gulfstream park | Horse Racing Free Tips

Gulfstream Park: Sir Anthony Posts Jerkens Upset; Sunday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Has $550,000 Guarantee

Déjà vu at Gulfstream Park.

Richard Otto Stables Inc.'s Sir Anthony, winner of the 2018 Harlan's Holiday (G3) at odds of 25-1, ran down the pacesetter Conviction Trade to win Saturday's $75,000 H. Allen Jerkens at two miles at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Odds for Sir Anthony in the Jerkens? 25-1.

A 5-year-old by Mineshaft winless in four previous attempts on the turf, Sir Anthony covered the rare, two mile distance in a track record 3:19.48 under jockey Julien Leparoux. The Jerkens was Sir Anthony's first victory since winning the 2019 Cornhusker (G3).

“We've been trying for a race for him on the dirt and it's been a while since he won. I was really looking for a confidence race for him and to get a race past a mile, which is tough to do,” said trainer Anthony Mitchell. “The opportunities out there were really for longer races on the turf, so we gave him a couple of runs on the turf in Arlington and it looked like he was OK on it, so we had that in the back of our mind. Moving forward we were looking for a race past a mile and an eighth. The opportunity to go two miles was out there and we presented it to the owner. He agreed, so we took a crack at it.”

Conviction Trade and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. took the field of 11 through fractions of :26.06, 51:57, 1:17.05 and 1:41.81 and held the lead entering the stretch before Sir Anthony and Leparoux took over inside the eighth pole.

“I said it after he won the Harlan's Holiday, they don't give him the respect he deserves,” Anthony said. “The owner is a pure champion of a man. He's been good to me and our relationship has been 26 years now. He bred this horse, along with a lot of other graded stakes winners that I've had. Full credit to Mr. Otto.”

Sunday's Rainbow 6 Guarantee $550,000
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 will have a guaranteed pool of $550,000 when racing resumes Sunday with a 12:05 p.m. first race post.

Multiple winning tickets in Saturday's Rainbow 6 returned $24,981.16.

The jackpot pool is only 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.

There will also be a Super Hi-5 carryover Sunday of $5,069.17.

Sunday's Rainbow 6 sequence begins in the sixth race, post time 2:38 p.m., with a claiming event at 1 1/16 mile on the turf. Four of the six races in the sequence will be contested on the turf.

The third leg, an allowance optional claimer for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 mile on the turf, features an intriguing cast including Gary Barber's Declarationwarrior, making her first start since in 10 months since finishing third in the Herecomesthebride (G3), Princesa Caroline, graded-stakes placed at Del Mar as a juvenile and making only her second start in 13 months, Mimina's Team, making her first start since May when finishing fifth in the Honey Ryder here at Gulfstream, and Setting the Mood, making her first start since finishing fourth in the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) in September.

Who's Hot: Irad Ortiz Jr. had three winners Saturday with Amount ($5.20) in Race 5, Colonel Liam ($4.40) in Race 8 and the Tropical Park Derby, and What's to Blame ($23.80) in Race 9. Jockey Julien Leparoux won two stakes, taking the Jerkens with Sir Anthony and the Tropical Park Oaks with Vigilantes Way ($7).

The post Gulfstream Park: Sir Anthony Posts Jerkens Upset; Sunday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Has $550,000 Guarantee appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Jerkens Marathon Asks Unique Question Of 11 Entrants Saturday At Gulfstream

Saturday's $75,000 H. Allen Jerkens Stakes at Gulfstream Park will be a journey into the unknown for the vast majority of its 11 entrants, who will be asked to run two miles for the first time in their lives.

The Jerkens, a two-mile turf marathon that honors the memory of the beloved Hall of Fame trainer, will highlight Saturday's 11-race program at the Hallandale Beach, Fla. track. The $75,000 Tropical Park Derby and the $75,000 Tropical Park Oaks and will kick off the sequence of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 that will offer a $400,000 jackpot guarantee.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will saddle High Noon Rider with the knowledge that the 8-year-old gelding has a two-mile victory on his 55-race resume, but he still has a big question heading into the Jerkens.

“He's won at two miles already at Presque Isle, but it was a much different class than he'll be running against Saturday,” said Joseph, whose trainee is rated second in the morning line at 9-2 in a most competitive renewal of the Jerkens.

GenStar Thoroughbreds' High Noon Rider, who has won 15 races and more than $600,000 in earnings, captured a two-mile starter optional claiming allowance by 2 ¼ lengths in October 2019. While the victory came over Presque Isle Downs' synthetic surface, the versatile gelding captured a 1 ½-mile starter handicap on turf at Laurel Park in his previous race.

“The owner wants to give him a shot in this race. I kind of believe he's best at a mile or a mile and an eighth, but he loves Gulfstream and he has won at two miles,” Joseph said. “We'll give it a try. He's in good form.”

High Noon Rider is coming off a fast-closing victory in the 1 1/16-mile victory in the Claiming Crown Emerald over Gulfstream Park's turf course, over which he has won six of 10 starts.

“He's coming off his best race and he loves Gulfstream,” Joseph said. “Those are the two reasons why I'm willing to give it a try.”

Edgard Zayas, who was aboard for the Emerald score, has the return call.

Goldigo Racing LLC, Rick Gold and Mark Mathiesen's Muralist is untested at two miles but will be saddled for the first time by a trainer with a record of marathon excellence. Among Brendan Walsh's growing list of accomplishments are victories in the Marathon (G2), a 1 ¾-mile race on dirt that was formerly a Breeders' Cup event but is still run on World Championships weekend. Walsh visited the Santa Anita winner's circle with Cary Street in 2014 and Scuba in 2016.

Muralist, a 4-year-old gelded son of Street Sense, won two of nine starts in Southern California before finishing a troubled fifth in the 1 5/8-mile Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G2) on Breeders' Cup Weekend at Keeneland. Trainer Dan Blacker returned to his Southern California base, while Muralist remained behind in Walsh's care.

Paco Lopez is scheduled to ride Muralist for the first tie Saturday.

West Point Thoroughbreds and partners' Focus Group enters the Jerkens as a graded-stakes winner over the Gulfstream Park turf course but will also be returning from a 10-month layoff. The 6-year-old Kitten's Joy gelding has been out of action since finishing seventh in the March 29 Pan American (G2), a race the Christophe Clement-trained gelding won the year before over the Gulfstream course.

Focus Group, who will return as a gelding, will be ridden by Junior Alvarado.

Trainer Michael Maker is represented by four horses in the Jerkens, including David Staudacher's Conviction Trade, the 4-1 morning-line favorite who will be ridden by defending two-time Championship Meet titlist Irad Ortiz Jr.; Michael Dubbs' Hieroglyphics, Paradise Farms Corp. and Staudacher's Treasure Trove, and William Butler's Dante's Fire.

Clear Vision, Tintoretto, Cowtown and Sir Anthony round out the field.

The post Jerkens Marathon Asks Unique Question Of 11 Entrants Saturday At Gulfstream appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Romans Has Trio Nominated To Jan. 2 Mucho Macho Man At Gulfstream Park

Albaugh Family Stables LLC's Smiley Sobotka and Sittin On Go are prominent on the list of nominations for the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man, a one-turn mile stakes that will kick off the Road to the Florida Derby (G1) for newly turned 3-year-olds Jan. 2 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The Mucho Macho Man will headline a program with four other stakes that will be renewed this year Lasix-free, including the $75,000 Ginger Brew, the $75,000 Dania Beach, the $75,000 Limehouse, and the $75,000 Glitter Woman.

Dale Romans-trained Smiley Sobotka and Sittin On Go are both sons of Albaugh Family Stables LLC's Brody's Cause, whom Romans saddled for victories in the 2015 Breeders' Futurity (G1) and 2016 Blue Grass (G1).

Smiley Sobotka followed up a dominating maiden score at Keeneland with a close-up second in the Nov. 28 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill last time out. The Ontario-bred colt was pressured while setting or prompting the pace from the inside throughout the 1 1/16-mile race but held gamely to finish less than a length behind Keepmeinmind.

Sittin On Go finished an even sixth in the Kentucky Jockey Club and finished well back in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Keeneland, but the Kentucky-bred colt had won his previous two races, including the Iroquois (G3) at Churchill.

Romans is also represented on the list of nominations by Jim Bakke and Gerry Isbister's Ultimate Badger, who finished off the board in the Kentucky Jockey Club.

Shadwell Stable's Mutasaabeq, a winner on both turf and dirt, is also a Mucho Macho Man nominee with a high profile. After 4 ½-length debut winner and third-place finisher over Saratoga's main track, Mutasaabeq earned graded-stakes status with a going-away 2 ½-length romp in the Bourbon (G2) over Keeneland's turf course. The Todd Pletcher-trained son of Into Mischief turned in a disappointing off-the-board finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Keeneland in his 2020 finale. Mutasaabeq is also nominated to the Dania Beach and the Limehouse.

Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable and Stonestreet Stables LLC's Likeable, an impressive maiden winner at Belmont prior to finishing off the board in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Keeneland, is also nominated.

Trainer Gustavo Delgado is represented on the noms list by a pair of impressive debut winners, OGMA Investments LLC and Off the Hook LLC's Jirafales and Top Racing LLC's Ocean Ride. Jirafales overcame a jump at the start of his Gulfstream Park West debut to pull away by nearly five lengths Nov. 19. Ocean Ride overcame the rail post, a slow start and a bump to graduate at first asking at Gulfstream Park West Nov. 28. Both colts are also nominated to the Limehouse.

Breeze Easy LLC's Easy Time, a Mark Casse-trained son of Not This Time, has been nominated to the Mucho Macho Man off a strong debut score at Woodbine.

Alex and Joanne Lieblong's Big Thorn, a David Fawkes-trained son of The Big Beast, earned a Mucho Macho Man nomination while winning the Gulfstream Park West Juvenile Sprint by 4 ½ lengths.

Trainer Kathy Ritvo, who saddled Mucho Macho Man for a victory in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita in 2013, is represented on the noms list by Raison d'Air, who graduated by 13 ½ lengths before finishing fourth in the Armed Forces. Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, who campaigned Mucho Macho Man, owns Raison d'Air.

The Ginger Brew, a mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies, drew 20 nominations, including multiple stakes-placed Con Lima, a Pletcher-trained daughter of Commissioner who scored by more than five lengths in her recent turf debut at Gulfstream.

The Dania Beach, a mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds attracted 21 nominations, including Patricia's Hope LLC's Like a Saltshaker, who finished second in the Awad on turf at Belmont two starts back and previously won a stakes over Presque Isle Downs' synthetic surface.

The Limehouse, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds, received 18 including a trio of highly promising colts trained by Saffie Joseph Jr.

The Glitter Woman, a 6 ½-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies, draw 17 nominations, including Mark Casse-trained Dirty Dangle, a stakes winner at Woodbine before finishing off the board in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Filly Turf (G1).

Three stakes will ring in the New Year on the Jan. 1 program – the $75,000 Cash Run, a mile stakes for fillies and mares, the $75,000 Abundantia, a five-furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares, and the $75,000 Janus, a five-furlong turf dash for 4-year-olds and up.

Saturday Rainbow 6 Guarantee $400,000
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 will have a guaranteed pool of $400,000 when racing resumes Saturday, Dec. 26.

The sequence will begin with the H. Allen Jerkens at two miles and include the Tropical Park Derby and Tropical Park Oaks.

The post Romans Has Trio Nominated To Jan. 2 Mucho Macho Man At Gulfstream Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Sole Volante Back On Turf In Saturday’s Tropical Park Derby

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Andie Biancone's Sole Volante will regroup from the rigors of a Triple Crown campaign with a return to turf in Saturday's $75,000 Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream Park.

The Tropical Park Derby, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds, will be accompanied on Saturday's 11-race program by the $75,000 Tropical Park Oaks, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies, and the $75,000 H. Allen Jerkens, a two-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds and up.

Patrick Biancone-trained Sole Volante will return from an 11-week freshening since finishing sixth in the Belmont Stakes (G1) and an 11th-place finish following a troubled start in the Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs. Turf will hardly be foreign territory for the 3-year-old gelded son of Karakontie, who launched his career with back-to-back victories over the Gulfstream Park turf course last year.

“Even at the Kentucky Derby we were debating [about running Sole Volante on turf] because they have that race [Grade 2 American Turf} the same day. We were contemplating it,” said Andie Biancone, assistant trainer to her father, Patrick. “We know he's a turf horse. It's just because he has such a big heart that he takes to the dirt. We're really happy to get him back on turf.”

Sole Volante debuted with a three-length romp in his debut at Gulfstream Park West before coming right back to register a two-length score at Gulfstream in the Pulpit Stakes, in which King Guillermo finished third. Having shown himself to be extremely gifted and bred to run long, Sole Volante was given a chance to show what he could do on dirt with an eye toward the Triple Crown.

“When they're that good that time of year, you have to try them on the dirt,” said Andie Biancone, who was given Sole Volante by her father on her 22nd birthday. “He did really well because he has so much heart, but turf is really his preferred surface.”

Following a solid third in the one-turn mile Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream, Sole Volante stamped himself as a Triple Crown candidate with a 2 ½-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs. He earned his way into the Kentucky Derby field with a second-place finish in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2), won by King Guillermo. Unfortunately, the Kentucky Derby was postponed from the first Saturday in May to Sept. 5 and the Preakness (G1) was postponed from the second Saturday in May to Oct. 3, making the Belmont Stakes the first leg of the 2020 Triple Crown. Sole Volante prepped for the Belmont with a triumph in a June 20 stakes-quality allowance at Gulfstream, defeating Jesus' Team, who would go on to finish second in the Preakness, and Florida Derby runner-up Shivaree.

Although he wasn't at his best in the Belmont and Kentucky Derby, he provided Andie Biancone memories that will last a lifetime. Unable to travel due to an illness, Patrick Biancone entrusted his daughter to oversee Sole Volante's training at Belmont Park and Churchill Downs.

“It was really cool that my dad put that trust in me,” she said. “It was really cool. I still haven't processed it.”

Sole Volante breezed six furlongs on turf in 1:11.40 at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park's satellite training facility in Palm Beach Count, Sunday for his return to turf.

“I think he's training better than ever,” Andie Biancone said.

Luca Panici has the return mount aboard Sole Volante.

Calumet Farm's Dack Janiel's will also make the switch from dirt to turf Saturday to run in the Tropical Park Derby.

“It's not so much as trying the turf as it is taking advantage of the last race for just 3-year-olds,” trainer Jack Sisterson said.

Dack Janiel's is coming off a third-place finish behind a victorious Jesus' Team in the Claiming Crown Jewel at Gulfstream Dec. 5. In his prior start, the son of Tonalist showed the way to mid-stretch before finishing third in the Thoroughbred AfterCare Alliance (G2) on the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup program at Keeneland.

Dack Janiel's has run twice on turf, finishing third at Fair Grounds in January before graduating in an off-the-turf maiden special weight race in his next start. The homebred colt didn't run on turf again until June, when he showed the way before weakening to third late at Churchill Downs.

Julien Leparoux has the call.

Trainer Todd Pletcher is scheduled to saddle a pair of Tropical Park Derby starters, Robert and Lawana Low's Colonel Liam, who was beaten by less than a length while finishing fourth in the Aug. 15 Saratoga Derby Invitational; and Waterford Stable LLC's Summer to Remember, who is twice stakes-placed over Gulfstream's turf course. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the call on Colonel Liam, while Luis Saez has been named to ride Summer to Remember.

Trainer Michael Maker is scheduled to send out four starters in the Tropical Park Derby, which drew 10 entries Sunday. Skychai Racing LLC and Sand Dollar Stable LLC's Fancy Liquor has the highest profile of the Maker quartet, having captured the American Turf on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs. In his most recent start, the son of Lookin At Lucky finished second in the Bryan Station on the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup undercard at Keeneland. Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Don Juan Kitten and Gelfenstein Farm and Andy Blanco's Angelus Warrior, Maker-trained stablemates of Fancy Liquor, finished eighth and 10th, respectively, in the Bryan Station. Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher's Me and Mr. C., who finished fourth in the Gio Ponti at Aqueduct last time out, rounds out the Maker contingent.

Tyler Gaffalione has the mount aboard Fancy Liquor; Edgard Zayas has the call on Don Juan Kitten; Miguel Vasquez will ride Angelus Warrior; Joe Bravo has the mount aboard Me and Mr. C.

Anderson Stables LLC's By Your Side, a graded-stakes winner at Saratoga on dirt in 2019, and Walking L Thoroughbreds LLC's Fighting Seabee, who captured the With Anticipation (G3) at Saratoga in 2019; round out the field.

The post Sole Volante Back On Turf In Saturday’s Tropical Park Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post