Bassett Stables' Of a Revolution, undefeated through two starts, looks to keep his perfect record intact as he steps up to stakes company for the first time in Saturday's $100,000 Limehouse at Gulfstream Park.
The fifth running of the Limehouse and Glitter Woman for fillies, both sprinting six furlongs, are among five stakes for newly turned 3-year-olds worth $550,000 in purses on a New Year's Day holiday program headlined by the $150,000 Mucho Macho Man.
Post time for the first of 11 races is noon.
Championship Meet-leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. captured the 2021 Limehouse with Drain the Clock. Drain the Clock would go on to wins in the Claiborne Farm Swale (G3), Bay Shore (G3) and Woody Stephens (G1) and run second in the Fountain of Youth (G2) and Amsterdam (G2).
Like Drain the Clock, Of a Revolution has also begun his career with two straight wins before taking on stakes competition.
“This horse, from Day 1, has always showed a lot of talent. We call him Drain the Clock Jr.,” Joseph said. “He obviously has a long way to go to reach that standard but he's a nice horse. The first time out he won. The second time out he came off a layoff and beat a quality field. I thought he did it the right way. He missed the break and was still able to overcome that. We feel like he's very talented and he goes over there with a very big chance.”
Of a Revolution, by Maclean's Music, was favored in his May 29 debut at Gulfstream in a five-furlong maiden special weight, winning by a half-length over Cajun's Magic, who would come back to capture the FTBOA Florida Sire Dr. Fager and run second in the Affirmed and In Reality divisions.
“He was actually supposed to be an early kind of 2-year-old and we were going to take him to Saratoga after he won, and he got sick,” Joseph said. “So, we kind of got backed up on him and that's why it took us longer. We got him back and then we had to just wait around for a race.”
The wait ended Nov. 13, also at Gulfstream in a six-furlong optional claiming allowance where Of a Revolution was bumped and pinched back at the start but managed to work his way to the lead after a half-mile and sprinted clear to a 2 ½-length triumph over Summery, who also returns in the Limehouse. Third-place finisher Simplification is entered in the Mucho Macho Man.
“When he broke, I thought all chance was gone and he was still able to overcome it. He made a good move and he was able to sustain the move. I think he's a quality horse,” Joseph said. “We feel like he's going to become a good sprinter. He's all speed.”
Out of the Salt Lake mare Hot Spell, Of a Revolution is a half-brother to Hopkins, who ran second by a half-length to Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Shaaz in a Dec. 26 maiden special weight at Santa Anita. Hopkins earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 104 in defeat.
“The family is getting good, it looks like,” Joseph said. “We feel that he's very talented.”
Tyler Gaffalione has the assignment on Of a Revolution from Post 3 in a field of seven.
Lea Farms' Lightening Larry will be making his seventh career start and third straight in a stakes after finishing second to Make It Big in the seven-furlong Juvenile Sprint against fellow Florida-breds Oct. 30 at Gulfstream and Cattin the six-furlong Inaugural Dec. 4 at Tampa Bay Downs.
Make It Big, Of a Revolution's Joseph-trained stablemate, improved to 3-0 with a win in the Springboard Mile Dec. 17 at Remington Park, while Cattin ran fourth in the Affirmed and third in the In Reality.
“We love him. Last time in the stake at Tampa we just caught a little bit of a bad break there where we let the horse that ended up winning the race come up in between us and we should have moved down to the rail,” trainer Jeff Engler said. “But, live and learn. [Jockey] Romero [Maragh] even said he made a little bit of a mistake there but he still dug in, and [Cattin] is a nice horse, too. We just need a good break and a good trip and I think he's going to be right there again.”
Engler said Lightening Larry, first or second five times with two wins, had an excuse in his lone poor effort when he ran ninth after chasing the pace in the seven-furlong Affirmed Aug. 28. He came back six weeks later to take an optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream over the filly Muted, who returned with an 8 ½-length score against her own kind Nov. 11.
“The one race where he didn't finish on the board honestly wasn't his fault. He had a little stall accident where he had to get some stitches in his hind quarter, so he had missed like three weeks of training,” Engler said. “We kind of ran him in there before he was really ready so that was really a trainer fault. Now that he's back in regular training and on his regular breeze schedule he's always right there. He's just very aggressive and he loves the competition.”
Maragh gets the return call from Post 5.
“He's a nice horse and he loves to train. He's just a nice colt that loves his job. He's doing great. He's on go, and we're looking for good things,” Engler said. “He's grown up a lot and he's getting bigger and taller and I think in his 3-year-old year he'll really blossom.”
Monarch Stables, Inc.'s Last Leaf will take on the boys in her seasonal debut. In her only previous try against males, the Ron Spatz trainee won the five-furlong Hollywood Beach Sept. 25 over the Gulfstream turf. That effort came on the heels of a 10 ¾-length optional claiming allowance triumph 21 days earlier on a sloppy main track.
“I loved her turf sprint. She had a good turf sprint and I think she'll love that if we can get some more opportunities to do that. And, she loved the slop, too,” Spatz said. “She's doing good. She had a good work coming up to this, so all systems go.”
Last Leaf was third, beaten a length as the favorite, in a 5 ½-furlong sprint over Gulfstream's Tapeta surface Oct. 31. She was back on grass and stretched out to a mile for her most recent start, running fifth after being fractious in the gate of the Dec. 3 Wait a While.
“I didn't think she had a big fondness for the Tapeta when she ran, and she ran good. Then it was either go to Tampa to go in a six-furlong race or try her two turns,” Spatz said. “We decided to stay here and try the two turns and it didn't work out. She's a sprinter right now, and that's what we'll do. She's coming up good for it.”
Last Leaf drew the rail under Junior Alvarado and will carry low weight of 117 pounds as the lone filly in the field.
Also entered are Carl Hess Jr.'s Concrete Glory, who had a three-race win streak snapped when eighth in the Inaugural; O Captain, a 9 ¼-length maiden special weight winner in his lone start Aug. 14 at Gulfstream for trainer Gustavo Delgado; and Calumet Farm's Bueno Bueno, a winner of two straight at Ellis Park.
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