Just about a year ago, trainer Kelly Breen was preparing In Due Time for a planned start in the Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course.
Thursday afternoon, Breen will send the son of Not This Time to the track at Gulfstream Park with the hope that the 4-year-old colt will be able to fulfill the enormous potential he had shown before going to the sidelines before the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
“When you have a horse that close to running in the [Kentucky] Derby and who we were pointing to the Preakness, [it's disappointing],” Breen said. “He needed a little time off and a little time off turned into a long time off, but he looks great right now and we're just moving on to the future.”
In Due Time is scheduled to make his first start since finishing third in the Lexington Stakes (G3) at Keeneland last April in Thursday's Race 8 feature, a six-furlong stakes-quality optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up.
Edge Racing, Medallion Racing and Parkland Thoroughbreds' Kentucky-bred colt won at first asking in July 2021 at Monmouth Park. He returned the following year to run three times during Gulfstream Park's Championship Meet. After finishing third at six furlongs while coming off a layoff, In Due Time romped to a 5 ¾-length optional claiming allowance while stretching out to a mile. He stamped himself as a Triple Crown prospect when he finished a late-closing second behind Simplification in the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth (G2) before tuning up for the Preakness with a third-place finish in the Lexington.
“He looks more mature and he's put on a little bit of weight,” Breen said. “He's been training really well.”
In Due Time, the 5-2 morning-line favorite who will be reunited with jockey Paco Lopez, has found no easy spot for his return.
“Six furlongs, for sure, is too short for him, but he is a fast horse. Watching him train, I think his best distance is going to be a mile, but you never know,” Breen said. “He has the makings of a really nice horse. We're just try to bring him back nice and slow and let him perform and take it from there.”
Lea Farms LLC's Willy Boi will be seeking his first win of 2023 in Thursday's feature. Last season, the Jorge Delgado-trainee captured the Smile Sprint (G3) at Gulfstream before finishing third in the Alfred D. Vanderbilt (G1) at Saratoga.
Trainer Dan Hurtak's Celestial Glaze, who finished fourth in the April 1 Sir Shackleton following back-to-back optional claiming allowance races, will seek a return to winning form.
Arindel's Gatsby, trainer Jack Abrams and Ron Abrams' Powerfully Built and Daniel Walters' Yes I'm a Beast, are also among the feature's most prominent entrants.
In Due Time's highly anticipated return to action in Race 8 will be featured in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 sequence that will span Thursday's Races 3-8.
The Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $275,000 Thursday.
The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
The post Former Derby Hopeful In Due Time Returns From Year Layoff At Gulfstream Thursday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
