Agave Kiss takes 'em gate to wire

Published Mar. 10, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Agave Kiss and Hardened Wildcat won the stakes for 3-year-old sprinters on Saturday at Aqueduct.

Both were favored in the betting, but their running styles were totally different.

Agave Kiss improved to a perfect 4 for 4 with a front-running victory in the $147,000 Cicada for fillies. It was her second straight stakes victory, having captured the Ruthless at Aqueduct in January. Ryan Curatolo was aboard for trainer Rudy Rodriguez as Agave Kiss ran six furlongs in 1 minute, 11.76 seconds.

Agave Kiss returned $2.50 for a $2 win bet as the 2-5 favorite.

Hardened Wildcat, the 2-1 choice, rallied to beat stablemate Beggarthyneighbor by 1-3/4 lengths in the $100,000 Fred Caposella. In his stakes debut, the gelding stretched his winning streak to three with Junior Alvarado in the saddle. Chad Brown trained the first two finishers who were uncoupled in the wagering. Hardened Wildcat was clocked in 1:10.89 for the same distance, and returned $6.20 to win.