gustavo delgado jr. | Horse Racing Free Tips

Florida Derby Runner Up Mage Returns To Work Tab

Mage (Good Magic), last out beaten a length by Forte (Violence) in the GI Curlin Florida Derby, returned to the Gulfstream Park worktab Sunday morning with an easy five furlongs in 1:01.09, as reported by Daily Racing Form's Mike Welsch.

“What we usually do after a big race like we had, we try to go nice and easy. That seems to be what he did today,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant to his father.

Mage, who collected 40 points for his runner-up Florida Derby finish and 10 points for his fourth-place effort in the GII Fountain of Youth, currently sits 16th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard and may remain at Gulfstream for another breeze before shipping to Churchill Downs.

“If the weather stays like this here, he may have another work here,” said Delgado Jr. “It will all depend on how he behaves. We already know what we have.”

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Bodexpress Upsets Clark At 11-1 For First Career Stakes Win; Eyes Pegasus Next

Bodexpress, who made headlines as the riderless horse in the 2019 Preakness, is now a Grade 1 winner. The 4-year-old colt grabbed the lead with three-sixteenths of a mile to run and turned back a challenge from 8-5 favorite Code of Honor to win Friday's 146^th running of the $500,000 Clark Presented by Norton Healthcare (Grade 1) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., by one length.

Owned by Top Racing LLC (Lucas Noriega), Global Thoroughbred (Rafael Celis) and GDS Racing Stable (Gustavo Delgado), Bodexpress clocked 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:49.12 under jockey Rafael Bejarano, who rode the winner for trainer Gustavo Delgado. Son Gustavo Delgado Jr. was on hand to saddle the winner for his father.

The lofty $282,100 first prize lifted the bay Kentucky-bred's earnings to $694,600 from a record of 4-4-3 in 17 starts.

“This is a different horse than we saw last year during the Triple Crown campaign,” Delgado Jr. said. “He's really matured. Turning for home I thought we had a really good shot. The horse deserves this most of all. I'm very happy for everyone involved but we are so happy for Bodexpress.”

Breaking from post position No. 8 in the full field of 14, Bodexpress was forwardly placed throughout the race. Phantom Currency dictated the early pace (:23.39 and :47.94) and had a 1 ½-length advantage on Bodexpress leaving the first turn into the backstretch run. Mr Freeze found room along the rail and raced alongside Bodexpress. The trio bunched around the far turn and the leader began to fade. Mr Freeze briefly took over after six furlongs in 1:12.77 but Bodexpress made a three-wide move, stuck a nose in front at the three-sixteenths pole and inched clear inside the final furlong. Code of Honor made a four-wide bid down the stretch but did not have enough to get by the winner.

“This horse just showed so much run today,” Bejarano said. “I'm so proud of him. (Phantom Currency) was going so fast on the lead and we were able to sit a really good trip just behind him. He relaxed very nicely for me and turning for home I could feel I still had a lot of horse underneath me. He had a lot of energy in deep stretch when we needed it to hold off the rest of the horses. It's very special winning a race like this returning to Kentucky to ride this year. This is my home and we've had a lot of success here in my career. This was very special.”

Bodexpress, at odds of 11-1, rewarded his backers with mutuels of $25.40, $10.60 and $7. Code of Honor, with John Velazquez up, returned $4 and $3. Owendale, under Florent Geroux, was another length back in third and paid $3.80 to show.

“We got into a good spot on the backstretch in between horses,” Velazquez said of Code of Honor. “We were chasing the speed of (Phantom Currency) and turning for home we didn't have a lot of room. When I finally got a spot to run around the eighth pole, (Bodexpress) kept going and we weren't able to catch him.”

Coastal Defense finished fourth and was followed by Mr Freeze, Silver Prospector, By My Standards, Bourbon Calling, Crafty Daddy, Title Ready, Multiplier, Aurelius Maximus, Plus Que Parfait and Phantom Currency. In Love (BRZ) was scratched from the also-eligible list.

This was the first stakes victory for Bodexpress, who entered the race off a dominating 11 ¼-length allowance win over 1 1/16 miles at Gulfstream Park West on Oct. 17.

Bodexpress qualified to the 2019 Kentucky Derby (GI) as a maiden with a second place finish behind Maximum Security in that year's $1 million Florida Derby (GI). He placed 13^th in the Derby and, two weeks later, unseated jockey John Velazquez when he reared at the start of the Preakness. He galloped around the track far removed from the inner rail and became a social media sensation.

Next up for Bodexpress is a likely run in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (GI) at Gulfstream on Jan. 23.

Bodexpress is son of Bodemeister out of the City Zip mare Pied a Terre and was bred by Martha Jane Mulholland.

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Bodexpress Romps At GP West; Sunday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Has $275,000 Guarantee

If Bodexpress had never left the confines of Gulfstream Park West, might Thoroughbred racing's most popular bad boy be undefeated?

The ultra-talented but often-erratic 4-year-old colt turned in a thoroughly professional performance Saturday, scoring his third win in as many starts at Gulfstream Park West in Miami Gardens, Fla., while missing the track record for 1 1/16 miles by .01 seconds. The son of Bodemeister registered a front-running 11 1/4 -length victory in 1:42.53, just off Mr. Jordan's Nov. 12, 2016, track record of 1:42.52, in the featured Race 9, an optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up.

Owned by Global Thoroughbreds LLC, Top Racing LLC and trainer Gustavo Delgado's GDS Racing Stable, Bodexpress is stabled at Gulfstream Park West when he's not traveling to stakes engagements. He broke his maiden in his eighth career start Oct. 14, 2019, and came right back to capture an allowance five weeks later, setting a track record for a mile. He would likely have set a track record for 1 1/16 miles had Emisael Jaramillo put any pressure at all on the Kentucky-bred colt.

'We kind of expected a race like that, actually, because he was training so good,” said Delgado's son and assistant trainer, Gustavo Delgado Jr.

Bodexpress, the 2-5 favorite, went right to the front and set fractions of 24.56 and 48.02 seconds for the first half-mile before completing six furlongs in 1:11.75 and finishing with plenty of energy.

“He's been behaving himself lately. I say, 'Lately,'' Delgado Jr. said. “You can see the change. He's more mature. I'm not even worried about it. Today, I said, 'Do your thing, I don't even care.' He behaved like a pro.”

Bodexpress has provided some anxious moments for his connections while away from Gulfstream Park West while also showing flashes of unfulfilled potential with a few graded-stakes placings. Bodexpress finished second as a maiden behind Maximum Security in the 2019 Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream to earn a start in the Kentucky Derby (G1), in which he finished 14^th after a rough journey. In the Preakness Stakes (G1), he unseated jockey John Velazquez when he reared in the starting gate and led the outrider on a merry chase during the race.

“We'll keep him happy and healthy. He'll win one of the big ones,” Gustavo Jr. said.

Bodexpress will be pointed to stakes during Gulfstream's 2020-2021 Championship Meet, including the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) Jan. 23. Another trip to Churchill Downs before then for the Clark (G1) Nov. 27 is a possibility.

”We have a lot of options. We won't dismiss the race at Churchill, because we know he likes Churchill,” Delgado Jr. said.

Identifier, who upset Bodemeister at 60-1 in the Hal's Hope, finished second while never a factor. Glory of Florida finished another 2 3/4 lengths back in third.

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $275,000 on Sunday's program at Gulfstream Park West.

Sunday's Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $275,000
The popular multi-race wager went unsolved for the 11th straight racing day of the Fall Turf Festival Meet Saturday, when multiple tickets were each worth $2,667.48.

There will also be a Super Hi-5 carryover of $5,230.90.

The carryover jackpot 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.

Sunday's Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4-9, featuring a mile optional claiming allowance for 2-year-olds scheduled for the turf in Race 7. Michael Maker-trained Fulmini is rated as the 7-5 morning-line favorite. The son of Overdriven most recently finished second in the off-the-turf Armed Forces at Gulfstream, where he broke his maiden in his second lifetime start at five furlongs on turf and finished finishing a troubled fourth in the Proud Man Stakes at a mile on turf. Edgard Zayas has the return mount.

In Race 6, Royal Squeeze, a multiple-stakes winner with more than $600,000 earnings, drops back into claiming company for the six-furlong sprint for $40,000 claimers. The Elizabeth Dobles-trained 9-year-old gelding, who captured the Claiming Crown Rapid Transit at the start of the 2019-2020 Championship Meet at Gulfstream, has been racing competitively in stakes and optional claiming in recent years.

Earlier on the program, Miss Auramet is rated as the 6-5 morning-line favorite for her return to South Florida in Race 3, an optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares scheduled for five-furlongs on turf. Trained by Eddie Plesa Jr. for wife, Laurie, Leon Ellman and David Melin, the 4-year-old daughter of uncaptured has had a very productive summer in the Mid-Atlantic under the care of trainer Jorge Duarte Jr. Miss Auramet is coming off back-to-back allowance wins at Laurel Park and Delaware Park. Prior to her summer adventure up north, Plesa saddled Miss Auramet for three victories in a row at Gulfstream two on turf and the other on the main track. Zayas has the call.

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Caracaro Continues Kentucky Derby Preparations

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With a mix of optimism and respect, trainer Gustavo Delgado and his son and assistant, Gustavo Delgado Jr., have gone about their primary task of the summer: preparing Caracaro (Uncle Mo) of the GI Kentucky Derby.

The Delgados are based in South Florida at Gulfstream Park West, but brought Caracaro to Saratoga Race Course in July with the goal of earning enough qualifying points to make the 20-horse Derby. Following second-place finishes in the GIII Peter Pan S. July 16 and the Aug. 8 GI Travers S., a colt who was injured in the winter and away from the races for about six months, is 10th on the Derby leaderboard at 60 points.

With the mission accomplished of just getting a position in the Derby field, the Delgados face the challenge of tangling once again with Tiz the Law (Constitution), the GI Belmont S. winner and likely Derby favorite. At the very least, they know Tiz the Law rather well. Caracaro was second to him in the Travers–5 1/2 lengths behind the New York-bred who was throttled-down in the stretch–and they have seen him in training over Saratoga’s main track. Without question, Tiz the Law’s Travers left them realistic about the test facing them at Churchill Down Sept. 5.

“The last race showed who the real horse was,” said Delgado, Jr., who often serves as the barn’s spokesman. “The races before he was just winning, but the last one was impressive.”

Delgado said that jockey Manny Franco had Tiz the Law “cantering to the line” in the Travers, which turned out to be the fifth-fastest time in the history of the race.

“Before, we all thought he’s a good horse,” Delgado Jr. said. “Now we’re talking about something else, like a real good one, in my opinion.”

A moment later, he agreed with the suggestion that Tiz the Law might even be a great horse.

Delgado Jr. said that Caracaro, co-owned by Global Thoroughbred and Top Racing, belongs in the Derby and that his connections see him as a contender. The colt ran second in his debut at Gulfstream Park Dec. 8 then broke his maiden by six lengths Jan. 11. There were offers to buy him as a Derby prospect after the victory, but he had to be taken out of training when a vet exam revealed an issue in his rear end. The Peter Pan was his return to competition and he was quite game despite the lengthy layoff, battling with Country Grammer (Tonalist) in the stretch before finishing second by a neck. While never a threat to win the Travers, he finished well after a wide trip. Delgado Jr. said a top-four finish in the Derby with jockey Javier Castellano is realistic and that from what he and his father can see the colt is still developing.

“This is the third time off the layoff and they usually run well the third, the fourth time. If he keeps improving he’s going to be tough,” he said. “Obviously, Tiz the Law is the main guy. If he doesn’t show up for any reason, we might be ready.”

In Delgado Jr.’s assessment, Caracaro sits in a group of five or six capable Derby horses behind Tiz the Law. Caracaro worked five furlongs in 1:01.02 Saturday over the wet main track at Saratoga and will have his final breeze this weekend before shipping to Kentucky.

“He is a good horse. Just the other one is better than him now,” Delgado Jr. said. “You pull out Tiz the Law, I tell you, I am not afraid of any of the others. It’s the Derby. Twenty horses. We’ve seen it before.”

Caracaro has thrived with his training and racing in Saratoga, Delgado Jr. said, providing some perspective.

“He’s getting fitter, lighter. He had too much weight that he is losing progressively in a good way. He’s more fit. He’s more tight. Before the Peter Pan, you could tell in the paddock he was like this,” Delgado said, spreading his arms to illustrate width. “He looked way fatter than the other horses. He didn’t look fit in the Peter Pan.

He continued, “You realize that once you are in the paddock and you can turn to the other horses. Sometimes when you see them train, you see them every day, you don’t notice the difference. But once you are in the paddock and you look and compare them to the other ones, you are like, ‘Oh, he’s a little chubby.'”

Though Delgado Jr. was clear that Tiz the Law is the horse to beat in the Derby, he pointed to the reality that there are no guarantees in the sport.

“There is still a lot of time. They have a plane to catch,” he said. “Trust me, the pressure is on them. They have the best horse in the race. The pressure is on them.”

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