harlan's holiday stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Fearless Makes Bold Move To Take Harlan’s Holiday At Gulfstream Park

Facing a field that included Mighty Heart, the reigning Canadian Horse of the Year, jockey Luis Saez made a bold move for the lead on the backstretch at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., and never relinquished the front, winning the Grade 3 Harlan's Holiday by a length.

Out of the gate, Mighty Heart established a one-length lead early, with Blue Steel and Fearless stalking down the backstretch. With early fractions of :24.38 and :47.76, Saez sent Fearless to the lead as they approached the far turn, putting a head in front of Mighty Heart as they rounded into the far turn.

Into the stretch, Fearless increased his lead to two lengths as South Bend rallied on the outside, passing Mighty Heart inside the last furlong to take second. At the wire, the margin of victory was four lengths. Blue Steel, Twenty Twice, and Eye of the Jedi rounded out the order of finish.

The final time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:42.19. Find this race's chart here.

Fearless paid $3.20, $2.40, and $2.10. South Bend paid $4.00 and $2.80. Mighty Heart paid $2.60.

Bred in Kentucky by Helen K. Groves Revocable Trust, Fearless is by Ghostzapper out of the Street Cry (IRE) mare And Why Not. Owned by Repole Stable, the 5-year-old gelding is trained by Todd Pletcher. Consigned by Elite Agent, he was purchased by West Bloodstock, agent for Repole Stables, for $205,000 at the July 2021 Fasig-Tipton Horses of Racing Age Sale. With his win in the G3 Harlan's Holiday, Fearless has two wins in five starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of five wins in 11 starts and career earnings of $576,550.

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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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Tax Returns With a Vengeance In Harlan’s Holiday; Pegasus World Cup Next?

R.A. Hill Stable, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Hugh Lynch's Tax returned to winning form in Saturday's $100,000 Harlan's Holiday (G3), scoring a dominating 4 ½ -length victory while stamping himself as a prime candidate for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The Harlan's Holiday, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds and up, was one of five stakes on Saturday's program, which was headlined by the $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2), a key prep for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1).

Tax, a prominent player on the 2019 Road to the Triple Crown, had been winless since capturing the 2019 Jim Dandy (G2) at Saratoga until he broke through with a dazzling front-running score Saturday that threatened the track record for 1 1/16 miles.

“We have really, really been high on him. We really thought he'd run big at Keeneland but he got sick on us and caused him to miss the race. I got really depressed about it because I was waiting to run him. Today, he showed up,” Gargan said. “I think this will be his best year. He's grown, developed. He's sound. He's bigger, stronger than he's ever been. I couldn't be happier with him today.”

Unraced since finishing fifth in the May 2 Oaklawn Handicap – his only start since finishing off-the-board in last year's Pegasus World Cup – Tax went right to the front under jockey Luis Saez after breaking from the No. 1 post position and was never threatened thereafter. The 4-year-old gelded son of Arch completed 1 1/16-miles in 1:41.15 while being under wraps for the final sixteenth of a mile, missing Social Inclusion's 2014 track record of 1:40.96 by less than a fifth of a second.

“I could feel that he was doing great. He was ready. He was pretty focused in the gate and he broke so sharp. He took the lead and controlled the pace and at the five-eighths, I felt like I had a lot of horse,” Saez said. “When we came to the stretch and he changed leads, he took off. He was very comfortable the whole way. I knew I had a lot of horse. We were just saving him for the next time. I could feel that we were going fast, but he was so comfortable. He loves to run, and we let him run.”

Next time could quite likely come in the Pegasus World Cup, in which he stumbled at the start and wasn't able to recover last year.

“I'll have to talk to Dean [Reeves] and Randy [Hill] and Hugh Lynch,” Gargan said. “I'm blessed that they're been so patient. He's only run two times this year. We turned him out and had a couple of misfortunes that we didn't get to run. Having great owners like those guys really helps you develop a horse into a good horse.”

Eye of a Jedi closed from far back to finish second under Marcos Meneses, a half-length ahead of 2-1 favorite Phat Man, who stalked the early pace under Irad Ortiz Jr. but was unable to mount a serious challenge.

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Weekend Lineup: Gulfstream Swings Into Graded Stakes Action

The Gulfstream Park championship meet, whose first Saturday featured the popular Claiming Crown races on Dec. 5, kicks into high gear this weekend with an 11-race Saturday program with five stakes, four of them graded, that could showcase horses competing in the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track's Jan. 23 Pegasus World Cup and World Cup Turf.

Gulfstream is the only track offering American graded stakes this weekend, with all of their races available on TVG and your favorite ADW streaming service. Gulfstream's first post is 12:05 p.m., and remember that the track is sticking to estimated post times this meet whenever possible.

Here's a brief look at the four graded stakes at Gulfstream on Saturday (all times Eastern).

1:35 p.m. – $100,000 G3 Rampart

Rohan Chrichton, who won the training title at the recently concluded Gulfstream Park West meet, sends out Bajan Girl off two wide-margin victories at GP West in allowance/optional claiming company – both at one mile, the distance of the Rampart. Bajan Girl's last foray on the Gulfstream Park main track was in March when the Speightstown filly ran fourth behind Swiss Skydiver in the G2 Gulfstream Park Oaks. Letruska, winner of the G3 Shuvee at Saratoga in August, won the Copa Invitacional del Caribe Stakes for her trainer, Fausto Gutierrez, last December at Gulfstream, after arriving from her home base in Mexico City, Mexico.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/GP121220USA4-EQB.html

2:38 p.m. – Sugar Swirl G3

Cinnabunny will be making her first start for Brad Cox in this six-furlong test for fillies and mares, 3 and up, and that's enough to suggest taking a serious look at this daughter of Golden Lad who is coming off a five-length allowance/optional claiming victory at Parx when trained by Kathleen DeMasi. Irad Ortiz Jr. will be aboard. Golden Ami won her debut at Gulfstream in March for trainer Josie Carroll, then won her only start at Woodbine in Canada on Nov. 14. Red-hot Tyler Gaffalione rides. Lady's Island is always tough at Gulfstream, showing seven wins in 11 starts, and she demolished the field in this race last year, winning by 6 3/4 lengths.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/GP121220USA6-EQB.html

4:09 p.m. – Harlan's Holiday G3

Most of the runners in this seven-horse field are known quantities in stakes races – including 2019 Harlan's Holiday runner-up Phat Man, 2019 G2 Jim Dandy winner Tax and 2019 G1 Pennsylvania Derby winner Math Wizard. The most intriguing entrant might be the Tapit colt Tatweej from the Todd Pletcher barn. Winner of three of four starts at Gulfstream up to one mile, Tatweej will be making his stakes debut and trying two turns for the first time. The Harlan's Holiday winner could have his trainer thinking Pegasus World Cup.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/GP121220USA9-EQB.html

4:40 p.m. – Ft. Lauderdale G2

Halladay is unbeaten in three starts over the Hallandale lawn for Todd Pletcher and figures to be out winging under Luis Saez in this 1 1/8-mile contest as he was in the G1 Breeders' Cup Mile last out when leading till inside the furlong pole. Factor This had a troubled trip in that same Breeders' Cup race and will be making his local debut for Brad Cox. Chad Brown and Irad Ortiz Jr. could have a say in the outcome with Delaware, as the son of Frankel looks for his first U.S. win in his fifth start. The Group 3 winner in France is coming off his strongest performance with a close third to Therapist in the Artie Schiller at Aqueduct Nov. 14.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/GP121220USA10-EQB.html

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