Khali Magic charges to the front in the NYSSS Staten Island, NYRA Photo
Keith McCalmont
Khali magic turned every pole into a winning one thanks to a sharp ride by Ruben Silvera in the $125,000 Staten Island division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series on Saturday, a seven-furlong sprint for eligible fillies and mares 3 years and older, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The 7-year-old New York-bred daughter of Al Khali, trained and co-owned by Rudy Rodriguez with Steven Speranza, has been halved twice this year for $45,000, including in August through her current connections. With the victory, Khali Magic is now a 12-time winner from 48 career starts and has secured her first career stakes score in her fifth attempt.
“Since we claimed her, she’s been a very straight-laced filly. She’s run for us three times now, so maybe the third time was the charm,” Rodriguez said. “I like the way Ruben rides. He’s one of my favorite riders and he’s an aggressive, fast rider. I thought we were going 21 or 22 flat today, but when we went 23 we were live.”
Stone smuggler was pushed out of the inside post by Manny Franco, but Silvera soon had Khali Magic in charge to lead the way through an opening quarter mile in 23.15 seconds around the sloppy and closed main circuit.
“I tried to break well because she likes the sloppy track. I try to take the lead calmly and wait for the end and see what happens,” Silvera said.
The fast 2-5 favorite after the time Sunday girl followed from third position to the outside of Solo shot while Khali led Magic through the turn and half mile in 46.38 as Stone Smuggler pulled away. Khali Magic took the field onto the track as Soloshot climbed the fence and Sunday Girl spun her wheels under Flavien Prat.
A game Khali Magic stayed strong and held her lane as the Jaime Rodriguez-driven Soloshot tried to finish on the inside before switching to an outside path in the last sixteenth. Soloshot came back to life when eliminated, but Khali Magic had the upper hand, scoring by half a length in a final time of 1:23.84. It was three lengths back to Intentious in third Lights from the city centerStone Smuggler, Sunday Girl and Stormchanger complete the order of finishing.
Jaime Rodriguez’s rider’s appeal against Silvera and Khali Magic for interfering in the stretch run was dismissed.
“I heard someone inside [Soloshot]but I never opened it [the rail]. If I did that, maybe she would beat me,” Silvera said.
Jaime Rodriguez said the Ilkay Kantarmaci-trained Soloshot, at odds of 30-1, was a defeat.
“At first I tried to save some ground. I didn’t want to be too far out and waited for space,” Rodriguez said. “By the time I got her out, she was ready and kicked me, but it was too late.”
Trainer Rudy Rodriguez said Khali Magic, who won for the fourth time in seven attempts due to wet feet, took advantage of a sloppy track that appeared to hamper David Duggan-trained favorite Sunday Girl.
“The wet track [helped]and she looked seven-eighths [would suit her]. When they went 23 with the way the song was playing the last few days, it was amazing,” Rodriguez said. “When I saw that, I thought we were very live. Maybe today wasn’t the Duggan filly’s day and maybe she couldn’t handle the sloppy track so when I saw her [Khali Magic] outside beautiful, I said, ‘this is good.’ We succeeded today.”
Khali Magic, bred in the Empire State by Wachtel Stable, out of the winning Smokin Mel mare Smokin Sue, took home $68,750 while improving her record to 48-12-9-7. She returned $27.16 for a $2 win bet.
Live racing resumes Sunday at the Big A with a nine-race card featuring the $150,000 Forever Together in Race 4 and the Grade 3, $150,000 Pebbles in Race 8. The first post is 12:10 PM Eastern.
America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack fall meet on the FOX Sports networks. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.
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