OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Even though he entered Signator in Saturday’s Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream Park, it was always trainer Shug McGaughey’s intent to run the improving 3-year-old son of Tapit in Sunday’s $150,000 Queens County Stakes at Aqueduct. Once assured the Queens County would fill, McGaughey on Thursday put Signator on a van from Payson Park in Indiantown, Fla., headed to New York, where Signator will make his stakes debut in the nine-furlong Queens County. “Distance and racetrack,” McGaughey said were the reasons he wanted to run Signator in the Queens County. The Queens County is run at 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct, while the Harlan’s Holiday is run at 1 1/16 miles at Gulfstream. Signator has recorded all three of his wins at Aqueduct, including a second-level allowance victory going 1 1/8 miles here Nov. 12, a race McGaughey thought was the 3-year-old’s best to date. “His last race was the race I’ve been looking for,” McGaughey said. “We’ve always liked him. We liked him as a 2-year-old, we had to stop on him. When we got him stated again, his first race was fair, his second race wasn’t that bad, then he got two good solid races under him. Now, he’s ready to step it up a little bit.” Signator sold for $1.7 million at the 2022 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. April 2-year-olds in training sale. He is owned by a partnership that includes West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing. The Queens County, which is being run for the 118th time, came up a solid race as six of the eight entrants are coming off wins, including Kinetic Sky, who on Thursday won a high-class allowance race going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct and was supplemented to this race by trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. Kinetic Sky earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure for the win. Should Kinetic Sky run, the move is reminiscent of summer 2012 at Saratoga, when Dutrow won the Albany Stakes on a Wednesday with Willy Beamin and then brought that horse back three days later to win the Grade 1 King’s Bishop. King Kumbalay, up from Parx Racing for trainer Butch Reid, comes off a win in the Richard Small Stakes on Nov. 25 at Laurel. In that race, King Kumbalay was blocked behind a wall of horses at the head of the lane. He bulled his way through under Abner Adorno and outfinished Forewarned to win by 1 3/4 lengths. “It was his best race for me so far,” said Reid, who has had the gelding by Shanghai Bobby for his last six starts. Adorno is back to ride from post 7. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Forewarned, an 8-year-old millionaire son of Flat Out making his 68th career start, won this race in 2021 at odds of 42-1. Based at Parx with Uriah St. Lewis, he came back to Aqueduct three months later to win the Excelsior Stakes, also at 1 1/8 miles. Constitutionlawyer has won two consecutive allowance races, one at 1 1/4 miles, the other at one mile. Trainer Ray Handal said the Queens County became the goal after the 1 1/4-mile win in October, but he didn’t want to wait 79 days between races, so that’s why Handal cut him back to a mile on Nov. 26. Handal said Constitutionlawyer was plagued by foot problems earlier in his career and they seem to be under control. Dylan Davis rides Constitutionlawyer from the rail. Trainer Todd Pletcher entered the uncoupled pair of Crupi and Lost Ark. Crupi, by Curlin, is coming off a victory against 3-year-olds in the Discovery Stakes going nine furlongs here Nov. 3. Lost Ark, by Violence, won the off-the-turf Jockey Club Derby on Oct. 7 before finishing last of 11 in the Grade 2 Red Smith on turf. Quality Chic, a 3-year-old gelding by Quality Road, sandwiched two allowance wins going long on dirt around a last-place finish in the Grade 2 Hill Prince on turf. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.