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Opalina Seeks First Stakes Success In Sweetest Chant

Teneri Farm and J Stables' Opalina, an eye-opening maiden winner over the course last fall, returns to Gulfstream Park looking to snap a two-race losing streak and earn her first stakes victory in Saturday's $100,000 Sweetest Chant (G3).

The 27th running of the 1 1/16-mile Sweetest Chant for fillies and mares on turf is among five graded-stakes for 3-year-olds on a 12-race program highlighted by the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3), the next step on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1).

Post time is noon.

Trainer Roderick Rodriguez said Florida-bred Opalina got a bit worked up prior to her sophomore debut in the one-mile Ginger Brew Jan. 1 at Gulfstream and faded to third after stalking the pace in her first race since mid-October.

“She was kind of too anxious, a little too nervous in the receiving barn. That was the first time she did that and I think that's what did her in. She was a little flat at the end, but she ran OK. The main thing is, she came out of it good,” Rodriguez said. “She's doing very good. I think she'll be fitter this time.”

After a pair of turf sprints last summer to begin her career, Opalina was a 12-length maiden special weight winner against fellow state-breds in mid-September at Gulfstream. Racing for the first time beyond five furlongs, it was contested at a mile over a yielding course.

“I was very confident in her that she was going to win like that. I had run her short, which is not her game,” Rodriguez said. “That was her first time going long, a flat mile, so I was kind of expecting that performance.”

Her effort was enough to convince the connections to send Opalina out to Keeneland for the 1 1/16-mile Jessamine (G2), a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). Sent off at 28-1 in a field of 13, she found trouble at the start and ran near the back of the group before coming with a rally to be fifth, beaten 1 ½ lengths. The runner-up in that race, South Florida-based Diamond Wow, beat Opalina in a maiden special weight last August at Gulfstream.

“She kind of lost her race right at the break. She got nervous. I think that was the first time she saw a lot of people in the grandstand because they were warming up right in front of the crowd in the stretch,” Rodriguez said. “When she went into the gate, she started rearing, that's why she missed the break. But, that was the first time she'd ever done that. She's always been nice and quiet. Still, she only got beat a length [and a half] and a length [and a half] is like, nothing.”

Championship Meet leader Luis Saez, up in the Ginger Brew, returns to ride from Post 2 in a field of 10.

“I feel a lot better this time. It's like when you lose, you make adjustments and you say, 'What can I fix? Where can I get better?' I'm trying to cover all the angles. She's a lot fitter and calmer, and I have the leading rider on her,” Rodriguez said. “It motivates you. It makes you want to get up in the morning. A good horse always does that. This is a grind, every day, and you look for horses like that.”

Edward Seltzer's homebred Running Legacy will be making just her second career start in the Sweetest Chant. The chestnut daughter of Gun Runner was a 1 ¼-length winner in debut going one mile and 70 yards on Gulfstream's Tapeta Dec. 9.

“When she broke her maiden, she did it quite good. Hopefully she'll handle the turf when we give her the chance,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “She's a filly that looks like she wants to go two turns and run all day long. I think this is the right step. We could go to an allowance but we feel like she's by Gun Runner and if she can get graded-stakes placed or even win, it enhances her value. She's a homebred so it's big for the Seltzers. There's a lot of reasons to give it a shot.”

Dylan Davis comes in from New York to ride Running Legacy from Post 9.

Trainer Chad Brown won the Sweetest Chant six straight years from 2012 to 2017 with Dayatthespa, Premier Steps, Ready to Act, Consumer Credit, Pricedtoperfection and Rymska. He is represented this year by Wonder Stables, Madaket Stables and Golconda Stable's Miss You Ella, exiting a one mile, 70-yard maiden special weight victory over Gulfstream's Tapeta Jan. 6 under Irad Ortiz Jr., who rides back from Post 7.

Also coming out of a maiden win over the all-weather surface is Wertheimer and Frere homebred Ambitieuse, who rallied for a three-quarter-length triumph going 1 1/16 miles Dec. 29 at Gulfstream. Trainer Graham Motion, who won the 2018 Sweetest Chant with Thewayiam, enlisted Paco Lopez to ride from Post 4.

The Sweetest Chant is just the third career start and first in a stake for Ambitieuse. She didn't make her debut until mid-November, when she came on to be third in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Aqueduct.

“She's a horse that we've always liked. We wanted to get her going earlier than we did, but she broke her jaw and it took time to get over that. It was a freak thing, and she's perfect now,” Motion said. “I thought her first race was good and then she ran another good race on the Tapeta to break her maiden. She's had a bit of time since then and we're excited to get her going.”

Average Joe Racing Stables' Myfavoritedaughter has already started twice this year, running second in optional claiming allowances Jan. 1 at Tampa Bay Downs and Jan. 21 at Gulfstream. As a 2-year-old, she finished fourth in the Del Mar Debutante (G1) and also ran in the Alcibiades (G1) on dirt before going back to the turf for the Wait a While Dec. 3, opening day of the Championship Meet.

Battle Charge, second by a head in the Presque Isle Debutante last October; Hal's Dream, a maiden winner on turf exiting the Golden Rod (G2) on dirt last out; Nostalgic, whose Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott, won last year's Sweetest Chant with White Frost; Ginger Brew runner-up Ocean Safari; and Roughly a Diamond complete the field.

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Casse Looking For Better Racing Luck For Coinage In Kitten’s Joy

Winless in two tries since finding graded-stakes success last summer in his turf debut, D.J. Stable and Chester and Mary Broman's Coinage will launch his sophomore season in Saturday's $100,000 Kitten's Joy (G3) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 10th running of the 1 1/16-mile Kitten's Joy on turf is among five graded-stakes for 3-year-olds on a 12-race program highlighted by the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3), the next step on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1).

Post time is noon.

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse is hoping to find better racing luck for Coinage, a chestnut son of Tapit bred in New York by the Bromans. He ran third after getting bumped and being forced to steady early in the Nownownow at Monmouth Park, then tired to ninth after pressing the pace from Post 12 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). Both races came at one mile.

“At Monmouth, he had some trouble at the start. He kind of stumbled and didn't get away from there,” Casse said. “In the Breeders' Cup, it was probably just more about post position. When you go around at Del Mar going a mile and you draw outside, it's kind of brutal. He just had a tough trip. We're just trying to get him back and, hopefully, he'll have a little luck this time.”

With his sire, the mare Bar of Gold and grandsire Medagila d'Oro all Grade 1 winners on the dirt, Coinage began his career sprinting on the main track, breaking his maiden second time out and running third in the Rick Violette, the latter at Saratoga. In an effort to stretch him out, Casse put Coinage on turf for the 1 1/16-mile With Anticipation (G3), and he responded with a front-running two-length triumph.

“We kind of felt like, just the way he moved, that he would like the grass. We worked him on the grass a couple times at Saratoga before we ran him on it and he just loved it,” Casse said. “He was impressive that day. I know that he's more than capable, it's just about having a good trip. He's been compromised in his last two starts.”

Casse, winner of the 2018 Kitten's Joy with Flameaway, enlisted Championship Meet leading Luis Saez to ride Coinage, who drew Post 2 in a field of eight.

“I think he's doing well. He's grown up a little bit over the wintertime,” Casse said. “He's training well. We're just trying to get him going and get him back started.”

Fellow Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher entered the pair of Grand Sonata and Royal Spirit. Whisper Hill Farm homebred Grand Sonata exits his first career stakes victory, a head decision over stablemate Chanceux in the one-mile Dania Beach Jan. 1 at Gulfstream.

“It was a pretty gutsy effort,” Pletcher said. “He had to kind of make up some ground off a slow pace and was able to get rolling late and get up in time. He was coming off kind of a tough trip in his prior race at Aqueduct so we were hoping to get a cleaner trip and we were able to do that. He's pretty much shown up and run well every time.”

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Royal Spirit will make his graded debut in the Kitten's Joy. The Into Mischief colt broke his maiden by 1 ¼ lengths sprinting 7 ½ furlongs on the Gulfstream turf Jan. 2, after ending his juvenile season running second in the Nownownow – six lengths ahead of Coinage – and fourth in the Awad at Belmont Park.

“He'd already had some stake experience. He was second in the stake at Monmouth so we were looking to get him in the winner's circle. We were happy to get the job done there and we've been focusing on this since then,” Pletcher said. “He's got tactical speed. I think he's capable of putting himself in a good spot and go from there. He seems like he's coming into it the right way.”

Tyler Gaffalione is named on Grand Sonata from Post 1 and Paco Lopez will ride Royal Spirit from Post 6 for Pletcher, who won the 2013 Kitten's Joy with Charming Kitten.

Gentry Farms' Eldon's Prince had a two-stakes win streak snapped last out in the 7 ½-furlong Pulpit on the Gulfstream turf Dec. 3. Prior to that he won the one-mile Proud Man on the grass at Gulfstream and an off-the-turf edition of the seven-furlong Armed Forces, the latter Sept. 18.

“The last race was off a little layoff and I thought he was a little flat training in his works for the race. It was a bit shorter, which wasn't ideal, but we needed to get started back anyway,” Championship Meet-leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “Toward the latter part of the race he stayed on steadily. He was never going to win, but I thought it was a race to build on. Since that race he's trained forwardly. I put some blinkers on him and I feel like he's going into this race with a very good chance.”

Eldon's Prince will wear blinkers for the first time and have the services of Irad Ortiz Jr. from Post 5. Joseph won the 2020 Kitten's Joy with Island Commish.

“I toyed with the idea of putting him back on the dirt. The main thing, I think, with him is distance. He needs longer distances. That's his main attribute, that he has a lot of stamina,” Joseph said. “We'll try and get through this race first and then we'll decide whether to give him a try on the dirt. For right now, we're going to stick to the turf.”

Speaking Scout returns to Gulfstream after being beaten a head in the Pulpit for trainer Graham Motion and owner Aron Wellman's Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. He has run second in back-to-back starts after breaking his maiden in an off-the-turf maiden special weight last fall at Delaware Park.

“He's a horse that Aron Wellman bought privately after his debut at Colonial [Downs]. Aron is someone that has a knack for finding these horses that are under the radar,” said Motion, who won the inaugural Kitten's Joy with Howe Great. “He really hasn't done anything wrong since we've had him. I thought he was a bit unlucky last time not to win. It was a matter of a head bob. He's a nice, hard-trying horse.”

Junior Alvarado rides Speaking Scout from Post 4.

Completing the field are Silverton Hill's Pulpit winner Red Danger; ProRacing Stable's Father Glado, third in the Dania Beach; and Jim Bakke and Gerry Isbister's Red Knobs, third in the Iroquois (G3) on the dirt last fall.

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Remsen Winner Mo Donegal Gets Sophomore Season Under Way In Holy Bull

Donegal Racing's Mo Donegal is poised to make his 2022 debut in the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3) Saturday at Gulfstream Park, and his Hall of Fame trainer, Todd Pletcher, has opted for no soft spot for the son of Uncle Mo's highly anticipated return to action.

The 33rd running of the Holy Bull, the first graded-stakes on the Road to the Florida Derby (G1), headlines a 12-race program that will also feature the $100,000 Claiborne Swale (G3), $100,000 Forward Gal (G3), $100,000 Kitten's Joy (G3) and $100,000 Sweetest Chant (G3).

Although Mo Donegal, 3-1 on the morning line, will be put to the test in a field that includes two Grade 1 stakes-placed opponents, the Pletcher-trained colt has already passed the most rigorous test for all Triple Crown prospects – the two-turn test over 1 1/8-miles. The $250,000 purchase at the 2020 Keeneland September yearling sale enters the Holy Bull off a gutsy triumph in the 1 1/8-mile Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Dec. 4.

“We were pretty focused on the Remsen right after he broke his maiden. We locked in on that and after the race I got with [Donegal Racing's] Jerry Crawford, and we talked about how we could go about getting on the Derby trail. We decided that the Holy Bull was the right starting point,” said Pletcher, who saddled Audible (2019) and Algorithms (2012) for Holy Bull victors. “It gives us plenty of options. If he were to run well, we still have the (March 4) Fountain of Youth to come back in if we wanted to or we could train up to the Florida Derby like we did with Audible. We kind of felt like it put us in a position to have the most options.”

Mo Donegal finished third in his Sept. 30 debut at Belmont, in which he broke slowly and was subsequently steadied in traffic. He came right back to graduate at 1 1/16 miles despite breaking a step slowly a month later. In the Remsen, Mo Donegal encountered bumping at the start, moved to the lead heading into the stretch, and battled with Zandon to the wire to eke out a triumph by a nose.

“I'm really pleased with his training since he came here after the Remsen. We targeted this right away and, knock on wood, thankfully everything has gone according to schedule,” Pletcher said. “He has not missed a beat since he's been here.”

Mo Donegal's Pletcher-trained sire, who captured the 2010 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, was 1-for-1 at Gulfstream, where he dominated the Timely Writer Stakes in his 3-year-old debut in March 2011. He takes after Uncle Mo in the looks department.

“Uncle Mo stamps his offspring probably more so than any stallion in the country. He looks like a lot of them do. He's got the same build. He's a good-sized colt,” Pletcher said. “He's had a bit of a growth spurt and he's done what you'd like to see 2-year-olds turning 3 and young 3-year-olds this time of year do, growing and physically developing.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. has the return mount aboard Mo Donegal, whose opponents will include Kenny McPeek-trained Tiz the Bomb, runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Del Mar, and Dale Romans-trained Giant Game, third-place finisher in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1.

Phoenix Thoroughbreds LTD's Tiz the Bomb rode a three-race winning streak into the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf that started with a dazzling front-running maiden score by 14 ½ lengths in an off-the-turf second-out maiden race at Ellis Park July 2. The son of 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile turf winner Hit It a Bomb went on to capture the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile and the Bourbon (G2) at Keeneland from off the pace on turf.

“There are limited opportunities for 3-year-old grass horses in North America. He's a really talented horse and we don't want to lock him in as strictly a grass horse. There's no sense pigeonholing him as a grass horse,” McPeek said. “Even last year we could have made a case for keeping him on dirt, but I chose to keep him separated from some of my other colts. At this stage, we're going to give him the opportunity to play on the dirt.”

Tiz the Bomb dropped back to 12^th while in traffic in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf before rallying strongly to finish second behind Modern Games.

“I thought it was somewhat of an unlucky trip, but he still ran well. It was a respectable run. He ran a good race; he split horses and came flying late. The other horse got a little bit of a jump on him,” said McPeek, who saddled Harvey Wallbanger for a 29-1 upset victory in the 2019 Holy Bull.

Regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr. is scheduled to travel from Fair Grounds for the Holy Bull.

Albaugh Family Stables LLC and West Point Thoroughbreds' Giant Game made a four-wide move into contention in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile before settling for third in his stakes debut. The son of Giants Causeway, who will be ridden by Luis Saez for the first time Saturday, had previously finished third in the debut before graduating by three lengths at Keeneland in his two-turn debut.

C2 Racing Stable LLC and La Milagrosa Stable LLC's White Abarrio enters the Holy Bull off a third-place finish behind McPeek-trained Smile Happy and Brian Lynch-trained Classic Causeway in the Nov. 27 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs.

“He's coming out of a strong prep that Smile Happy won, and he's the Derby favorite right now. The [trainer Keith] Desormeaux horse [Call Me Midnight] that was behind him came back to win the prep at Fair Grounds [G3 Lecomte] the other day, so it's a race that's produced some good form so far,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “He's going to face good horses again this time. This is going to be one of the best preps so far on the Derby trail competition-wise, so he's going to need to improve, but we feel like he's eligible to improve.”

White Abarrio was purchased privately after romping to a 6 ¾-length victory in his Sept. 24 debut at Gulfstream, where the son of Race Day came right back to score a five-length optional claiming allowance victory over Strike Hard, who went on to finish second in the Jan. 1 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream.

“He's doing well. He missed some time. He got a little sick, so he missed some days, but he was plenty fit before that,” Joseph said. “I think he goes in there with a good chance.”

Tyler Gaffalione is scheduled to ride White Abarrio for the first time in the Holy Bull.

Tami Bobo's Simplification, who won the Mucho Macho Man by four lengths in front-running style, is expected to set or attend the early pace while stretching out around two turns for the first time.

“The longer the race, the better is it for my horse,” trainer Antonio Sano said.

The long-striding son of Not This Time broke his maiden at Gulfstream by 16 ¾ lengths at six furlongs in his second career start. He came back to finish a troubled third again at six-furlongs before impressively stretching out to a mile in the Mucho Macho Man.

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano has the call on Simplification.

OXO Equine LLC's Galt, who broke his maiden by three lengths while trying two turns for the first time at Gulfstream, Cash is King LLC and LC Racing LLC's Eloquist, who finished fifth in the Remsen; Stonehedge LLC's Cajun's Magic, a strong force in the Florida Sire Stakes series last year; and BBN Racing LLC's Spin Wheel, a maiden winner at Churchill Downs last time out; are also entered in the Holy Bull.

Post/Horse/Jockey/Trainer/Morning Line Odds

1-Galt-Alvarado-Mott 15-1
2-Mo Donegal-I. Ortiz-Pletcher 5-2
3-Eloquist-Pennington-Reid 20-1
4-Simplefication-Castellano-Sano 4-1
5-Cajun's Magic-Rios-Yates 8-1
6-Tiz the Bomb-Hernandez-McPeek 6-1
7-Spin Wheel-Leparoux-Arnold 20-1
8-White Abarrio-Gaffalione-Joseph 6-1
9-Giant Game-Saez-Romans 7-2

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Groupie Doll’s Tapit Daughter Doll Baby Impressive In Debut

Doll Baby, a 3-year-old daughter of two-time champion Groupie Doll, debuted with an impressive front-running victory Sunday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Trained by Ralph Nicks for Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm LLC, Doll Baby broke alertly from the gate to assume the early lead in Race 4, a seven-furlong maiden special weight race for sophomore fillies and continued on to prevail by a length under Jose Ortiz.

“It was just awesome and it was at a distance mama liked,” Pope said of her homebred filly by Tapit. “Hopefully, she's Groupie Doll incarnated. It's only one race but a good start.”

Mandy Pope

Groupie Doll won the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) back-to-back in 2012-'13 at seven furlongs to be honored with the Eclipse Award as outstanding female sprinter both years. Bred by trainer Buff Bradley and his late father, Fred, Groupie Doll was purchased at the Keeneland November sale for $3.1 million by Pope. After finishing fourth against colts in the Cigar Mile, Groupie Doll closed out her career with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the 2014 Hurricane Bertie (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

Doll Baby is Groupie Doll's third winner from her first five foals.

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