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Canadian Champion Mighty Heart Faces Pletcher-Trained Fearless In Harlan’s Holiday

Repole Stable's Fearless will make a bid to return to graded stakes-winning form while making his second start off a six-month layoff in Saturday's $150,000 Harlan's Holiday (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

The Harlan's Holiday, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds and up, and the $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2), a 1 1/8-mile turf event for 3-year-olds and up, will co-headline Saturday's program, on which the $100,000 Sugar Swirl (G3), a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares, the $100,000 Suwannee River (G3), a mile turf stakes for fillies and mares, and the $100,000 Rampart, a mile event for fillies and mares, will be renewed.

The Harlan's Holiday and Fort Lauderdale are preps for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), respectively, Jan. 29 at Gulfstream. The Suwannee River is a prep for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G3) on the same program.

Fearless is coming off a second-place finish in the Nov. 21 Miami Gardens overnight handicap, in which he lost for the first time in fourth starts at Gulfstream. The 5-year-old Ghostzapper gelding was the even-money favorite in his first start since finishing third in the May 14 Pimlico Special (G3).

“He likes the track and he ran a good race off the layoff, so we're thinking that should set him up good for the Harlan's Holiday,” trainer Todd Pletcher said.

Prior to coming up a length short of beating Girolamo's Attack, Fearless had gone 3-for-3 at Gulfstream, including a victory in the Feb. 27 Gulfstream Park Mile (G2).

Due to his large size, Fearless didn't make his career debut until the very tail end of his 3-year-old season, capturing a six-furlong maiden special weight race at Gulfstream. He came right back to win a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance at the Hallandale Beach track.

“I remember him as a yearling, and the one concern was – how big he was,” Pletcher said. “Fortunately, he hasn't grown a lot. He was big enough to begin with. He was a horse that the guys at WinStar said was a difficult horse to break and get ready.

“He's been gelded and since then, his behavior has been good and he's been consistent. He added.

Luis Saez is scheduled to ride Fearless for the first time since guiding the Pletcher trainee to victory in his debut.

Multiple graded-stakes winner Mighty Heart looms as a formidable opponent for Fearless in the Harlan's Holiday. The Lawrence Cordes homebred is coming off a front-running victory in the Autumn (G2) at Woodbine after finishing fourth in the Durham Cup (G3).

“In his prior race, he blew a shoe and didn't show up. We figured something went wrong. Coming back, we were expecting him to run well,” trainer Josie Carroll said.

The 4-year-old son of Dramedy won the 2020 Queen's Plate over Woodbine's Tapeta surface before capturing the Prince of Wales on dirt at Fort Erie. The Ontario-bred colt won the Blame Stakes at Churchill Downs, finished second in the West Virginia Governor's Cup (G3) at Mountaineer, and finished third in an optional claiming allowance at Keeneland in his other starts on dirt.

“He's obviously run well on synthetic, but he's also run really well on dirt. He won the Prince of Wales on dirt. When he ran great at Churchill Downs when he won the Blame. His race at Keeneland was also very good.” Carroll said.

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez is scheduled to ride Mighty Heart for the first time in the Harlan's Holiday.

Owner/trainer Steve Budhoo's Eye of a Jedi, who finished second in last year's Harlan's Holiday, will seek to improve on a trio of recent starts at a mile around one turn.

“The mile has been killing him. He needs two turns,” Budhoo said.

The 6-year-old gelding won the 1 1/8-mile Ghostzapper (G3) around two turns with Javier Castellano aboard last year. The Hall of Fame rider will return aboard Eye of a Jedi Saturday.

James Woodruff's Blue Steel, winner of the Claiming Crown Iron Horse Kent Sterling Memorial; Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, Peter Deutsch and Pantofel Stable LLC's South Bend, an optional claiming allowance winner at Churchill Downs; and Calumet Farm's Twenty Twice round out the field.

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Stronach 5 Returns Friday With Races From Laurel, Gulfstream

A field of 10 2-year-old fillies will kick off Friday's Stronach 5, featuring races from Laurel Park and Gulfstream Park as well as a low 12-percent takeout.

Laurel's seventh race begins the Stronach 5 at approximately 3:23 ET with maiden fillies going six furlongs. Miss Foxann, a daughter of Kantharos who was second in her debut at Laurel Nov. 5, is the 9-5 favorite for trainer Dale Bennett. Isabella's Glory, a daughter of Lea, finished third by just a neck Nov. 14 for trainer Jose Corrales. Leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez will send out first-time starter Always Mia, a $32,000 daughter of Flat Out.

Gulfstream's seventh race, a 6 ½ furlong event for fillies and mares at a claiming price of $20,000, serves as the second leg of the sequence. Ideal Breeze goes out first time for trainer Jorge Delgado, who is 29-percent first off the claim. Frankie's Girl drops in class off a third-place finish last out. Rakas makes her South Florida debut after starting four times at Woodbine. William Tharrenos takes over the training.

It's back to Laurel for the third and fourth legs of the Stronach 5. The third leg, Laurel's eighth race, an allowance event for fillies and mares around two turns, drew a field of eight including 8-5 favorite Award Wanted, a three-length winner against restricted company last out for John Robb. Mit Mazel, the runner-up to Award Wanted last time out, tries again for Claudio Gonzalez.

Laurel's ninth race, a $10,000 claiming event for fillies and mares, is a wide-open seven-furlong event. Torch Carrier, a 3-year-old by Uncle Lino, is the tepid 3-1 choice after breaking her maiden for $16,000 in October and following up with a second-place finish against $16,000 claimers in November. Tuff But Fair draws the rail and returns to Laurel after a sixth-place finish against similar Oct. 20 at Delaware. Digital Dream should be a factor after a wide trip last out.

The Stronach 5 concludes with Gulfstream's ninth race, a claiming event for fillies and mares at 5 ½ furlongs on the Tapeta. Charlotte the Brit enters off a pair of second place finishes on the Tapeta for Jorge Delgade. Christophe Clement sends out Smooth Pebble after a runner-up finish on the turf at Monmouth in September. Caffeine Rush goes out for the second time off a short layoff for Elizabeth Dobles.

Friday's races and sequence

Leg One –Laurel Race 7: (10 entries, 6 furlongs) 3:18 ET, 12:18 PT
Leg Two –Gulfstream Race 7: (9 entries, 6 ½ furlongs) 3:26 ET, 12:26 PT
Leg Three –Laurel Race 8: (8 entries, 1 1/16 mile) 3:50 ET, 12:50 PT
Leg Four – Laurel Race 9: (12 entries,7 furlongs) 4:22 ET, 1:22 PT
Leg Five –Gulfstream Race 9: (10 entries, 5 ½ furlongs) 4:32 ET, 1:32 PT

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com, GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.

The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.

If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.

The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.

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Grade 1 Winner Drain The Clock Returns To Action With Front-Running Allowance Win At Gulfstream

Slam Dunk Racing and Madaket Stable's Drain the Clock made an eye-catching return to action Friday at Gulfstream Park with a sizzling front-running victory in the Race 7 feature, a six-furlong optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up.

The Grade 1 stakes winner, who hadn't seen racing action since finishing fourth in the Aug. 28 H. Allen Jerkens (G1) at Saratoga, set fractions of 22.08, 44.42 and 56.19 seconds while under heavy outside pressure from Gatsby and asserted his class in the stretch to win by a half-length in a quick 1:08.63.

“At the top of the stretch, I said, 'Go on Champ!' Normally, I watch a race and watch it very nervous. With him, I never thought he would get beat,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “I don't think we have him fully cranked, so to see him back like that…”

Tyler Gaffalione rode Drain the Clock for the first time Friday.

“There was speed on the inside and outside of us. Saffie told me to use him going away from there. He broke alertly and put himself in a great spot. He took a lot of pressure the whole way around there but he's a classy horse, very classy individual, and he responded when I asked him,” Gaffalione said.

“He's a racehorse. You can see on his form, he's very consistent. He shows up every time. Coming off the layoff, it's not an ideal situation taking that much pressure, but he handled everything great and Saffie always does a great job getting them ready.”

Sent to post as the 2-5 favorite, the 4-year-old son of Maclean's Music had won three races in four prior starts at Gulfstream, including last season's Swale (G3), before hitting the road to win the Bay Shore (G3) at Aqueduct and the Woody Stephens (G1) at Belmont. His only loss at Gulfstream came in a second-place finish in the two-turn Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2).

“I think he's going to have a big year,” said Joseph, who mentioned the Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3) on Feb. 19 as a likely target.

Gatsby held second, 5 ¼ lengths ahead of Where Paradise Lay.

Todd Pletcher-trained Nocturnal, the 2-1 second choice who was out of action since a Feb. 28 optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream, was never a factor after breaking a step slowly from his rail post position.

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Nocturnal Will Clash With Grade 1 Winner Drain The Clock In Gulfstream Allowance

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Cheyenne Stables' Nocturnal is scheduled to return from a nine-month layoff at Gulfstream Park in Friday's Race 7 feature, in which his talent and fitness figure to be sternly tested while clashing with Slam Dunk Racing and Madaket Stables LLC's Drain the Clock.

The Todd Pletcher-trained Nocturnal, who hasn't raced since capturing a Feb. 27 optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream Park, has always been highly regarded as a horse with stakes potential.

“We always felt he had that kind of potential. Unfortunately, he's had some minor setbacks along the way, and it's been hard to keep him on a consistent schedule,” Pletcher said. “Hopefully, this time around, we can accomplish that.”

Nocturnal debuted at Gulfstream in a March 2020 in a seven-furlong maiden special weight race, finishing second after setting the pace behind Pletcher-trained Dr Post, who went on to finish second behind Florida Derby (G1) winner Tiz the Law in the 2020 Belmont Stakes (G1).

The son of Palace Malice went to the sidelines for seven months but came back to graduate at Gulfstream in January with a front-running 3 ¾-length romp at a mile. Five weeks later, the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred came right back to win an entry-level optional claiming allowance by 1 ¼ lengths before going back to the sidelines.

Nocturnal, who will be ridden by Luis Saez, has been gelded since his most recent race.

“He's trained really well, as he always has. We had originally entered him in a mile race that didn't fill, so he kind of landed in a race that I'm concerned might be a little too short for him,” Pletcher said. “We're hoping for a good hot pace, and hopefully, he can close into that.”

Nocturnal drew the rail post position, four stalls inside Drain the Clock in the starting gate.

“It's not ideal, but I do think with the other speed in the race, he'll be able to work out a good trip,” Pletcher said. “We anticipate they'll run away from him early on and hope Luis can work him to the outside.”

Drain the Clock, the 8-5 morning-line favorite, will face older horses for the first time Friday after establishing himself as one of the country's leading 3-year-old sprinters.

The son of Maclean's Music will return from a well-deserved freshening since finishing fourth in the Aug. 28 H. Allen Jerkens (G1) at Saratoga. After winning three races and finishing second after setting the pace in the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth (G2), Drain the Clock went on the road to win the Bay Shore (G3) at Aqueduct and the Woody Stephens (G1) at Saratoga, beating Jackie's Warrior. He finished second behind Jackie's Warrior in the Amsterdam (G2) at Saratoga before his subpar run in the Jerkens.

“We're happy to have him back on Friday. Hopefully, he can come back with a bang,” Joseph said.

Dare to Dream Stable LLC's Quick Tempo, a stakes-winning son of Tapizar, enters Friday's feature off a close-up third in a Keeneland allowance on turf. Junior Alvarado has the call aboard the Christopher Davis-trained 3-year-old.

Sagamore Mischief, Flap Jack, Where Paradise Lay and Gatsby are also entered.

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