Tyler Gaffalione | Horse Racing Free Tips

Always Shopping Defends Via Borghese Title; Miss J McKay Best In Abundantia

Repole Stable's Always Shopping, without a victory in six straight starts, ended her 5-year-old season the way it began – on a winning note – with a determined nose triumph over Harajuku to defend her title in Friday's $100,000 Via Borghese at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 1 3/8-mile Via Borghese for fillies and mares 3 and up was the second of three $100,000 turf stakes on the New Year's Eve program, preceded by the Janus for 3-year-olds and up and followed by the Abundantia for females 3 and older, both sprinting five furlongs.

Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, Always Shopping ($7) completed the distance in 2:13.86 over a firm course to earn her eighth career victory, fourth in six tries on the Gulfstream turf and sixth against stakes company.

Breaking from the far outside in a field of nine as the narrow 5-2 favorite, Always Shopping raced in the clear two wide on the hip of Candy Flower, who broke alertly and set an easy pace. Always Shopping moved up to challenge for the lead once straightened for home while Harajuku continued a sustained run on the far outside. They pulled away from the field and dueled through the lane, with Always Shopping digging in again after losing the lead approaching the wire.

“I think [Harajuku] put a nose to a head in front of her, and she fought back. It was a determined effort,” Pletcher said. “I was so proud of her. She fought hard today. She got in a good stalking position from an outside post and stalked the pace. I thought they had her surrounded at the top of the stretch, but you could see her dig in and fight for the win.”

Harajuku was three lengths clear of Beautiful Lover in third. It was a neck back to Onyx, sent off at 111-1, who edged Hungry Kitten by a half-length for fourth.

Always Shopping passed the $600,000 mark in career purse earnings with the win, her first since the Jan. 23 La Prevoyante (G3). Other stakes victories have come in the 2019 Gazelle (G2) at Aqueduct and 2020 Monroe and Via Borghese at Gulfstream.

“She's had a great career and she seems to really love Gulfstream. It's great to see her come back,” Pletcher said. “I'll talk to Mike [Repole] and see what the plan is. She's probably going to be off to stud here at some point, but we might have time to run her one more time. We'll see what Mike wants to do.”

Miss J McKay Sprints to $100,000 Abundantia Victory
Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, Tony Weintraub and Brandon Dalinka's Miss J McKay overcame some traffic trouble at the top of the stretch to sweep past her rivals through the lane and capture Friday's $100,000 Abundantia.

It was the second straight win for the 4-year-old Hangover Kid filly in three starts since joining trainer Christophe Clement earlier this summer, and her second career stakes win following the 2019 Anne Arundel County at Laurel Park.

The win also allowed jockey Tyler Gaffalione to sweep the two stakes for fillies and mares 3 and up, having previously won the $100,000 Via Borghese aboard Always Shopping for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

Miss J McKay ($8.20) rated in mid-pack as 45-1 long shot Cat's Astray was sent to the lead chased by Beautiful Grace. Gaffalione was able to split horses on the far turn and get in position, had to swing wide around Luis Saez and 7-5 favorite Miss Auramet straightening for home, and closed with a steady run to nail Drapes (14-1) nearing the wire. Strong Odor finished third while Miss Auramet wound up sixth.

The winning time was 55.86 seconds over a firm turf course.

“The filly broke well and the speed went on. It set up exactly as we thought it would. She settled nicely and coming into the stretch I was able to follow Luis out. Once she got clear run, she kicked it in nicely,” Gaffalione said. “We got fanned out a little bit, but she was much the best today.”

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Grade 1 Winner Drain The Clock Returns To Action With Front-Running Allowance Win At Gulfstream

Slam Dunk Racing and Madaket Stable's Drain the Clock made an eye-catching return to action Friday at Gulfstream Park with a sizzling front-running victory in the Race 7 feature, a six-furlong optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up.

The Grade 1 stakes winner, who hadn't seen racing action since finishing fourth in the Aug. 28 H. Allen Jerkens (G1) at Saratoga, set fractions of 22.08, 44.42 and 56.19 seconds while under heavy outside pressure from Gatsby and asserted his class in the stretch to win by a half-length in a quick 1:08.63.

“At the top of the stretch, I said, 'Go on Champ!' Normally, I watch a race and watch it very nervous. With him, I never thought he would get beat,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “I don't think we have him fully cranked, so to see him back like that…”

Tyler Gaffalione rode Drain the Clock for the first time Friday.

“There was speed on the inside and outside of us. Saffie told me to use him going away from there. He broke alertly and put himself in a great spot. He took a lot of pressure the whole way around there but he's a classy horse, very classy individual, and he responded when I asked him,” Gaffalione said.

“He's a racehorse. You can see on his form, he's very consistent. He shows up every time. Coming off the layoff, it's not an ideal situation taking that much pressure, but he handled everything great and Saffie always does a great job getting them ready.”

Sent to post as the 2-5 favorite, the 4-year-old son of Maclean's Music had won three races in four prior starts at Gulfstream, including last season's Swale (G3), before hitting the road to win the Bay Shore (G3) at Aqueduct and the Woody Stephens (G1) at Belmont. His only loss at Gulfstream came in a second-place finish in the two-turn Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2).

“I think he's going to have a big year,” said Joseph, who mentioned the Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3) on Feb. 19 as a likely target.

Gatsby held second, 5 ¼ lengths ahead of Where Paradise Lay.

Todd Pletcher-trained Nocturnal, the 2-1 second choice who was out of action since a Feb. 28 optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream, was never a factor after breaking a step slowly from his rail post position.

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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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Drain The Clock Breezes Ahead Of Return To Races Friday

Grade 1 winner Drain the Clock breezed a half-mile in :45.48 Sunday morning at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., producing the fastest of 53 workouts timed at the distance in preparation for a return to action Friday.

The 3-year-old son of Maclean's Music, who captured the G1 Woody Stephens on the June 5 Belmont Stakes undercard, has been on the sidelines since finishing fourth in the G1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes August 28 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Sunday's breeze was the latest in a series of five workouts in preparation for his return in a six-furlong optional claiming allowance in Friday's Race 7 feature.

“He's had good preparation. We'll get him started in the allowance, and after that, we'll come up with a plan for where we'll go to next,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said.

Tyler Gaffalione has the mount on Drain the Clock, who will take on six rivals, including Todd Pletcher-trained Nocturnal, who has been idle since breaking his maiden and winning an optional claiming allowance back-to-back during last season's Championship Meet.

Drain the Clock has won three races in four starts at Gulfstream, including last season's G3 Swale. His only loss at Gulfstream came in a second-place finish in the two-turn G2 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes.

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