Luis Saez Voted Jockey Of The Week With Three Stakes Wins At Gulfstream

Leading Gulfstream Park rider, Luis Saez won three of the five graded stakes for 3-year-olds Saturday on Holy Bull Day to earn Jockey of the Week for Jan. 31 through Feb. 6. The honor, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1,050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

The seven-furlong, Grade 3 Swale was the first graded stakes of the day with Saez in the irons for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher on My Prankster. Off as the even-money favorite in the field of six and breaking from the rail, My Prankster raced near the back of the field. On the backside, Saez angled My Prankster to the outside and challenged the leaders at the top stretch. My Prankster gained command from Dean Delivers down the lane and posted a one-half length win in 1:23.13.

“He got a good break today,” said Saez. “We knew they had a lot of speed in the race so the plan was to get him in the clear and go from there…he always tries, he tried pretty hard today and he got the job done so it was a good race for him.”

Riding for trainer Brad Cox, Saez was aboard Louisiana invader Girl With a Dream in the filly counterpart to the Swale, the G3 Forward Gal. Breaking from post position six in the field of seven, Saez and Girl With a Dream lead throughout the seven furlongs while holding off the favorite Radio Days to post a one-length victory in 1:23.42.

“She broke from there pretty sharp,” said Saez. “She went and she was pretty comfortable all the way. We came to the top of the stretch and I felt like I had a lot of horse. She kept battling, and she beat them. I felt like every step, when the other filly (Radio Days) came close, she responded more.”

Trainer Roderick Rodriguez gave a leg up to Saez on Opelina in the G3 Sweetest Chant at one mile and one-sixteenth on the turf. Off as the co-second choice in the field of nine, Saez and Opelina settled in fourth. Leaving the backstretch, Saez gave Opelina her cue swinging three wide to quickly pass the leaders and holding on to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:41.56.

“When she took the lead in the stretch, she kind of waited for the other ones, but when she got on the left (lead) she gave me another gear,” said Saez.

Saez's weekly statistics were 43-7-9-7 with total purse earnings of $396,620.

Other nominees for Jockey of the Week were Jose L. Ortiz with two graded stakes wins at Aqueduct, Flavien Prat with a stakes win at Santa Anita, Jaime Rodriguez who tied for number of wins for the week with nine and Tim Thornton who also posted nine wins for the week.

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Opalina Makes The Grade In Sweetest Chant

Teneri Farm and J Stables' Opalina (Optimizer) came with a steady run around the far turn and powered through the stretch to reel in 25-1 long shot leader Myfavoritedaughter and win Saturday's $100,000 Sweetest Chant (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

The 27th running of the 1 1/16-mile Sweetest Chant for fillies and mares on turf was the fourth of five graded-stakes for 3-year-olds on the program, immediately preceding the 33rd edition of the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3), the next step on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1).

Opalina ($10.60) hit the wire in 1:41.56 over a firm turf course to give jockey Luis Saez his third graded-stakes win on the card, following My Prankster in the Claiborne Farm Swale (G3) and Girl With a Dream in the Forward Gal (G3), both on the main track.

“When she took the lead in the stretch she kind of waited for the other ones, but when she got on the left [lead] she gave me another gear,” Saez said. “Last time, she needed a race and she didn't want to be too close. Today, we wanted to race a little bit from behind and make one move with her. Everything turned out like we were expecting.”

Myfavoritedaughter, sent off at the longest odds in a field of nine at 25-1, sped through fractions of 23.16 and 46.88 seconds to lead the group by open lengths with Ocean Safari, runner-up in the one-mile Ginger Brew Jan. 1 at Gulfstream, a distant second. Saez, meanwhile, had Opalina – third as the favorite in the Ginger Brew – settled in fourth.

“She ran great, and that's the way she runs her best, coming off the pace a little bit,” winning trainer Roderick Rodriguez said. “The last time she was anxious in the receiving barn, but today she was perfect. She was relaxed. She broke alertly, but she settled back and just made one big run, and that's the way I want her to run.”

Saez gave Opalina her cue leaving the backstretch, swinging out three wide to launch their bid. They quickly passed Ocean Safari and straightened for home with their sights set on Myfavoritedaughter, who dug in determinedly but could not hold off the closers.

Opalina earned her first career stakes victory by three-quarters of a length over late-running Ambitieuse, making just her third career start and first in a stakes. Miss You Ella came on for third, another 1 ¼ lengths back. Myfavoritedaughter, Battle Charge, Ocean Safari, Roughly a Diamond, Hal's Dream and Nostalgic – narrowly favored over Opalina and Ocean Safari – completed the order of finish.

“I felt good, because I know Luis can get the horse going,” Rodriguez said. “She was coming on really nice. I felt really confident at the top of the stretch.”

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Opalina Seeks First Stakes Success In Sweetest Chant

Teneri Farm and J Stables' Opalina, an eye-opening maiden winner over the course last fall, returns to Gulfstream Park looking to snap a two-race losing streak and earn her first stakes victory in Saturday's $100,000 Sweetest Chant (G3).

The 27th running of the 1 1/16-mile Sweetest Chant for fillies and mares on turf is among five graded-stakes for 3-year-olds on a 12-race program highlighted by the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3), the next step on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1).

Post time is noon.

Trainer Roderick Rodriguez said Florida-bred Opalina got a bit worked up prior to her sophomore debut in the one-mile Ginger Brew Jan. 1 at Gulfstream and faded to third after stalking the pace in her first race since mid-October.

“She was kind of too anxious, a little too nervous in the receiving barn. That was the first time she did that and I think that's what did her in. She was a little flat at the end, but she ran OK. The main thing is, she came out of it good,” Rodriguez said. “She's doing very good. I think she'll be fitter this time.”

After a pair of turf sprints last summer to begin her career, Opalina was a 12-length maiden special weight winner against fellow state-breds in mid-September at Gulfstream. Racing for the first time beyond five furlongs, it was contested at a mile over a yielding course.

“I was very confident in her that she was going to win like that. I had run her short, which is not her game,” Rodriguez said. “That was her first time going long, a flat mile, so I was kind of expecting that performance.”

Her effort was enough to convince the connections to send Opalina out to Keeneland for the 1 1/16-mile Jessamine (G2), a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). Sent off at 28-1 in a field of 13, she found trouble at the start and ran near the back of the group before coming with a rally to be fifth, beaten 1 ½ lengths. The runner-up in that race, South Florida-based Diamond Wow, beat Opalina in a maiden special weight last August at Gulfstream.

“She kind of lost her race right at the break. She got nervous. I think that was the first time she saw a lot of people in the grandstand because they were warming up right in front of the crowd in the stretch,” Rodriguez said. “When she went into the gate, she started rearing, that's why she missed the break. But, that was the first time she'd ever done that. She's always been nice and quiet. Still, she only got beat a length [and a half] and a length [and a half] is like, nothing.”

Championship Meet leader Luis Saez, up in the Ginger Brew, returns to ride from Post 2 in a field of 10.

“I feel a lot better this time. It's like when you lose, you make adjustments and you say, 'What can I fix? Where can I get better?' I'm trying to cover all the angles. She's a lot fitter and calmer, and I have the leading rider on her,” Rodriguez said. “It motivates you. It makes you want to get up in the morning. A good horse always does that. This is a grind, every day, and you look for horses like that.”

Edward Seltzer's homebred Running Legacy will be making just her second career start in the Sweetest Chant. The chestnut daughter of Gun Runner was a 1 ¼-length winner in debut going one mile and 70 yards on Gulfstream's Tapeta Dec. 9.

“When she broke her maiden, she did it quite good. Hopefully she'll handle the turf when we give her the chance,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “She's a filly that looks like she wants to go two turns and run all day long. I think this is the right step. We could go to an allowance but we feel like she's by Gun Runner and if she can get graded-stakes placed or even win, it enhances her value. She's a homebred so it's big for the Seltzers. There's a lot of reasons to give it a shot.”

Dylan Davis comes in from New York to ride Running Legacy from Post 9.

Trainer Chad Brown won the Sweetest Chant six straight years from 2012 to 2017 with Dayatthespa, Premier Steps, Ready to Act, Consumer Credit, Pricedtoperfection and Rymska. He is represented this year by Wonder Stables, Madaket Stables and Golconda Stable's Miss You Ella, exiting a one mile, 70-yard maiden special weight victory over Gulfstream's Tapeta Jan. 6 under Irad Ortiz Jr., who rides back from Post 7.

Also coming out of a maiden win over the all-weather surface is Wertheimer and Frere homebred Ambitieuse, who rallied for a three-quarter-length triumph going 1 1/16 miles Dec. 29 at Gulfstream. Trainer Graham Motion, who won the 2018 Sweetest Chant with Thewayiam, enlisted Paco Lopez to ride from Post 4.

The Sweetest Chant is just the third career start and first in a stake for Ambitieuse. She didn't make her debut until mid-November, when she came on to be third in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Aqueduct.

“She's a horse that we've always liked. We wanted to get her going earlier than we did, but she broke her jaw and it took time to get over that. It was a freak thing, and she's perfect now,” Motion said. “I thought her first race was good and then she ran another good race on the Tapeta to break her maiden. She's had a bit of time since then and we're excited to get her going.”

Average Joe Racing Stables' Myfavoritedaughter has already started twice this year, running second in optional claiming allowances Jan. 1 at Tampa Bay Downs and Jan. 21 at Gulfstream. As a 2-year-old, she finished fourth in the Del Mar Debutante (G1) and also ran in the Alcibiades (G1) on dirt before going back to the turf for the Wait a While Dec. 3, opening day of the Championship Meet.

Battle Charge, second by a head in the Presque Isle Debutante last October; Hal's Dream, a maiden winner on turf exiting the Golden Rod (G2) on dirt last out; Nostalgic, whose Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott, won last year's Sweetest Chant with White Frost; Ginger Brew runner-up Ocean Safari; and Roughly a Diamond complete the field.

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