OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Delayed one week by historic rainfall in the area, Saturday’s rescheduled Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Stakes at 1 1/2 miles over Aqueduct’s outer turf course could again be impacted by wet weather. Rain was forecast Friday and Saturday, though not nearly the 8.65 inches that fell last weekend, which forced the cancellation of two Aqueduct cards and the rescheduling of a third. Rebel’s Romance, at least last year, proved effective over both soft and firm ground, winning 5 of 7 starts including the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland. In two starts this year, he finished seventh in a wildly difficult Group 1 Sheema Classic in Dubai in March, then did not finish the Grade 2 Bowling Green at Saratoga when he clipped heels on the far turn with another runner and stumbled, unseating his rider, Richard Mullen. After briefly being considered for the Grade 1 Arlington Million, Rebel’s Romance was shipped back to trainer Charlie Appleby’s barn in England before returning here two weeks ago. Appleby was happy enough with Rebel’s Romance before shipping him here that he said, “I’ll be disappointed if the horse doesn’t win to be honest.” :: Get Belmont at the Big A Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. Appleby did note that Rebel’s Romance, this summer in Saratoga, seemed to go backward the longer he stayed. That he had to stay in New York an extra week following last weekend’s cancellation does not seem to concern his connections heading into Saturday. “He seems in good order,” Alex Merriam, an assistant to Appleby, said Thursday morning. “I don’t see any reason to assume he’s not as good a horse as he was last year. Hopefully, he can redeem himself Saturday.” Eight of the nine original entrants are back in the Joe Hirsch, named for the legendary Daily Racing Form columnist who died in 2009. Only Adhamo did not return as he is being considered for the Canadian International, trainer Chad Brown said. Brown will still be represented by Stone Age, who, when in the barn of Aidan O’Brien last year, finished second to Rebel’s Romance in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. In his only start for Brown, Stone Age finished fifth of six in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer on Aug. 28. “He was a little unsettled, he can be a bit of a handful, it didn’t really work out,” Brown said. “He was pulling a bit and was near the lead. I don’t think [Flavien] Prat had much choice the way it unfolded. Maybe, we’ll have a target in front of him.” Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Stone Age from post 7. The mare War Like Goddess won last year’s Joe Hirsch before finishing third behind Rebel’s Romance in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. War Like Goddess is 1 for 3 this year, having won the Grade 3 Bewitch at Keeneland, finishing sixth in the Grade 1 New York, and second, beaten a neck, in the Grade 2 Glens Falls. In the Glens Falls, War Like Goddess was asked away from the gate by jockey Joel Rosario and she got a bit rank. Trainer Bill Mott is making a jockey change to Junior Alvarado. “I don’t want to rush her out of the gate and I don’t want to drag her back to last and get her stuck,” Mott said. “She’s a closer is what she is, she likes to close, and she can close off a slow pace.” Soldier Rising is still in search of his first graded win. He has finished second in the Man o’ War, Manhattan, and Sword Dancer – all Grade 1 stakes in New York – and was seventh with a difficult trip in the Grade 2 Bowling Green. Christophe Clement, trainer of Solider Rising, is somewhat concerned about the speed-favoring nature of Aqueduct’s turf course, something he thought was still in play Thursday. However, with rain in the forecast, Clement said, “it’s going to be a completely different turf course on Saturday.” :: Bet the races with a $250 First Deposit Match + $10 Free Bet and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets. Pioneering Spirit, claimed for $40,000 in March by Linda Rice, has won 5 of 6 starts since being returned to the turf this year. He finished a well-beaten third in the Sword Dancer but came back to upset the Bernard Baruch on closing day at Saratoga. Though the Sword Dancer defeat came on yielding turf, Rice believes Pioneering Spirit can handle give in the ground. “He’s a smaller horse, he’s a lighter horse. If one’s going to handle it, I think he will,” Rice said. “He does have a quick turn of foot, which maybe that’s better on firm ground. We’re going to find out aren’t we?” Grand Sonata is coming off an allowance win at Saratoga for Todd Pletcher. Astronaut won the Grade 2 Red Smith in front-running fashion over this turf course last fall. So High has the looks of a rank outsider. The Hirsch is carded as race 4 (1:40 p.m. Eastern) on an 11-race card that includes five other graded stakes, including the Champagne and Frizette for 2-year-olds and 2-year-old fillies, respectively. These are the final three Grade 1 races to be run on this circuit in 2023. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.