Ken Maddy Preview: Aqua Seaform Shame Takes Another Shot

ARCADIA, CA – Exiting a career-best effort last time out, Calvin Nguyen’s Aqua Seaform Shame takes another shot against stakes rivals in Saturday’s $100,000 Senator Ken Maddy Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park.

The Senator Ken Maddy is a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint restricted to fillies and mares ages 3 and up. This year’s edition is the eighth event on a 10-race card and has a local post time of 4:30 PM.

Here’s a look at the full field for the Senator Ken Maddy:

1. Jo Jo Air 5/2 – She returns to California for her much-preferred firm turf surface after fading in the The Very One Stakes over a yielding Pimlico lawn. She reunites with Flavien Prat, aboard her 2 starts back when she gamely took the Daisycutter Handicap at Del Mar by a neck over Lighthouse, who returned to win the Music City Stakes last time out.

2. Biddy Duke 6/1 – This 3-year-old steps back up to face older horses after running a good second behind a record-breaking winner in the Unzip Me Stakes last time out over this course and distance. She tied her career-best Beyer Speed Figure (85), but she must turn the tables on Aqua Seaform Shame, who edged her for second by a 1/2-length in the Unzip Me.

3. An Eddie Surprise 6/1 – She makes her first start since winning February’s 5 1/2-furlong Wishing Well Stakes by a 1/2-length over her favorite course: all 5 career wins came over the Santa Anita lawn. Trainer Doug O’Neill’s first-call jockey, Mario Gutierrez, shows confidence by choosing to ride her over her two barnmates (Biddy Duke and Lakerball). 

4. Lakerball 15/1 – O’Neill supplemented her into the race, which will be her first start since finishing third (beaten 2 lengths) behind a pair of future stakes winners in a local 1-mile event on March 8. O’Neill has a 10% success rate with a positive ROI when his runners return from similar layoffs, and Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will be aboard for the first time.

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5. Magic At Midnight 9/5 – This lightly-raced 4-year-old filly enters this event unbeaten in as many career starts, beginning with a debut score against maiden $30k claimers where she was tagged by her current connections. Racing protected ever since, she won her lone turf try (a 5-furlong optional-claiming sprint) by 2 3/4 lengths while returning from 11 months off.

6. Aqua Seaform Shame 4/1 – Like Biddy Duke, this 3-year-old filly steps back up to face older horses and brings a nearly-perfect turf sprint record (3-2-1-0) into her third straight stakes try. With last-out jockey Flavien Prat opting to ride Jo Jo Air, the equally-adept Umberto Rispoli will slide into the Florida-bred Kantharos daughter’s irons for the first time.

7. Zee Drop 8/1 – She cuts back to the shortest distance of her career after routing in her past 5 starts. Her lone prior turf sprint attempt was a 7-furlong dash against $40k claimers that she won in June 2019, but trainer Phil D’Amato has a 23% success rate in turf sprint stakes and has won 2 of his 9 shared mounts with her new jockey Ricky Gonzalez. Note that she’s cross-entered in Sunday’s 1-mile Goldikova Stakes (G2).

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