Distaff Handicap Predictions, Picks, Odds (Aqueduct)

The only graded stakes winner in the field, Gerrymander looks to return a winner when she headlines a field of eight older females entered in Saturday’s Grade 3 Distaff Handicap at Aqueduct.

Trained by Chad Brown, the 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief has been a stakes winner in New York in each of her first two seasons on the racetrack. 

A winner of the Grade 2 Mother Goose at Belmont Park three starts back, she has won 3-of-8 overall. This will be her first start since a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Grade 1 Cotillion last September.

Chief among her opposition in the 7-furlong Distaff will be a pair of streaking New York-breds.

Rossa Veloce has won four of her last five starts for trainer Rob Atras. A 5-year-old Giralomo mare, she is coming off two sharp wins over the track. 

Most recently, she earned her first career stakes victory when she went wire-to-wire in last month’s Correction Stakes to win by better than five lengths.

Meanwhile, Funny How has won five in a row for trainer Raymond Handal. A daughter of Overanalyze, she finished third in her first two career starts but has not been beaten since. 

Like Rossa Veloce, she also earned her first career stakes victory last time. After breaking slowly, she powered by her New York-bred competition to win the Broadway Stakes going away. 

Distaff Handicap Predictions and Race Analysis

Gerrymander

Away from the races since the Grade 1 Cotillion last fall, her trainer Chad Brown knows how to have horses ready off the layoff. Twice a stakes winner at Belmont, this will be her first career start at Aqueduct. 

Her biggest win came last summer while going a little longer than this in the 8 1/2-furlong Mother Goose. The shorter distance she will find on Friday could be a tough ask in her first race back while facing some good sprinters.

At her best, this daughter of Into Mischief would likely win this, but away for just over six months, I am not sure she will be quite sharp enough. Still, she is an obvious threat.

Rossa Veloce

One of three New York-breds in the field, this 5-year-old mare has never been better. With strong early speed, she has been tough to catch of late. In fact, only one horse has been able to pass her in the last five. 

All of those came at Aqueduct, where she has won 7-of-13 lifetime. Trained by Rob Atras, she has a conditioning edge over Gerrymander and she also has a pace advantage. 

It’s rare to see a graded sprint without much speed, but I believe that is what she has found here. As for the controlling speed, I like her chances for her second stakes score in less than a month. She is the top pick.

Funny How

Another New York-bred, this daughter of Overnalyze has won five straight races dating back to last September. Each of the five have come at Aqueduct and she has also won two straight at the 7-furlong distance. 

She even overcame a slow start last time to rally for the win. That was her first stakes victory, but it did come against fellow state-breds.

This will undoubtedly be the toughest competition she has ever faced, but with all the positives, she is impossible to dismiss and is one of the biggest threats to the top pick.