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Training Begins Over Gulfstream’s New Tapeta Surface; Racing Scheduled For Next Thursday

Training on the newly installed Tapeta track got underway Friday morning at Gulfstream Park, where horses galloped on the all-weather surface that is tentatively scheduled to open for races next Thursday afternoon.

Jockey Chantal Sutherland said she was impressed with the Tapeta surface after galloping Leon McKanas-trained Thenorthremembers, a 5-year-old Violence gelding who captured a mile turf race for $25,000 claimers in his most recent start.

“Of all the Tapetas and Polytracks this is, by far, one of the better ones. This is beautiful. The horse went over it effortlessly. It was super-soft, and you could not hear horses beside you making any noise on it. My horse, I couldn't hear hitting the ground,” Sutherland said. “They've done a great job on it. It seemed all level and really soft, very forgiving for horses.”

Joe Orseno-trained Timmy M. was among the first horses to gallop over the track that replaced the outer turf course. Twice stakes-placed on turf during his juvenile campaign, Timmy M., a 5-year-old son of Morning Line, has been competing in allowance optional claimer and claiming races since a fourth-place finish in November of 2019 in the Millions Turf Preview at Gulfstream Park West.

“He just ran the other day and we thought he was in a good spot where he could win. He didn't run very well. I was actually going to sell him, but then I said, 'You know what? Tapeta – let's try him,'” said Orseno, who was pleased with how Timmy M. looked getting over the new surface Friday. “We're going to run him at the end of the month on it, but today was just galloping for the sake of galloping. I thought it was a good experiment.”

Although most horses will be entering unknown territory on the Tapeta track, the new surface provides trainers with hope that some of their horses will improve over the new surface.

“You might get that odd horse that will go right up the ladder on it. Everyone's hoping that they have the one,” Orseno said.

Kathy Mongeon-trained Anonymous Source, a 4-year-old Florida-bred filly who won a $12,500 maiden claiming race on turf three starts back, was the first horse to step onto the Tapeta surface Friday with veteran exercise rider Walter Blum Jr. up.

“This felt amazing on the horse I was on. I think she really loved it,” Blum said. “People ask how do you know? When she first stepped on it, she was very light-footed, and when I went to pull her up, I could barely pull her up. She didn't even get tired and I let her clip around there finishing up.”

Blum has a wealth of experience galloping and breezing horses over all-weather surfaces.

“I rode Polytrack at Keeneland and Santa Anita. [The Tapeta surface] was so soft and nice. It had a lot of cushion to it, a lot of bounce,” Blum said. “I think it's going to be a fantastic surface once it works in in a week's time, once these guys are able to work on it, they're going to like this.”

Due to the closure of Gulfstream Park West, Gulfstream Park is scheduled to conduct racing year-round, prompting the construction of the Tapeta track. The new surface will provide a measure of relief to the turf course while offering a varied racing program for horses of all abilities. Gulfstream Park will become the first track to offer racing on dirt, turf and all-weather surfaces.

Thursday's program will mark the opening of the Fall Meet, during which races will not be scheduled on the turf course, which will undergo renovation for the Championship Meet. Six stakes, formerly run on turf, will be renewed on the Tapeta course.

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Yates Hoping To Honor Gil Campbell’s Memory In Saturday’s FSS In Reality

Trainer Michael Yates can't think of a more fitting way to honor the memory of Gil Campbell than to saddle Cajun's Magic for a victory in Saturday's $400,000 In Reality at Gulfstream Park.

“We'd love to win it in his honor, that's for sure,” Yates said.

Campbell, the prominent Florida breeder/owner who passed away Sept. 16 at the age of 91, and his widow, Marilyn, have had a long, long history of success in the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes, having been represented by 16 race winners in the lucrative series for juveniles sired by accredited Florida stallions.

Cajun's Magic, a homebred son of Cajun Breeze who campaigns for the Campbells' Stonehedge LLC racing stable, kicked off the 2021 FSS series with a victory over Dean Delivers, his Stonehedge LLC stablemate, in the $100,000 Dr. Fager at Gulfstream July 31 to give his highly respected and influential owners/breeders No. 16.

“He's gutsy; he's a trier; he's a game horse,” Yates said. “He's a very nice, solid horse.”

Cajun's Magic showed grit in his May 29 debut, in which he vied for pacesetting honors while racing between horses and fought back after losing the lead to finish just a half-length behind heavily favored Of a Revolution at five furlongs. He came right back to graduate by 4 ¾ lengths at 5 ½ furlongs before capturing the six-furlong Dr. Fager, in which he rated early before challenging Dean Delivers and prevailing from a stretch-long battle to win by a neck.

In the $200,000 Affirmed, the seven-furlong second leg of the FSS series, Cajun's Magic made a three-wide drive into contention but had to settle for a second-place finish, 3 ¼ lengths behind pacesetter Octane.

Cajun's Magic will face the two-turn test Saturday in the 1 1/16-mile In Reality, which will co-headline Saturday's Gulfstream Park program with the $400,000 My Dear Girl, the 1 1/16-mile FSS finale for fillies.

“It's a question for all of them. None of them have run that far yet,” Yates said. “He's been training well. He's had some nice, long, swift gallops, and I think he'll be ready.”

Jesus Rios has the call aboard Cajun's Magic, who will try to turn the tables on Arindel's homebred Octane.

The Affirmed victor will seek his third straight victory following a second-place finish in his June 14 debut at five furlongs. The son of Brethren overcame adversity to graduate in his second start at Gulfstream July 17, when he became fractious and unseated his rider before loading into the starting gate but went on to win by 1 ¾ lengths despite being checked leaving the backstretch. The Carlos David-trained Florida-bred did everything right in the Affirmed, in which he broke alertly from his rail post position to lead the way throughout the seven-furlong sprint.

“He came out of that race in really good shape,” David said. “He had to run his eyeballs out in that race. I gave him four days of walking. He's been able to have two breezes with no problems. So far, so good.”

Octane is expected to once again be a forward factor as he attempts to carry his speed around two turns in the In Reality.

“It will definitely be a challenge. It's his first time around two turns. So far, he has done everything right. I know he has tactical speed. We're not going to take that away from him,” David said.

Emisael Jaramillo has the return mount aboard Octane.

Arindel has also entered homebreds The Skipper Too, Clapton and Globes, all Juan Alvarado-trained sons of Brethren, in the In Reality. The Skipper Too graduated in his fifth career start Aug. 22, drawing clear by 1 ½ lengths after a stumbling start. Clapton followed up his second-start maiden victory with an eighth-place finish in the Affirmed, in which he stumbled at the start. Globes is a maiden who finished third in both of his starts.

Cristian Torres has been named on The Skipper Too; Chantal Sutherland has the call on Clapton; and Marcos Meneses is scheduled to ride Globes.

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Alex and JoAnn Liebling's Big and Classy, who improved on a fifth-place Dr. Fager showing to finish third in the Affirmed, will seek further improvement in the In Reality. The David Fawkes-trained son of The Big Beast, who raced evenly while finishing three lengths behind runner-up Cajun's Magic in the Affirmed, graduated by 5 ¾ lengths in his second career start.

“He worked in company with Noble Drama the other day and did excellent,” said Fawkes, who will also saddle multiple-stakes winner Noble Drama for Saturday's $125,000 FSS Wildcat Heir. “I was happy with his last race. Samy Camacho is riding him back this time, and I think he's got a huge chance.”

Big and Classy will make Camacho earn his mount fee.

“He doesn't want to sprint, No. 1, and No. 2, he's one of those kinds of horses you have to stay busy on. He'll relax under you too much. He's not the kind of horse that's going to take you unless you ask him, but he'll give you all he's got if you ask him.”

William Heiligbrodt, Corrine Heiligbrodt and Spendthrift Farm LLC's Cattin, a son of Neolithic trained by Ralph Nicks, and Amalio Ruiz-Lozano's Gold Special, a son of Jess's Dream trained by Angel Rodriguez, return in the In Reality after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Affirmed.

Edgard Zayas has the call on Cattin, while Jonathan Gonzales will be aboard Gold Special.

Our Sugar Bear Stable Inc.'s One More Score and Champion Equine LLC's Fivefive Six Champ round out the field.

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Outfoxed The Star Attraction In Saturday’s Florida Sire Series My Dear Girl

Anticipation for Outfoxed's next start began building the very instant the Bill Mott-trained filly crossed the finish line 13 ½ lengths clear of her competition in her FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series debut Aug. 28 at Gulfstream Park

The visually stunning and utterly dominating manner in which she graduated in the $200,000 Susan's Girl immediately raised the question: What could LNJ Foxwoods' 2-year-old filly possibly do for an encore?

The question is about to be answered.

Outfoxed is scheduled to make her highly anticipated return to action in Saturday's $400,000 My Dear Girl at Gulfstream Park, where the 1 1/16-mile FSS finale for juvenile fillies will co-headline Saturday's program with the $400,000 In Reality, the 1 1/16-mile open division FSS finale.

The Florida-bred filly, who was purchased for $360,000 at the OBS April 2-year-olds-in-training sale, looked like a bargain buy while making her second career start in the seven-furlong second leg of the lucrative series for juveniles sired by accredited Florida stallions.

After taking some coaxing to load into the gate, Outfoxed settled off the pace under Edgard Zayas before making an eye-catching five-wide sweep on the turn into the stretch and drawing off with complete authority. She ran seven furlongs in 1:23.81, more than a second faster than it took Octane to complete the distance of the FSS Affirmed against colts and geldings two races later.

Did the manner in which she overwhelmed her 10 rivals in the Susan's Girl prompt her connections to consider bypassing the My Dear Girl in favor of running her in a graded stakes elsewhere?

“We never really discussed it,” Mott said. “Everyone agreed we'd take advantage of the races available to her. She's eligible for these spots, and that's what was decided.”

It would have been understandable if Outfoxed's connections had decided to run her in a graded-stakes, considering that she entered the Susan's Girl off a late-closing third-place finish behind Echo Zulu in a Saratoga maiden special weight race. Echo Zulu went on to win the Spinaway (G1) in her next start.

“We liked her first race at Saratoga,” Mott said. “Even though she didn't win, she closed well.”

Could her dazzling graduation in the Susan's Girl have come a bit too easy for Outfoxed with reference to her preparedness for the My Dear Girl?

“Obviously, you don't know how she's going to do but, if it's the same group, I figure she did enough [last time],” Mott said. “A lot of times, you can be confused. It looks like they're doing it easy, but they still have to run.”

Gulfstream-based trainer Ralph Nicks, a former Mott assistant, has been overseeing Outfoxed's preparation for her return.

“She's had a couple works. She had a decent work the other day [with Ralph],” Mott said. “The first one was pretty easy, but she had a pretty good one the other day.”

Even at her very best, Outfoxed will need to prove she can reproduce the brilliance she showed in the Susan's Girl in a two-turn race such as the My Dear Girl.

“I'm not worried too much. It looks like it shouldn't be too much of a problem the way she ran the other day, but they always have to do it,” Mott said. “But she went seven-eighths the other day and she went pretty well.”

Outfoxed is the first winner for her first-crop sire Valiant Minister, a $680,000 son of Candy Ride who retired from racing after winning his six-furlong debut at Santa Anita for trainer Bob Baffert in January 2017.

Zayas has the return call on Outfoxed, who drew the No. 1 post position.

Champion Equine LLC's My Sassenach, who was victorious in the first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series, will seek to improve on a distant third-place finish in the Susan's Girl Saturday. The David Braddy-trained daughter of Uncaptured raced in traffic before closing to finish third in the Susan's Girl.

My Sassenach graduated in the six-furlong FSS Desert Vixen, shaking off a bumping incident at the start before romping to an 8 ¼-length triumph.

Miguel Vasquez has the return call on the filly who finished second in her debut prior to entering the FSS series.

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Chacalosa will be the new FSS face Saturday while making her Gulfstream debut off an open-stakes victory in the Arlington Lassie. The daughter of Jess's Dream graduated with a late-closing 36-1 upset victory in the seven-furlong sprint over Arlington Park's synthetic surface for owner/trainer Earl Hughes. The Florida-bred filly, who was winless in her two previous career starts, is scheduled to make her debut for Arlington Park's leading trainer Larry Rivelli in the My Dear Girl.

Emisael Jaramillo is slated to ride the Arlington invader for the first time Saturday.

Trainer Daniel Pita's Devilette, who set the pace before being overwhelmed by Outfoxed, will seek to improve on her second-place finish while trying two turns for the first time.

Pita, who saddled Princess Secret for a victory in last year's My Dear Girl, has awarded the return mount aboard Khozan-sired Devilette to Cristian Torres.

Trainer Michael Yate's Cajun Cousin is scheduled to make her stakes debut in the My Dear Girl following a second-place finish in an optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream.

“She's training fabulous. She has had three sprint races. She broke her maiden for a tag and came back in an A-other-than and finished second,” Yates said. “We thought the [Susan's Girl] was too quick back. We just wanted to train up to the mile-and-a-sixteenth and see what happens.”

Jesus Rios has the call aboard the daughter of Cajun Breeze.

Trainer Roger Laurin's Veiled Prophet, who finished fifth in the Susan's Girl, enters the My Dear Girl off a second-place maiden special weight finish. The daughter of Uncaptured had previously finished second in her first two career starts prior to her off-the-board finish in the second FSS leg.

Luca Panici has the mount.

Wendell Yates and Ronald Brown's Sequin Lady, who is winless in two starts, and Arindel's Baby Blue, a three-race maiden, round out the field.

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Gulfstream Rainbow 6 Jackpot Guaranteed At $200,000 Thursday

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $200,000 Thursday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The popular multi-race wager went unsolved for the fifth racing day since a Sept. 10 mandatory payout produced multiple payoffs of $313,299.84

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.

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