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Never Surprised Dominates Tropical Park Derby Rivals; Saez Bags Five Wins

Repole Stable's Never Surprised scored a popular gate-to-wire 6 ¼-length victory Sunday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., providing Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher with back-to-back victories in the $100,000 Tropical Park Derby.

Last year, Pletcher sent out Colonel Liam for a 3 ½-length victory in last year's Tropical Park Derby prior to the son of Liam's Map's triumph in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream four weeks later.

The Tropical Park Derby, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds, co-headlined Sunday's day-after-Christmas program with the Tropical Park Oaks, a 1 1/16-mile turf event for 3-year-old fillies.

While touring the Gulfstream turf course in a solid 1:40.39, Never Surprised also provided jockey Luis Saez with his fifth victory on the 11-race program.

Bet down to 1-2 favoritism on the strength of his 9 ½-length triumph in the Nov. 26 Gio Ponti Stakes at Aqueduct, Never Surprised never gave Saez an anxious moment, breaking alertly to gain the lead into the first turn. After setting half-mile fractions of 23.22 and 46.66 seconds, the son of Constitution opened up on the turn into the homestretch and drew away for a comfortable victory.

“He's a pretty nice horse. I rode him one time before and he was a little bit green, but today he was good. Todd has done an amazing job,” Saez said. “He broke from the gate really fast. I was excited about the way he ran today. I had a lot of horse. I didn't have to overdo it. It was an easy race for him.”

Among his four other winning rides, Saez rode Pletcher-trained first-time starter American Icon for an 8 ½-length front-running victory in Sunday's Race 8, a seven-furlong maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds.

“It's an amazing day. My family was here – that's my happiness,” Saez said. “It was a great job by my agent (Kiaran McLaughlin) and everybody who is supporting me, giving me those type of horses to ride.”

In seven career starts, Never Surprised has four victories, as well as three second-place finishes in graded-stakes – Kitten's Joy (G3) at Gulfstream, Saranac (G3) at Saratoga, and Hill Prince (G2) at Belmont.

Yes This Time finished second in the Tropical Park Derby, a nose ahead of Safe Conduct.

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Never Surprised Stays Hot in Tropical Derby

Sent off the 1-2 chalk to close a successful sophomore season, Repole Stable's Never Surprised (Constitution) likely earned a spot in the field for the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf with a sparkling front-running success in Sunday's Tropical Park Derby, the same event used as a springboard to Pegasus success by stablemate Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) early this year.

Exiting a big-figure victory in the Gio Ponti S. at Aqueduct last month, Never Surprised wasted no time getting to the front, but was made to work for it by longshot Lamplighter Jack (Fed Biz) through enervating fractions of :23.22 and :46.66. Going very well despite the demanding pace, Never Surprised began to sneak away from his beaten rival on the turn, was hand-ridden into the stretch and was merely shown the whip through the final sixteenth of a mile, scoring in strong time.

Perfect in two juvenile appearances, including the Central Park S. last November, Never Surprised was beaten into second as the odds-on pop in this track's GIII Kitten's Joy S. last January before getting some time off. Runner-up to Public Sector (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the GIII Saranac S. in September, he was beaten a neck by that rival in the GII Hill Prince S. Oct. 23 before taking Gio Ponti by the same margin of victory as Sunday, earning a 98 Beyer.

Golden Pedigree acquired Never Surprises dam for $5,500 at Keeneland January 2017 and the colt is her first produce. She is also the dam of the 2-year-old filly Ace Girl (Connect), a yearling Munnings colt that cost BSW/Crow Colts Group $275,000 at KEESEP this fall and a weanling colt by the same sire. Never Surprised is bred on the same cross responsible for MGISW Tiz the Law. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

TROPICAL PARK DERBY, $100,000, Gulfstream, 12-26, 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:40.39, fm.
1–NEVER SURPRISED, 124, c, 3, by Constitution
                1st Dam: Tiz Dixie, by Tiznow
                2nd Dam: Comeon Dixie, by Mr. Greeley
                3rd Dam: Dixieland Blues, by Dixieland Band
($30,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV; $200,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Repole
Stable; B-Golden Pedigree LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Luis
Saez. $57,660. Lifetime Record: MGSP, 7-4-3-0, $378,960.
2–Yes This Time, 124, c, 3, Not This Time–Smart Jilly, by Smart
Strike. O-Edge Racing; B-Barry S. Golden (KY); T-Kelly J. Breen.
$18,600.
3–Safe Conduct, 124, c, 3, Bodemeister–Duchess Dancer, by
Congrats. ($45,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV). O-WellSpring Stables;
B-Mitchell H. Kursner (ON); T-Philip M. Serpe. $9,300.
Margins: 6 1/4, NO, HF. Odds: 0.50, 4.80, 14.00.
Also Ran: Hot Blooded, Scarlett Sky, Sigiloso, Fighting Force, Grey Streak, In Effect, King of Dreams, Mohs, Lamplighter Jack. Scratched: American Prince, Kygo (Ger), Shady McGee (Ire).
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Gulfstream Park: Sunday’s Rainbow 6 To Have $750,000 Jackpot Guarantee

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $750,000 for Sunday's day-after-Christmas program at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for 10 racing days in a row since a jackpot of $407,067.66 was taken down by one lucky bettor Dec. 10.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is 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 6-11, including the $100,000 Tropical Park Derby in Race 10. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher is scheduled 8-5 morning-line favorite saddle Never Surprised for the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds.

Never Surprised, a son of 2014 Florida Derby (G1) winner Constitution, who has never finished worse than second in six career starts, is coming off a front-running 6 ½-length victory in the Gio Ponti Stakes at Aqueduct. In his previous start, he came up a head short of winning the Hill Prince (G2) at Belmont Park.

Kelly Breen-trained Yes This Time, a winner of four races in a row, including the English Channel, last season at Gulfstream; Patrick McBurney-trained Mohs, winner of the Hawthorne Derby; and Phil Serpe-trained Safe Conduct, the Gio Ponti runner-up; are among the leading contenders.

Earlier on Sunday's program, Charles Fipke's Lady Speightspeare will seek to extend her career undefeated streak to five races in the mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Trained by Roger Attfield, Lady Speightspeare has tasted graded-stakes success in the Natalma (G1) and the Bessarabian (G2) at Woodbine.

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Never Surprised The One To Beat In Oversubscribed Tropical Park Derby

Multiple graded stakes-placed Never Surprised will shock absolutely no one if the Todd Pletcher trainee is victorious in Sunday's $100,000 Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream Park.

The Tropical Park Derby, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds, will co-headline Sunday's day-after-Christmas program with the $100,000 Tropical Park Oaks, a mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

Mike Repole's Never Surprised enters Sunday's co-feature off a dominating 6 ¼-length triumph in the 1 1/16-mile Gio Ponti over the turf at Aqueduct Nov. 26. In his three prior starts, the son of Constitution was graded stakes-placed, finishing second in the Kitten's Joy (G3) at Gulfstream before settling for runner-up honors behind Public Sector in the Saranac (G3) at Saratoga and Hill Prince (G2) at Belmont.

“I was very pleased with his last race and he's trained enthusiastically for this race,” Pletcher said.

Luis Saez has the call aboard Never Surprised, who tops a full field of 12 3-year-olds (plus three also-eligible entries).

WellSpring Stables' Safe Conduct, who finished second in the Gio Ponti, is scheduled to take on Never Surprised again in the Tropical Park Derby. The Phil Serpe-trained son of Bodemeister captured the $1 million Queen's Plate over Woodbine's Tapeta surface three starts back before finishing off the board in the Breeders' Stakes, the second leg of Canada's Triple Crown run over a yielding turf at Woodbine, and rebounding with a solid Gio Ponti effort.

Paco Lopez is slated to ride Safe Conduct for the first time Sunday.

Stuart Janney III's Scarlett Sky brings graded-stakes credentials into the Tropical Park Derby, having captured the Transylvania (G3) at Keeneland in the spring. The son of Sky Mesa, who lost the Palm Beach by a head last season at Gulfstream, finished off the board in a Keeneland stakes over a soft turf last time while coming off a five-month layoff.

Trainer Shug McGaughey has awarded the mount to fellow Hall of Famer Javier Castellano.

Edge Racing's Yes This Time is also a Grade 3 stakes winner in Sunday's field. The Kelly Breen-trained son of Not This Time captured the Kent (G3) at Delaware Park last July, capping a five-race winning streak, including four straight wins at Gulfstream.

Tyler Gaffalione has the mount aboard Yes This time, who is coming off in-the-money finishes in Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs and Bryan Station at Keeneland.

Victoria's Ranch's King of Dreams and Lea Farms LLC's Fighting Force will enter the Tropical Park Derby, off a 1-2 finish, respectively, in the Showing Up over Gulfstream's Tapeta course.

ABL Stable, Dominic Bossone, Peter Donnelly and William Oberdorff's Mohs and Calumet Farm's Grey Streak, who finished 1-2, respectively, in the Hawthorne Derby, will clash again Sunday. Calumet will also be represented by Jack Sisterson-trained In Effect in Sunday's field.

Gelfenstein Farm LLC's Siglioso and Melvin Simonovich's Lamplighter Jack and Palm Beach Racing Partnership's Hot Blooded round out the main body of the field.

Michael Dubb and Madaket Stables LLC's Kygo, Deuce Greathouse's Shady McGee, and Irving Cowan's American Prince are also-eligible entrants.

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