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Always Shopping Defends Via Borghese Title; Miss J McKay Best In Abundantia

Repole Stable's Always Shopping, without a victory in six straight starts, ended her 5-year-old season the way it began – on a winning note – with a determined nose triumph over Harajuku to defend her title in Friday's $100,000 Via Borghese at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 1 3/8-mile Via Borghese for fillies and mares 3 and up was the second of three $100,000 turf stakes on the New Year's Eve program, preceded by the Janus for 3-year-olds and up and followed by the Abundantia for females 3 and older, both sprinting five furlongs.

Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, Always Shopping ($7) completed the distance in 2:13.86 over a firm course to earn her eighth career victory, fourth in six tries on the Gulfstream turf and sixth against stakes company.

Breaking from the far outside in a field of nine as the narrow 5-2 favorite, Always Shopping raced in the clear two wide on the hip of Candy Flower, who broke alertly and set an easy pace. Always Shopping moved up to challenge for the lead once straightened for home while Harajuku continued a sustained run on the far outside. They pulled away from the field and dueled through the lane, with Always Shopping digging in again after losing the lead approaching the wire.

“I think [Harajuku] put a nose to a head in front of her, and she fought back. It was a determined effort,” Pletcher said. “I was so proud of her. She fought hard today. She got in a good stalking position from an outside post and stalked the pace. I thought they had her surrounded at the top of the stretch, but you could see her dig in and fight for the win.”

Harajuku was three lengths clear of Beautiful Lover in third. It was a neck back to Onyx, sent off at 111-1, who edged Hungry Kitten by a half-length for fourth.

Always Shopping passed the $600,000 mark in career purse earnings with the win, her first since the Jan. 23 La Prevoyante (G3). Other stakes victories have come in the 2019 Gazelle (G2) at Aqueduct and 2020 Monroe and Via Borghese at Gulfstream.

“She's had a great career and she seems to really love Gulfstream. It's great to see her come back,” Pletcher said. “I'll talk to Mike [Repole] and see what the plan is. She's probably going to be off to stud here at some point, but we might have time to run her one more time. We'll see what Mike wants to do.”

Miss J McKay Sprints to $100,000 Abundantia Victory
Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, Tony Weintraub and Brandon Dalinka's Miss J McKay overcame some traffic trouble at the top of the stretch to sweep past her rivals through the lane and capture Friday's $100,000 Abundantia.

It was the second straight win for the 4-year-old Hangover Kid filly in three starts since joining trainer Christophe Clement earlier this summer, and her second career stakes win following the 2019 Anne Arundel County at Laurel Park.

The win also allowed jockey Tyler Gaffalione to sweep the two stakes for fillies and mares 3 and up, having previously won the $100,000 Via Borghese aboard Always Shopping for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

Miss J McKay ($8.20) rated in mid-pack as 45-1 long shot Cat's Astray was sent to the lead chased by Beautiful Grace. Gaffalione was able to split horses on the far turn and get in position, had to swing wide around Luis Saez and 7-5 favorite Miss Auramet straightening for home, and closed with a steady run to nail Drapes (14-1) nearing the wire. Strong Odor finished third while Miss Auramet wound up sixth.

The winning time was 55.86 seconds over a firm turf course.

“The filly broke well and the speed went on. It set up exactly as we thought it would. She settled nicely and coming into the stretch I was able to follow Luis out. Once she got clear run, she kicked it in nicely,” Gaffalione said. “We got fanned out a little bit, but she was much the best today.”

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Gulfstream Park: $1 Million Jackpot Guaranteed For Saturday’s Rainbow 6

Gulfstream Park's 20-cent Rainbow 6 will have a guaranteed gross jackpot pool of $1 million Saturday and will include three stakes, including the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man, the first 3-year-old stake on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby.

Saturday's Rainbow 6, beginning with Race 6, includes the three stakes for 3-year-olds in the $100,000 Limehouse at six furlongs, the $100,000 Dania Beach at a mile on the turf, and the Mucho Macho Man.

First race post is noon.

Multiple winning tickets Friday on the Rainbow 6 returned $4,003.12.

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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Horse For The Course Carotari Scores Janus Win On Gulfstream Turf

William A. Branch's multiple stakes winner Carotari made a triumphant return to his favorite course, cruising to a front-running 1 ¾-length victory in the $100,000 Janus at Gulfstream Park to open Friday's New Year's Eve program at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track.

The Janus for 3-year-olds and up sprinting five furlongs on the grass was the first of three $100,000 stakes on the card, followed by a pair of turf events – the 1 3/8-mile Via Borghese and five-furlong Abundantia, both for fillies and mares 3 and older.

Sent off the even-money favorite in a field of eight that featured four other stakes winners including Group 1 winner Extravagant Kid, Carotari ($4) broke from outside each of his seven rivals but was outrun early by 45-1 longshot Breakthrough until taking over the top spot after a quarter-mile in 23.22 seconds.

Championship Meet-leading jockey Luis Saez was able to steer Carotari toward the rail leaving the turn and set him down for a drive through the stretch as Extravagant Kid launched his bid on the outside of Yes I Am Free, with Smokin' Jay rallying up the inside. After running a half in 47.38 seconds, Carotari finished up in 59.07 over a firm course.

Extravagant Kid held on for second by a head over Smokin' Jay, with Yes I Am Free another neck back in fourth and Laurel Dash winner Xy Speed fifth. Carotari came into the Janus having snapped a four-race losing streak with a three-quarter-length allowance triumph Oct. 22 at Keeneland.

“It's good to get him back down here. It's a track he really seems to do well over during the winter,” winning trainer Brian Lynch said. “It's nice to get him back rolling. He came out of a good race at Keeneland. This was an ideal distance for him, ideal timing, so it's just neat to have him back on track. Now we've got a loaded horse for the winter down here.”

In five career tries over the Gulfstream turf, Carotari now owns four wins including prior stakes victories in the 2020 and 2021 Silks Run and a second in the 2020 World of Trouble Turf Sprint, beaten a neck by Grade 2 winner Texas Wedge.

Overall, the gelded 5-year-old son of 2005 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) winner Artie Schiller has eight wins from 24 career starts and topped $500,000 in purse earnings with the Janus victory.

“I think as he's gotten older he's getting better and better,” Lynch said. “I think this year coming up could be his best year. We're pretty excited about him.”

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Extravagant Kid, Carotari Set To Clash In Friday’s Janus

During his 54-race career, Extravagant Kid has established himself as one of the all-time great claims while winning a worldwide legion of fans with his year-in-year-out success in turf sprints.

DAARS Inc.'s enduring gelding with relatively obscure bloodlines will seek to add to his impressive resume in Friday's $100,000 Janus Stakes, a five-furlong turf sprint which will be featured on Gulfstream Park's eight-race program with the $100,000 Abundantia, a five-furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares, and the $100,000 Via Borghese, a 1 3/8-mile turf event for fillies and mares. One day before his official ninth birthday, the Florida-bred son of Kiss The Kid will make his fifth career start in the Janus.

Trained by Brendan Walsh, Extravagant Kid was claimed for $75,000 out of a Jan. 18, 2018 optional claiming allowance victory at 36-1 odds at Gulfstream, and he has more than justified that rather extravagant gamble. Heading into the Janus, he has a record of 15-17-4 in 54 starts and earnings of more than $1.6 million. His biggest career performance came earlier this year when he captured the $1 million Al Quoz Sprint (G1) in Dubai, three starts after he came up a neck short of defending his 2019 Janus title by a neck.

Extravagant Kid, who finished third in the King's Stand (G1) at Ascot following his Dubai score, will make his first start Friday since finishing off the board in the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at Del Mar.

Tyler Gaffalione has the call aboard Extravagant Kid in Friday's Race 1 feature.

William Branch's Carotari has also established himself with Gulfstream fans in recent years while showing a distinct affinity for the local turf course. The Brian Lynch trainee has won three of four starts at Gulfstream, including back-to-back editions of the Silks Run Stakes, his only loss being a close-up second-pace finish in the 2020 Gulfstream Turf Sprint.

The 5-year-old gelded son of Artie Schiller will be making his first start since winning an Oct. 22 optional claiming allowance at Keeneland.

Leading rider Luis Saez has the call.

Crown Way Racing LLC's Smokin Jay, Michael Dubb's Xy Speed, Mohamed and Bibi Jehaludi's Omaha City, Pedro Estevez's Breakthrough, Move Horse Inc.'s Romario, and Golden Kernel Racing Stable's Yes I Am Free are also entered in the Janus.

David Melin, Leon Ellman and Laurie Plesa's Miss Auramet, the ever-versatile 5-year-old mare with 10 victories and 21 in-the-money finishes in 26 career starts, will seek to rebound from a rare off-the-board finish in last year's $100,000 Abundantia, a five-furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares that has been carded as Race 8 Friday at Gulfstream.

The Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained daughter of Uncaptured was eliminated from contention in last year's edition of the Abundantia after being bumped between horses at the start. The Florida-bred mare enters this year's renewal off a dominating three-length optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream while coming off a four-month layoff.

In addition to establishing herself as a talented turf sprinter, Miss Auramet has demonstrated uncommon versatility while finishing first or second in all five starts on off tracks and winning two of four races run on fast dirt tracks.

Leading rider Luis Saez has the call aboard Miss Auramet.

Colts Neck Stables LLC's Introduced is no stranger to Miss Auramet, whom the Jorge Duarte Jr. trainee met three times at Monmouth Park during the summer. The 5-year-old daughter of El Padrino scored back-to-back victories over the Plesa trainee in turf sprints after finishing fourth behind the victorious Miss Auramet in the off-the-turf Politely Stakes on a sloppy track.

Introduced, who is coming off a third-place finish in the Oct. 17 Floral Park at Belmont Park, will be ridden by Julien Leparoux.

Madaket Stables LLC, Wonder Stables, Tony Weintraub and Brandon Dalinka's Miss J McKay, a multiple stakes winner at five furlongs on turf, enters the Abundantia off a Nov. 21 six-furlong optional claiming allowance win over Aqueduct's turf course.

T-N-T Equine Holdings LLC's Dana's Beauty, Freddy Lewis Jr.'s Strong Odor, Willow Lane Stables Inc.'s Morning Molly, Glen Hill Farm's Drapes, Voodoomon Racing's Ambassador Luna, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Palomita and Winning Stables Inc.'s Beautiful Grace are also entered in the Abundantia.

Repole Stable's Always Shopping will seek to regain her winning form while making a title defense in Friday's $100,000 Via Borghese, a 1 3/8-mile stakes for fillies and mares carded as Race 5 at Gulfstream Park.

The Todd Pletcher-trained 5-year-old mare scored a dominating three-length victory in last year's Via Borghese before winning the Le Prevoyante (G3) by three lengths in her very next start at Gulfstream.

Always Shopping has gone winless in six subsequent starts, which include a pair of graded-stakes placings. The daughter of Awesome Again is scheduled to make her third start off a 3 ½-month layoff with Tyler Gaffalione scheduled to ride her for the first time since finishing a close second in the Dowager (G3) at Keeneland in October 2020.

Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd.'s Beautiful Lover enters the Via Borghese off a second-place finish at Belmont in the Nov. 7 Zagora, in which Always Shopping finished sixth. The Christophe Clement trainee is a multiple graded stakes-placed 5-year-old daughter of Arch.

Clement is also scheduled to saddle Sorrel, who is scheduled to make her second start off an eight-month layoff and third start since being imported from Europe. The 4-year-old daughter of Dansili, who finished five in the Nov. 27 Long Island (G3) at Aqueduct off the layoff, finished third in last season's Orchid (G3) at Gulfstream.

Luis Saez is scheduled to ride Beautiful Lover for the first time Friday, while Paco Lopez has the call on Sorrel.

Jordan Wycoff's Candy Flower enters the Via Borghese off a close second-place finish in the Long Island two starts after being claimed for $40,000. The Mike Maker trainee finished third in the Zagora in her first start off the claim.

Emisael Jaramillo is slated to ride the 4-year-old daughter of Candy Ride for the first time in the Via Borghese.

Carolyn Friedberg's Sweet Serenade, Emory Hamilton's Hungry Kitten, Arindel's Onyx and Key Biscayne, Flaxman Holdings Ltd.'s Harajuku, and Sanford Bacon and Patrick Biancone's Kelsey's Cross are also entered.

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