Exotics Plays for the Autumn Days Stakes

A nice cast of fillies and mares will dash six panels on the grass in the closing race at Aqueduct on Friday, the $150,000 Autumn Days S. Trainer Graham Motion has two prime players in the heat including South African import #6 Golden Hostess (6-1). The talented mare gave a nice impression of herself while making her U. S. debut at Keeneland off the long layoff when finishing third by a neck in an allowance tilt on the sod, and improvement is expected as she makes her second stateside run in this affair. The Gold Standard five-year-old displayed a nice turn of foot most recently and seems very logical to me with Manny Franco in the controls. 

Autumn Days Exotics

• $8 exacta 6 with 2,4,10 ($24)
• $2 trifecta 2,6 with 2,4,6,10 with 2,4,6,10 ($24)
• $.10-cent superfecta 2,4,6,10 with 2,4,6,10 with 2,4,6,10 with ($16.80)

Motion’s #4 Toupie (2-1) was very impressive when leading at every call in the Unzip Me S. at Santa Anita and has been quite good in 2024. This Uncle Mo sophomore will have to face her elders in a deep field, but the homebred is in fine form and I’m confident that she will be able to handle the task under the guidance of repeat rider Flavien Prat. 

Conditioner Christophe Clement has a pair of live players in the field, and both merit inclusion in my opinion. #10 Love Appeals (5-1) has won or placed in each of her three local runs to date and just missed in the Floral Park S. on the course most recently. The Speightstown four-year-old will stalk the pace while in the clear throughout beneath Dylan Davis. 

Caress S. (G3) victress #2 Dontlookbackatall (2-1) sports a 13-5-5-0 lifetime mark on the lawn, and she will also have Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the silks. The Peace and Justice filly had a string of nine straight top-two performances halted at Keeneland last time out, but I expect her to rebound with a big showing on Friday. The versatile four-year-old looms large with her top run.