie Hughes at Belmont. (Photo courtesy of Michelle Nevin/Instagram)
