East View Stakes 2024 | Aqueduct Picks

Dicke Racing’s Caldwell Luvs Gold will cut back in distance as she returns to New York-bred company in Sunday’s $100,000 East View Stakes, a six-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The East View is slated as Race 7 on Sunday’s eight-race card which also features the $100,000 Damon Runyon in Race 4. First post is 1:20 p.m. Eastern.  

Trained by Brad Cox, the Goldencents bay made her first four starts around one-turn against fellow state-breds before taking on open company last out when a wide and distant fifth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Demoiselle on December 2 here at Aqueduct.

Caldwell Luvs Gold won her first two outings with rallying efforts last summer sprinting six furlongs at Saratoga Race Course, graduating by 2 3/4-lengths on debut in July ahead of a half-length score in the Seeking the Ante on August 27.

The $73,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale purchase followed with a last-of-5 rush to finish second in the seven-furlong Joseph A. Gimma in September here over a sloppy and sealed main track. She entered the Demoiselle from a five-wide third to the streaking My Mane Squeeze in the one-turn mile Maid of the Mist on October 29.

Assistant trainer Dustin Dugas said Caldwell Luvs Gold has enjoyed some time off between starts and demonstrated her eagerness for a return with a five-eighths breeze in 1:01.65 in company with stakes-winner Looms Boldly on Friday over the Belmont Park dirt training track.

“She got her little break that she needed. Brad is one that will give these young horses maybe five starts and then give them a break,” Dugas said. “She had a pretty good little run [last year] and kicked off hot. She did well and earned her break, so we’ll see coming off the break if we’ve done our job and have her tight enough. She breezed with Looms Boldly, so it’s not like she had just any breeze – she was there with another good one.”

Caldwell Luvs Gold, bred by Jeremiah Desmond and Drumkenny Farm, is out of the Quality Road mare Snow, who is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-placed Quindici Man.

Manny Franco has the call from the inside post.

Robert Rosenthal and Bradford Bernstein’s multiple stakes-placed homebred Bernietakescharge [post 7, Trevor McCarthy] earned a field-best 85 Beyer Speed Figure for her runner-up effort to My Mane Squeeze two starts back in the state-bred Franklin Square here at Aqueduct.

Trained by Domenick Schettino, the Take Charge Indy dark bay has hit the board in 5-of-6 starts, all against fellow Empire State-breds, including a second-out graduation by 8 1/2-lengths in August traveling one-mile from the Spa’s Wilson Chute and a three-quarter length optional-claiming win going six furlongs in December at the Big A.

Bernietakescharge utilized a prominent trip in the 6 1/2-furlong Franklin Square on January 14 here, battling head-and-head for the lead with My Mane Squeeze at the top of the lane before acquiescing.

Bernietakescharge, out of the stakes-winning Freud mare Berning Rose, enters Sunday’s test from a distant third to the victorious My Mane Squeeze in Aqueduct’s one-turn mile Maddie May on February 18. She worked back a half-mile in 49.27 March 4 over the Belmont Park dirt training track.

“She came out of her last race in good shape and worked well. I think she got shuffled too far back last time and needs to be closer,” Schettino said.

Schettino said the cut back in distance won’t hamper his filly’s chances.

“She won going six and a half, so I don’t think it will be a problem,” Schettino said. “We just need to have her up closer – either on the lead or right off the pace. I’m not sure if she’ll stay sprinting, we’ll see how she runs this race and go from there. She tries every time you ask her.”

Richie Rich Racing Stable’s Sweet Brown Sugar [post 2, Jose Lezcano] has won 3-of-5 starts for trainer Paul Barrow.

The Collected bay made her first two outings with frontrunning scores at Finger Lakes, taking her October debut traveling 5 1/2-furlongs by 6 3/4-lengths and the six-furlong Shesastonecoldfox by 5 1/2-lengths in November.

Sweet Brown Sugar finished fifth in the Franklin Square in her Aqueduct debut and followed with a pair of state-bred optional-claiming sprints here when a distant third in February ahead of a last-out stalk-and-pounce score when 4 1/4-lengths the best over muddy and sealed footing.

Bred by Chester and Mary Broman, Sweet Brown Sugar was purchased for $32,000 at the OBS June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale and is out of the winning Bodemeister mare Rachel’s Blue Moon. Her second dam is the graded stakes-placed Beautiful But Blue and her third dam is multiple stakes-winner Beautiful America.

Rounding out the Aqueduct field are:

• Stakes winner Soloshot [post 3, Romero Maragh], who makes her first start off the claim for trainer Lolita Shivmangal
• Rumint [post 6, Kendrick Carmouche], who finished a distant ninth last out in the Maddie May for trainer Keri Brion
• Two-time winner Thirteen Red Flags [post 5, Isaac Castillo] for conditioner Amira Chichakly
• Maiden winner Bustin Time [post 4, Luis Rivera, Jr.] for trainer Robbie Davis