OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Treaty Obligation was enjoying a solid winter campaign until the gates opened for a Feb. 8 race in which he was the second choice in an 11-horse field. Treaty Obligation stumbled at the start and things didn’t improve from there as he raced in between and behind horses and never had room to do much running, finishing eighth. With that race behind him and a subsequent freshening, Treaty Obligation returns Thursday in a competitive second-level allowance/optional $62,500 claimer going one mile that serves as the feature on an eight-race card. Linda Rice claimed Treaty Obligation for $50,000 last summer out of a winning effort for Chad Brown and Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables. In his next two starts, Treaty Obligation won a starter allowance, then a first-level allowance, both going a mile at Aqueduct. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. When stepped up to the next level, Treaty Obligation finished third, a neck behind stablemate Yo Daddy on Jan. 12. Yo Daddy came back to win his next start with a career-best 95 Beyer Speed Figure. General Banker, second in that Jan. 12 race, came back to clear his second-level condition two starts later. Treaty Obligation would benefit from pace and there appears to be plenty in this eight-horse field. Magnolia Midnight and Ignite the Light like to be forward. Parx shipper Big Boys Answer, a winner of three of his last four, figures to be up close as well breaking from the rail. Two of Treaty Obligation’s former stablemates are his main competition. Reasoned Analysis and Leading Contender run as a coupled entry for Brown and Klarman. Reasoned Analysis won last April’s Bay Shore Stakes before he finished fourth in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens. On March 9, his first start in nine months, Reasoned Analysis finished 13 lengths behind Just Beat the Odds in this same condition going 6 1/2 furlongs. That race proved to be a key one as Just Beat the Odds came back Saturday to run second, beaten a neck, in a third-level allowance with a 96 Beyer. Twenty Four Mamba and He’smyhoneybadger, second and sixth, respectively, in that March 9 race both came back to win their next starts. It would appear that Reasoned Analysis will have to run faster than he has to date to win Thursday. Leading Contender, a 6-year-old gelding by Gun Runner, hasn’t been out since finishing fifth, 30 lengths behind Arthur’s Ride in this condition going 1 1/4 miles last June. Leading Contender’s last win, a first-level triumph on Dec. 30, 2023, came back a very fast race and that effort could make him a player here. Ignite the Light, trained by Rick Dutrow, has shown marked improvement with the addition of Lasix. He has won two of his last three starts and steps into this condition for the first time. Surveillance possible for Nerud Short turnarounds don’t seem to bother Surveillance. The 8-year-old gelding won a high-class allowance race Saturday at Aqueduct one week after he finished fourth in the Grade 2 Carter Stakes. Now, he may be headed back to stakes company in the Grade 3, $175,000 John Nerud at six furlongs on May 10. Trainer Linda Rice claimed Surveillance last November for $62,500. He had three seconds before his fourth in the Carter. Rice has been successful with short turnarounds with other horses. “He’s a hearty horse, I thought he might respond well to the quick turnaround,” Rice said. “I was very pleased. The other speed horse didn’t break, we broke well and made the lead.” Surveillance ran six furlongs in 1:09.27 over a sloppy track and earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure, equaling the third-highest figure of his 44-race career. Before Saturday, his last win came in the off-the-turf Grade 3 Troy Stakes last August, when he was running back two weeks after being claimed by Wayne Potts. In 2022, when in the barn of Keith Desormeaux, he won the Thanksgiving Classic on 11 days’ rest. Vassimo may try Peter Pan Vassimo, fourth in the Risen Star Stakes and sixth in the Louisiana Derby, is back in New York for trainer Todd Pletcher and is under consideration for the Peter Pan Stakes on May 10. Vassimo was beaten 7 1/2 lengths by Tiztastic in the Louisiana Derby after racing farther off the pace than Pletcher would have liked. “I thought he ran fine, we just didn’t get very good early position,” Pletcher said. “He’s a steady grinder that needs to be more involved early on in order to make an impact. Hopefully, he can improve on that.” Vassimo worked a half-mile in 50 seconds over the Belmont Park training track on Friday. Pletcher’s barn has been on a roll lately winning with five of its last six starters at Aqueduct’s spring meet. That run included a 3 1/2-length victory by Prince Valiant in Sunday’s $194,000 Times Square division of the New York Stallion Stakes. It was third straight win for Prince Valiant, a son of King for a Day. He earned an 88 Beyer Speed Figure for the performance. Prince Valiant would seem a logical candidate for the $200,000 Mike Lee Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-olds at Saratoga on June 4. Pletcher is 7 for 13 at the spring meet. He is two wins behind Linda Rice, who is 9 for 38. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.