Naive Melody breaks her maiden on debut Dec. 28 at Aqueduct (NYRA/Coglianese)
Mary Eddy/NYRA Press Office
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Averill Racing, James Cestaro and Chris Armbrust’s Naive Melody will make her stakes debut in Saturday’s $125,000 East View, a seven-furlong sprint for New York-bred sophomore fillies, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Wesley Ward, the daughter of Complexity looks to add to the legacy of her dam Goods and Services, who has already produced the promising young Grade 1-winning stallion Domestic Product, who captured last year’s H. Allen Jerkens Memorial at Saratoga Race Course and retired to stand his first season at stud this year at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky.
“We’re really excited and really looking forward to it with the pedigree she has and being that her brother is standing at Coolmore,” Ward said. “We have a lot to gain if we win this, that’s for sure.”
Naive Melody enters from an impressive debut victory from the outermost post 11 over the local going December 28, annexing the six-furlong state-bred maiden by three-quarter lengths after setting a pressured pace under Hall of Famer John Velazquez and fending off fourth-time starter Forever to Go in the final strides. The pair finished 8 1/2 lengths clear of third-place Miss American Pie, and Naive Melody earned a field-best 76 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.
“It all came together that day,” Ward said. “I had been telling Johnny about her, so he flew in to ride her. We drew in off the also-eligibles, so we drew the outside post, which is helpful to a first-time starter so if you break slow or this or that, you’re not shuffled back and getting behind dirt. She had an unimpeded run after they broke, and the filly that was second ran a very credible race that day and made her run for it. They were quick early on, and that other filly had a fitness edge in that she had a couple races. For our filly to end up on top, that says a lot.”
Ward said the promising filly stands out amongst a stable of talented young horses that includes recent Busanda-winner Running Away.
“She’s a different type of horse for the most part than all the horses I have in my barn. She’s a big, long, powerful and rangy filly, and didn’t really look like an early type, so that’s one of the reasons we gave her so much time to get to the races,” Ward explained. “She’s a big, huge filly, so for her to show that much speed [on debut], it even surprised Johnny. He didn’t think she’d have the speed she did. I think a lot comes from the dam’s side.”
While Naive Melody set the pace last out, Ward said he believes she is intelligent enough to be adaptable.
“She’s a really smart filly, and she’s like a teddy bear around the barn. She’s very easy to train, and I think with each and every race, she’s going to learn the racing game,” Ward said. “She picked up a lot from her first race, not just only fitness wise, but mentally. I’m looking forward to it.”
Bred by Sequel Thoroughbreds, the $220,000 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase returned to Kentucky following her victory and has posted two five-furlong works over the Turfway Park synthetic, including on January 26 when covering the distance in 1:02 flat.
Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux has the call from post 1.
ERJ Racing and Madaket Stables’ Boston’s Phinest [post 2, Manny Franco] vies for her first stakes score off of a fourth-place finish to Stone Smuggler in the NYSSS Fifth Avenue division over course and distance on December 14.
Trained by five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, the daughter of Honest Mischief finished fourth in her August debut at Saratoga Race Course but improved at second asking to graduate sprinting six furlongs against fellow state-breds in September here. She followed with a game runner-up effort to the well-regarded With the Angels in the state-bred Maid of the Mist on October 27 with a stalking trip that yielded a career-best 73 Beyer.
Boston’s Phinest, out of the unraced Curlin mare All in Time, was bred by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Cypress Equine and was a $190,000 purchase at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.
Robert Rosenthal and Bradford Bernstein’s New York homebred Bernieandtherose [post 4, Katie Davis] arrives off a pair of strong wins at the Big A. The daughter of Accelerate was a 7 3/4-length-winner at second asking against New York-breds at seven furlongs on November 3 and stretched out to a one-turn mile to capture a state-bred optional claimer by 6 1/4 lengths on November 24.
.@jockeykdavis gets it done aboard BERNIEANDTHEROSE for trainer Dominick Schettino in the 4th! pic.twitter.com/UaFBtSmdVW
— NYRA () (@TheNYRA) November 24, 2024
Bernieandtherose debuted with a half-length third in October sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs here at odds of 64-1 and showed versatility in her two victories with her maiden score coming from off the pace and her last-out effort coming in wire-to-wire fashion.
Out of the stakes-winning Freud mare Berning Rose, Bernieandtherose is a half-sister to Bernietakescharge, who has placed in three stakes for the same connections and won an optional claimer on January 11 here.
Clear Stars Stable, Mitre Box Stable and Big Toe Stables’ Straca [post 5, Luis Rivera, Jr.] makes her stakes debut for conditioner David Duggan off a third-out graduation going a one-turn mile on December 1 here.
The Spun to Run bay, bred by Pioneer Ventures, had set the pace in her second outing, but switched up tactics last out and rated one length off the pace in third under Luis Rivera, Jr. before shaking clear in the turn and coming away with the advantage at the stretch call. She powered home a 6 1/4-length winner over Willful Mama with next-out winner Cara’s Dreamweaver finishing another five lengths back in third.
STRACA, the 2YO daughter of @Gainesway stallion Spun to Run, breaks her maiden in the fifth race at 16-1 with @jockeylriverajr up for trainer @duggan101. pic.twitter.com/pvTp0fdww7
— NYRA () (@TheNYRA) December 1, 2024
Duggan said the removal of blinkers last out was a major key to success after she posted distance off-the-board efforts with the equipment in her first two outings.
“We had put the blinkers on as an educational thing and it backfired on us, and the minute we took the blinkers back off, she seemed to take a deep breath and relax,” Duggan said. “She always worked well, and she seems like she’s developing nicely.”
The $165,000 purchase at the 2024 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training is out of the Tiz Wonderful mare A Cut Ahead, a half-sister to Grade 3-winner Bryan’s Jewel.
Completing the field is Peter Kazamias’ homebred Storm Changer [post 3, Jose Gomez], who was last seen finishing seventh when making her stakes debut in the Fifth Avenue for conditioner Dimitrios Synnefias.
The East View is slated as Race 3 on Saturday’s nine-race card, which also features the $125,000 Damon Runyon in Race 2. First post is 12:40 p.m. Eastern.
