peter walder | Horse Racing Free Tips

Gulfstream Park: Walder Win Streak Hits Seven, Gaffalione Reaches 1,500 Milestone; Thursday’s Rainbow Jackpot Has $300,000 Guaranteeth

Trainer Peter Walder extended his winning streak to seven Wednesday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., after saddling High Heater ($15) for a front-running victory in Race 2, a seven-furlong sprint for $12,000 claimers.

“Everything is clicking. The right races are coming at the right time. Horses are just doing good,” Walder said. “The game is a rollercoaster. I'm a streaky trainer to begin with. I don't want to curse myself, but I might go 0-for-the-next month. I'll just enjoy it while it lasts.”

Walder saddled one winner from one starter last Wednesday and last Thursday before going 3-for-3 Friday and scoring with his only starter on Saturday.

Walder's streak of winning starters was also broken in Race 2 when stablemate Surf Shack finished second, a neck behind High Heater. However, the veteran trainer can extend a winning-races streak with Time to Two Step in Friday's Race 2.

Gaffalione Notches Career Win No. 1500 at Gulfstream
Tyler Gaffalione has notched yet another career milestone at Gulfstream Park, where he rode his 1,500th winner while guiding Awesome Pudding to a debut victory in Wednesday's Race 4, a six-furlong dash for $50,000 maiden claimers.

The 26-year-old native of Davie, Fla., rode his first winner, Holdin Bullets, at Gulfstream September 7, 2014, and reached the 1,000-win milestone Aboard Mission From Elle at the Hallandale Beach track Dec. 30, 2018.

Gaffalione, who won the Eclipse Award as the nation's leading apprentice while riding full time at Gulfstream in 2015, teamed with trainer Ralph Nicks for three victories on Wednesday's program. They scored back-to-back victories with Shoug ($5.60) in Race 3 and Awesome Pudding ($28.60) in Race 4 before winning Race 6 with Dassult Mirage ($9).

“I've been so fortunate during my career. I've always gotten tremendous support from the owners and trainers. I owe a lot to my agent Matt Muzikar. These horses keep showing up,” Gaffalione said. “I'm just living the dream.”

Tyler also holds a share of the Gulfstream Park record for most wins on a card, becoming only the second jockey with seven winners July 4, 2017. Jerry Bailey (3/11/1996), Luis Saez (1/24/2018 and 3/29/2018) and Paco Lopez (3/11/2020) have also ridden seven winners in a day.

Thursday's Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $300,000

Gulfstream Park's 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $300,000 Thursday.

The popular multi-race wager went unsolved for the second racing day since a lucky bettor broke the jackpot for $712,824.06 Saturday. Multiple tickets with all six winners were each worth $5,000.14 Wednesday.

The jackpot pool 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.

WHO'S HOT: Irad Ortiz Jr. reached the 100-win plateau for the Championship Meet while riding Fulmini ($6) to victory in Race 10. The two-time defending titlist also scored aboard Kate's Kingdom ($11) in Race 1.

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$712,824 Rainbow 6 Payout At Gulfstream Park

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 was hit Saturday for $712,824.06 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The sequence included the Royal Delta (G3), won by longshot Queen Nekia who returned $60.60, and eighth-race winner Quantum Leap, who returned $47.20.

There will be a guaranteed pool Sunday of $200,000.

WHO'S HOT: Trainer Peter Walder extended his hot streak of consecutive winners to six Saturday, visiting the winner's circle with Northern ($9.80) in Race 5 and Ludington ($13.60) in Race 6. Corey Lanerie was aboard for both victories.

Walder won with his only starter Thursday and notched a three-win day from three starters on Friday.

Jockey Corey Lanerie, who won the Royal Delta (G3) aboard 25-1 shot Queen Nekia ($60.60), also won aboard Northern and Ludington.

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Tampa Bay Downs: Union Rags Colt Nova Rags Rallies To Win Pasco For Mott

Leading Tampa Bay Downs jockey Samy Camacho welcomed the chance to ride the Pasco Stakes favorite, 3-year-old colt Nova Rags, for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. But when 16-1 shot Newyearsblockparty took the lead turning for home, Camacho realized translating opportunity to success was no easy bargain.

“I was a little worried at the three-eighths pole, because (Newyearsblockparty) was going between horses and I had to start working,” Camacho said after posting a 2 ¾-length victory aboard the 13-10 favorite at the Oldsmar, Fla., track. “But I hit him once at the top of the stretch and he responded, and when he switched leads in the stretch it was 'Bye.'”

Nova Rags completed the seven-furlong distance of the $125,000 Pasco Stakes in 1:24.55 on a fast track. Newyearsblockparty continued on willingly under jockey Jose Ferrer, finishing three-quarters of a length ahead of Foreman in the 23rd running of the 3-year-old event.

The victory was the second from three lifetime starts for the Michael Shanley-bred and owned Nova Rags, who showed signs he will enjoy going even farther as he continues his development.

Nova Rags' performance was one of numerous highlights on a partly sunny, windy Skyway Festival Day afternoon. In the previous race, the 37th running of the $125,000 Gasparilla Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, Special Princess staged a whirlwind rally on the outside to forge a dead heat with pace-setter Adios Trippi.

Both Special Princess and Adios Trippi are Florida-breds, meaning both earned $32,500 through additional money provided by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association. Special Princess, bred and owned by J D Farms and trained by Walter Woodard, was ridden by Ademar Santos.

Adios Trippi, who is owned in partnership by Paradise Farms Corp., Brian Hanley, Greg Boyer, Scott Estes and Walder Racing, is trained by Peter Walder and was ridden by Antonio Gallardo.

The co-winners finished in a time of 1:24.89. Feeling Mischief, the betting favorite, flattened out through the stretch, finishing third.

In the third main-track stakes on the card, the 37^th running of the $50,000 Wayward Lass for older fillies and mares, heavy favorite Lucky Stride wore down her competition to post a 2 ¼-length victory from On the Town. Estilo Talentoso finished third.

Gallardo rode Lucky Stride for owner Sonata Stable and trainer Michael Trombetta. The winner's time was 1:44.24, .97 seconds off the stakes record set in 2019 by Tapa Tapa Tapa.

Meanwhile, the Pasco victory by Nova Rags, a son of Union Rags out of the Smart Strike mare Wishful Splendor, should open more doors for the colt who finished fourth in his previous start, the Grade 3 Nashua Stakes at Aqueduct in November. “It's what we were hoping for,” said Mott's assistant, Mark Schreiber. “His last race was a little disappointing, but he was kind of shying from horses on the outside of him and he needed to mature a little.

“Samy rode him perfectly today and it looks like he will stretch out. All along, Bill (Mott) saw a lot in this horse,” Schreiber said.

All of the winning connections were ecstatic after the Gasparilla, even though a solo victory is always preferable. The victory was the first career stakes triumph for Woodard and the first stakes triumph at Tampa Bay Downs for Santos.

“This puts me on the map,” Woodard exulted. “I told everyone before the race they were going to know (Special Princess) was there, and Ademar did a hell of a job. She's really come into herself and I was very confident coming into the race.”

Santos was riding Special Princess for the first time, but he'd noticed she had started slow in her two previous Oldsmar starts and suggested to Woodard they work her from the starting gate a few days before the race to put more speed into her. “She broke a lot better today and got the job done,” Santos said. “I thought we beat (Adios Trippi), but it feels good because you don't have too many chances to ride this kind of horse. I told the pony rider to turn her loose in the post parade and she put her head down and got busy, and I knew she had her mind on business.”

Woodard and Santos had teamed to win the previous race on the card, the fifth, with 3-year-old claiming filly Peaceful Way, also owned by J D Farms.

Walder, who engineered the private purchase of Adios Trippi after her impressive maiden score Oct. 5 at Parx Racing in Philadelphia, was, like Woodard, just this side of over the moon after the result was posted.

“This is the happiest I've ever been for a dead-heat. I thought (Special Princess) nailed her, but my filly ran an awesome race because she took the beating up front (posting demanding fractions of 22.57 seconds for the first quarter-mile and 45.65 for the half),” Walder said.

“She just ran against a tough group at Gulfstream two weeks ago (finishing third in the Cash Run Stakes) and it was kind of a quick turnaround, but I liked the idea of wheeling her back from a mile to seven furlongs. She's getting better with each race,” Walder said.

Gallardo shared Walder's excitement. “She did the job, and it's better than second,” he said.

Lucky Stride improved to 9-for-16 with her Wayward Lass victory. “She hasn't done a darn thing wrong since we got her,” said Trombetta, who watched from Gulfstream Park. He had taken over her training last summer but had yet to win with her in four starts, all in stakes competition. “We tried her on turf a couple of times and she did fine, but we'd put this race on the calendar a while back and it worked out.”

Lucky Stride, who trailed by as much as 11 or 12 lengths in the early going, benefited from a quick pace set by long shot No Mercy Percy (who held on well for fourth), but Gallardo wasn't sure if she would get the job done as On the Town and Estilo Talentoso both finished with good energy. “I had to work with her. Michael told me she was kind of a one-paced horse, and I had to stay on top of her the whole time. But when I put her in the clear, she finished strong,” Gallardo said.

“She got floated out so wide on the turn, I was worried she wouldn't be able to get there,” Trombetta said. “It was very nice to see her finish so well.”

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Horsemen, Fans Embrace Claiming Crown At Gulfstream Park With Big Fields, Record Handle

By the time the Claiming Crown had ended Saturday at Gulfstream Park – after a record $14.6 million was wagered on the event – it was clear how much the Claiming Crown had grown over the past nine years at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track.

Not only was this a day when a horse claimed six weeks ago for $6,250 could win an $80,000 race, but this was also a day when a Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) runner-up could prep for the $3-million Pegasus World Cup (G1).

“No question, this event has evolved,” said Dan Metzger, president of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). “I thought Saturday's fields, from top to bottom, were some of the best we ever had.”

Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), which partners with TOBA on the Claiming Crown, believes the event is looked upon differently now that it is at Gulfstream.

“I believe in the past some people looked at it as a year-end blowout. But I see it as the launch of a new year,” Hamelback said. “The Breeders' Cup kind of wraps up the year. But because it's at Gulfstream, and the opening weekend of the Championship Meet, I think it's become the beginning of a new year. I think if it was earlier in the fall or summer, you wouldn't have the buildup or the quality you have. The job [vice president of racing] Mike [Lakow], [stakes coordinator] Eric Friedman and, of course [executive director of Florida racing operations] Billy Badgett did was incredible.”

In the nine years the Claiming Crown has been held at Gulfstream, handle on the day's program has increased each year. Prior to 2012, the largest handle on the previous 13 Claiming Crown programs – Claiming Crown races only – was $4,906,096. On the nine Claiming Crown races held at Gulfstream Saturday, handle was $12,074,238.

“The support of the fans who set a record for total wagering is a testament to the competitive and quality fields,” Metzger said.

Along with Breeders' Cup Mile runner-up Jesus' Team prepping for the Pegasus World Cup with a victory in the $150,000 Jewel, there were 10 other horses that won or placed in graded stakes participating in the Claiming Crown. In total, there were 108 horses entered in the nine Claiming Crown races.

“When the card was drawn we knew we had something special to offer,” said Lakow.

Along with those graded-stakes winners and placed horses, there were also stories like Descente, claimed for $6,520 in October, winning the $80,000 Glass Slipper; the 55-1 longshot High Noon Rider winning the $95,000 Emerald; the promising 3-year-old Fiya remaining undefeated on turf winning the Canterbury; and the former $16,000 claimer Krsto Skye winning the $75,000 Express.

“I think at the beginning not a lot of people targeted [the Claiming Crown],” said trainer Peter Walder, who won his second consecutive Glass Slipper with Descente. “But now that it's at Gulfstream, a lot of people are shipping in for the Championship Meet, and there's a lot of owners who want to come here. Why wouldn't you?”

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