Time For A Change Stakes at Aqueduct

Wednesday stakes action picks up at Aqueduct this week with the running of the $100,000 Time for a Change Stakes for three-year-olds going a flat mile on the dirt. The race has drawn a field of nine colts and geldings, including the coupled entry of the Todd Pletcher-trained Micromanage and Midnight Taboo, who are the solid morning line favorite at 9-5.  Micromanage has made four straight graded-stakes starts, beginning with a third-place finish in the Grade I Haskell Invitational, and was most recently third in the Grade III Discovery Handicap. He has a win this year in the Easy Goer Handicap.

Former Belmont Stakes runner part of entry

Midnight Taboo, meanwhile, has had a more mixed campaign. He was behind his stablemate when finishing sixth in the Discovery, and prior to that he was second in the Coastal Stakes. Back in the spring he tried stepping all the way up to the Grade I level, but was a well-beaten twelfth in the Belmont Stakes. Another one coming out of the Discovery, where he finished fourth, is Florida-bred Battier, the 5-2 second choice. That marked his fifth straight appearance in a Grade II or III event, and he has a pair of thirds to show for his efforts during that stretch.

Souper Knight showing improvement

A longshot who might be in with a chance is Souper Knight at 15-1. A gelding who was unraced at two, he was well back when finishing eleventh in his first career start on turf, but has shown steady improvement, reeling off a maiden special weight win, then coming six wide to win a mid-level allowance race by three lengths at odds of 11-1 next time out, and then last time running second in the City of Laurel Stakes at Laurel Park, coming from well back to close in deep stretch while going seven furlongs.