Weigh The Risks, NYRA Photo
Mary Eddy
Klaravich Stables’ Weigh the Risks made easy work of four rivals with a dominant 9 3/4-length victory in Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Go for Wand, a one-turn mile for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, the 4-year-old daughter of Mendelssohn doubled up on local stakes scores after taking the Listed Pumpkin Pie sprinting seven furlongs on November 8, and brought her win streak to three. She made six of her first seven outings on the turf, but has won 5-of-6 starts since making the switch to dirt.
Weigh the Risks emerged from post 2-of-5 under regular pilot Manny Franco, and made her way to the front in tandem with Stonewall Star to her outside before putting a half-length between her rival and showing the way through the opening quarter-mile in 23.82 seconds over the fast footing.
“The other speed was outside me but ‘Plan A’ was to let her go to the lead and let the other guys sit,” Franco said. “She was so comfortable on the lead with her ears pricked up, so I was confident with the way she was travelling.”
A tightly-bunched field raced behind Weigh the Risks down the backstretch before Stonewall Star was nudged along through the half-mile in 47.88, inching closer as Franco sat chilly aboard the pacesetter approaching the turn.
Stonewall Star was fully engaged around the bend, but spun her wheels as Weigh the Risks widened her margin through three-quarters in 1:12.33. The Kendrick Carmouche-piloted Scalable, who was last at the half-mile call, made a mild bid on the inside, but was no match for Weigh the Risks as she galloped down the lane and crossed the wire geared down in a final time of 1:37.64.
Scalable held second by two lengths over Just Katherine with Zadorsky and Stonewall Star completing the order of finish. Tipple was scratched.
The victory brought Franco’s win total this year on The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit to 199. A short while later, a win in Race 8 at the Big A aboard Collect the Data for the same connections brought his tally to 200, a 28-win lead over Kendrick Carmouche in the yearly standings.
“It means a lot. You need to be consistent because that’s the way they put you on live horses day in and day out,” Franco said. “I work hard and my agent, John Panagot, is doing a great job, so I have to give him a lot of credit.”
Carmouche, who has 172 NYRA wins on the year, said the Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher-trained Scalable tried her best against a talented winner.
“She ran good. Just second best,” Carmouche said. “That’s the only way to put it. The winner is a beast of a horse.”
Bred in Kentucky by Porta Pia Stables, Weigh the Risks was a $205,000 purchase at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale. She banked $82,500 and improved her lifetime record to 13-6-2-0 while returning $3.34 as the 3-5 post-time favorite.
Live racing resumes Sunday at the Big A with an eight-race card. First post is 12:40 p.m. Eastern.
America’s Day at the Races presents live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct fall meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.
NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
