Officiating | Horse Racing Free Tips

Officiating Graduates To Graded Stakes Winner In Mr. Prospector

Over a fast track at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., Officiating stalked the pace set by Wind of Change, went three-wide into the stretch, and took the lead in the last furlong to win the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector over Endorsed and Dennis' Moment.

At the break in the seven-furlong G3 stakes, Wind of Change showed his head in front first, taking a one-length lead inside the first furlong. Into the first turn, Wind of Change maintained that advantage over Doc Amster and Officiating, setting fractions of :22.18 for the first quarter and :44.75 for the half mile. Into the far turn, Officiating went three-wide, going to the outside of Wind of Change and Doc Amster as they hit the top of the stretch.

In the Gulfstream straight, Officiating and Doc Amster passed Wind of Change, with Dennis' Moment and Endorsed on the outside challenging. Officiating pulled clear with a furlong to go and held off a late surging Endorsed to win the Mr. Prospector by three-quarters of a length. Endorsed was second, with Dennis' Moment holding on for third. Doc Amster, Wind of Change, Flap Jack, and Poppy's Pride rounded out the order of finish.

The final time for the seven furlongs was 1:22.28. Find this race's chart here.

Officiating paid $16.80, $6.00, and $3.60. Endorsed paid $3.20 and $2.40. Dennis' Moment paid $2.60.

Bred in Florida by owner Vegso Racing Stable, Officiating is by Blame out of the Dixie Union mare Come a Callin. He is trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. The 3-year-old colt was a $100,000 RNA consigned by Eaton Sales at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. With his win in the G3 Mr. Prospector, Officiating has three wins in 10 starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of 14-3-4-2 and career earnings of $206,547.

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Equibase Analysis: 12-1 On The Morning Line, Officiating Looks Very Tough In Mr. Prospector Stakes

This Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Gulfstream Park drew a field of seven sprinters running seven furlongs in an intriguing race: not one of the group has finished in the top three in a graded stakes in 2021. That being said, three horses enter the race having either won their most recent race or the one just prior to that.

Dennis' Moment is one of the two in the former group, having won at the seven furlong distance in his most recent race and with a previous graded stakes win in his career as he captured the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes in the fall of 2019.
Officiating won at this distance one race before last, the win coming in the non-graded Bear's Den Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Doc Amster won last month at Gulfstream Park at the shorter distance of six furlongs and is trying this seven furlong trip for the first time.
Then there's Endorsed, with the highest career earnings in the field at $455,375. His best effort at this level came when second in the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes in June of last year, and he enters the Mr. Prospector Stakes off a fast closing third place effort in his most recent start.
Poppy's Pride won four in a row between September and December of last year but has run poorly in two starts since returning from an eight month layoff in September.
Wind of Change (BRZ) finished fourth in last year's Mr. Prospector and enters this year's race off a runner-up finish two months ago.
Flap Jack rounds out the field, not having won in nine races since June, 2020 and still eligible to run in a second level allowance race.

Main win contenders:

Officiating took seven tries to earn his first win, doing so on turf this past March. Following his maiden win and after missing by a neck in a non-graded stakes race on turf and a mediocre third place effort on dirt, he was privately transferred to the barn of trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. Then, after fourth and third place finishes on turf, Officiating was entered in the Bear's Den Stakes, scheduled for turf, but stayed in the race which was moved to dirt due to weather, earning a career best 110 ™ Equibase® Speed Figure and winning authoritatively by three and one-half lengths.

In his most recent race and following the Bear's Den, Officiating tried the Tapeta all-weather surface and two-turns in the Showing Up Stakes last month and ran poorly, demonstrating only he did not like the surface nor the distance. Cutting back to the distance of the Bear's Den while moving back to the surface of that race, it can be assumed Officiating can duplicate his effort in that race which is good enough to win. There is also little doubt about his being able to run as well considering his last two workouts on dirt coming into the race have been excellent.

Dennis' Moment was thought to be a top 2-year-old in the summer of 2019 following his 19 length win in July with a 106 ™ figure, virtually unheard of for a young two year old. He won the Iroquois Stakes two months later but after finishing last of eight in that year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Stakes he was given time off to mature. When returning in the Fountain of Youth Stakes last February, 2020, Dennis' Moment was sent to post as the heavy favorite but finished 10th and last.

Rested another nine months, he ran poorly one year ago and was again given time off. This time the rest helped greatly as Dennis' Moment missed by a head in a six furlong sprint. Two races later in October, Dennis' Moment earned his first win in 25 months in a highly rated race at Keeneland at the distance of the Mr. Prospector, duplicating the 106 figure earned in the summer of 2019. With logical improvement off that effort in his fourth start off the rest and at the same distance of his last effort, Dennis' Moment has every right to earn a graded stakes win for the second time in his career.

The rest of the field, with their best ™ Equibase Speed Figures, is Doc Amster (103), Endorsed (110), Flap Jack (101), Poppy's Pride (97) and Wind of Change (BRZ) (114).

Win Contenders, in preference order:

Officiating
Dennis' Moment

Mr. Prospector Stakes – Grade 3
Race 10 at Gulfstream Park
Saturday, December 11 – Post Time 4:32 PM E.T.
Seven Furlongs
Three Years Olds and Upward
Purse: $100,000

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Endorsed To Take On Dennis’ Moment In Saturday’s Mr. Prospector

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who has gotten off to a solid start at Gulfstream's Championship Meet with two wins on Friday's opening day program and two more Wednesday, will seek his first stakes win of the winter session aboard Mark Breen's Endorsed in Saturday's $100,000 Mr. Prospector (G3), a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up that will be the first of 37 graded-stakes on the Gulfstream's $14.26 million stakes schedule.

Endorsed, who was claimed for $100,000 out of a third-place finish in an Aug. 26 optional claiming allowance at Saratoga, has been winless in three starts for trainer Mike Maker, finishing third in the Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes, fourth in the Phoenix (G2) at Keeneland and a close third in an optional claiming allowance at Churchill while being ridden by Gaffalione for the first time.

“Since Mike took over his training, he's really coming into his own. He's had three big performances in his last three races against top-quality horses,” Gaffalione said. “It seems like he leaves himself with too much to do. I'm hoping the extra difference will help him out and he gets a clean trip.”

The 5-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro is graded stakes-placed and has run respectably in a few Grade 1 stakes, but he is still seeking to win his first stakes in a steady 23-race career.

Albaugh Family Stables LLC's Dennis' Moment enters the Mr. Prospector coming off his first win since capturing the 2019 Iroquois at Churchill Downs. The Dale Romans-trained son of Tiznow captured a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance at Keeneland.

Corey Lanerie has the call aboard Dennis' Moment.

Drain the Clock was nominated to the Mr. Prospector, but trainer Saffie Joseph has opted to run the Grade 1 winner in a Friday optional claiming allowance off a layoff and run Daniel Alonso's Wind of Change and Vegso Racing Stable's Officiating in Saturday's stakes.

Wind of Change, who won the ungraded Mr. Prospector at Monmouth in May, is coming off a second-place finish in an optional claiming allowance in his first start on Gulfstream's Tapeta course.

“I thought he handled it well. Obviously, going in there was a bit of unknown because he had never been on it. Overall, I thought it was a good race,” Joseph said. “The horse that beat him [King of Dreams] came back and won a stake. A good horse beat him.”

Joseph expects Wind of Change to be a forward factor in the Mr. Prospector.

“His best style of running is on lead, so we're trying, hopefully, to go to the lead,” he said.

Edgard Zayas has the mount aboard the Brazilian-bred 6-year-old.

Officiating, who made a strong middle move on Tapeta before fading in the Showing Up, won the off-the-turf Bear's Den at seven furlongs over a sloppy track in his previous start.

“He's kind of a weird kind of horse. We've only had him for four starts, and he's trained really well on the dirt. We only ran him once on dirt, and it was on the slop, and he handled it well. He won a stake,” Joseph said. “His previous races on dry dirt, he's never hit the board. It's kind of an experiment. He's training so well on the dirt. I want to give him one try.”

Luis Saez is scheduled to ride Officiating for the first time.

Calumet Farm's Flap Jack, Russell Staggs' Doc Amster and Stonehedge LLC's Poppy's Pride round out the field.

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Officiating Wins Bear’s Den Over Sloppy Gulfstream Track

Vegso Racing Stable's Officiating took advantage of a dream race scenario in Sunday's $75,000 Bear's Den, kicking in through the stretch to score by 3 ½ lengths over heavily favored Papetu after saving ground while tracking a contested pace.

The Bear's Den, a 7-furlong stakes for 3-year-olds, headlined Sunday's 10-race program that also featured the $60,000 Pembroke Park, a five-furlong overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Officiating, who is stakes-placed on turf, seemed to relish the sloppy track Sunday, when a heavy mid-afternoon shower forced the Bear's Den, scheduled for 7 ½ furlongs on turf, to be run on the main track at seven furlongs.

Officiating, who was ridden by Emisael Jaramillo, settled nicely on the backstretch a few lengths behind a solid pace set by Exchange Day and pressed by Dark Timber. The pacesetters were joined by Papetu, who made a three-wide sweep on the far turn. Dark Timber took the lead into the stretch off half-mile fractions of 22.46 and 45.31 seconds with Papetu looming boldly on the far outside. Eased off the rail for the stretch run, Officiating quickly accelerated and surged between Dark Timer and Papetu to grab the lead inside the 1/16th-pole with legs fresh enough to hold the favorite at bay and claim his first career stakes win.

Formerly trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Officiating ran seven furlongs in 1:23.11 in his third start for Joseph. Papetu, who won the Carry Back two starts back, finished second under Edgard Zayas, four lengths ahead of Dark Timber and jockey Edwin Gonzalez.

The Pembroke Park was also moved from the turf course to the main track, which posed no inconvenience to Golden Kernel Racing Stable's Yes I Am Free, who scored a narrow hard-fought victory and second success in as many starts on off going.

The Laura Cazares-trained Yes I Am Free also notched his first stakes victory since winning the Texas Glitter at five furlongs on turf at Gulfstream in February 2019.

The son of Uncaptured also benefitted from troubled trips that compromised graded-stakes winners Miles Ahead, the 2-1 favorite who trailed the field early after being bumped at the start, and Double Crown, who was forced to race very wide after breaking a step slowly from his far-outside post position.

Yes I Am Free chased early pacesetter Malroux before taking over the lead heading into the stretch with Double Crown on the attack to his outside. Double Crown's progress slowed in mid-stretch but Yes I Am Free was in the sights of rallying Man of Honor and Miles Ahead. The Florida-bred gelding responded to urging from Miguel Vasquez to win by a neck over a surging Miles Ahead, who had launched a very wide extended rally on the far turn. Man of Honor finished third, another neck back and a half-length ahead of Double Crown.

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