Friday, February 7, 2025
He has two graded stakes wins for Saffie Joseph . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Following a 2024 season where he set a career high in purse earnings, jockey Edgard Zayas has been more than happy to carry that momentum over into the new calendar year.

    A year-round force in South Florida, where he has become popular with horsemen and fans alike since arriving from his native Puerto Rico in 2012, the 31-year-old Zayas once again ranks among the leaders at Gulfstream Park’s 2024-2025 Championship Meet.

    “It’s been a really good start to the year. Hopefully it keeps on going,” Zayas said. “I’ve been getting on some very nice horses and getting good opportunities and things have been going really good. Hopefully it keeps going that way.”

    With nearly two full months left in the country’s most prestigious winter stand, Zayas is second with 269 mounts, third with more than $2 million in purses earned and fourth with 41 wins, each category led by four-time Championship Meet leader Irad Ortiz Jr.

    Ortiz is among the influx of out-of-town riders that come to Gulfstream for the winter that make the jockey colony the most competitive in racing. A multiple meet titleholder at his home track, where he rides first call for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., Zayas more than holds his own.

    “Definitely at this time of year it gets a little tougher, but fortunately I’ve been getting good support from some of the big barns, especially Saffie. He’s always been my main guy,” Zayas said. “We’ve done really well together and he’s doing really good again. Hopefully we can keep winning and keep this momentum going.”

    Zayas has won two graded stakes for Joseph during the Championship Meet, both aboard Be Your Best, who captured the Gr. III Suwannee River in December as a preview of her upset triumph in the $500,000, Gr. II TAA Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf Invitational.

    “To get any win that day is special, so to get one of the three Pegasus races makes it even more special,” Zayas said. “It was amazing, to be honest. It was kind of like a breakthrough, I feel like. It was a big race, one of the biggest here at Gulfstream, and to win it – especially for Saffie – was incredible.”

    Joseph, chasing a fourth consecutive Championship Meet training title, was thrilled to see Zayas come through on the richest day of the winter meet and showcase the talent that has quietly seen him win more than 2,400 races and $77 million in purses. He reached $8,649,995 last year, topping his previous best of $8,442,541 from 2021.

    “He’s a very good person and consistent rider. As far as the riders that stay here year-round, he’s the most consistent and best,” Joseph said. “To see him step up the other day on Be Your Best when the owners allowed him to ride her in that race, to win that was very gratifying.

    “He won that race on Be Your Best and I feel like he has the momentum now where he’s getting the confidence in these big races,” he added “Hopefully he continues to have confidence in these bigger races to win them, because I think he is capable of winning races on the bigger stage.”

    Last weekend, Zayas proved Joseph’s point with a textbook ride on Ian Wilkes-trained Burnham Square to defeat favored Tappan Street and well-regarded Ferocious in the Gr. III Holy Bull for 3-year-olds, earning 20 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby.

    “To win a race like the Holy Bull is special. Ian Wilkes is a great guy and I’m very happy for him,” Zayas said. “The connections are amazing. I think we have a really nice 3-year-old. Hopefully he stays healthy and let’s see what he brings the next couple races. I think since [Wilkes] put the blinkers on he’s been really good. He’s a horse that has a lot of potential and is still maturing. I’m really excited about him.”

    Without an entrant in the Holy Bull, Joseph was able to put his full weight behind Zayas as a spectator and friend.

    “I think I rode that horse harder than I ride my own horses,” he said. “I critique him a lot, but I also compliment him just as often. He handles his criticism very well to get better. That’s the goal. I felt even better for him winning that race than sometimes when he wins for me. I was very happy. I didn’t have a horse in the race, so I was able to enjoy it. I was proud of him.”

    A finalist for the Eclipse Award as champion apprentice jockey of 2013, Zayas is named in nine of 12 races Saturday including Joseph-trained Blind Spot in the $140,000 Ladies’ Turf Sprint. Thursday’s double was his eighth multi-win day of the meet including a four-win day on Dec. 8.

    “I just hope to be able to keep the momentum going and see where it takes us,” Zayas said.
Thursday, February 6, 2025
Preakness purse = $2 million . . .
    BALTIMORE – Headlined by the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, a total of 16 stakes, eight graded, worth $4.3 million in purses will be contested Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17 at historic Pimlico Race Course.

    First run in 1873, the Preakness is the second oldest of the Triple Crown races, predating the Kentucky Derby (G1) by two years. The inaugural Belmont Stakes (G1) was held in 1867.

    The $2 million Preakness, contested at 1 3/16 miles, will anchor a May 17 program of 10 stakes worth $3.25 million in purses including the $250,000 Dinner Party (G3) for 3-year-olds and up and $150,000 Gallorette (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and older, each going 1 1/16 miles on the grass, and $150,000 Maryland Sprint (G3) for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs.

    Other supporting stakes on Preakness Day are the $150,000 Chick Lang sprinting six furlongs and $100,000 Sir Barton at 1 1/16 miles on the main track and $100,000 James Murphy going one mile on the turf, all for 3-year-olds; $125,000 Skipat for fillies and mares 3 and older at six furlongs; and $125,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint, a five-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up.

    Returning the Preakness Day lineup will also be the $100,000 UAE President Cup (G1) for 3-year-old Arabian horses, run at 1 1/16 miles.

    The 101st running of the $300,000 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan (G2) for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/8 miles tops six stakes, three graded, worth $1.05 million in purses on Friday, May 16. It is joined by the historic $250,000 Pimlico Special (G3) for 3-year-olds and up at 1 3/16 miles and $150,000 Miss Preakness (G3) for sophomore fillies sprinting six furlongs.

    Also on the traditional Preakness Eve program are the $125,000 Allaire du Pont for fillies and mares 3 and up at 1 1/8 miles and a pair of turf stakes – the $125,000 Hilltop for 3-year-old fillies going one mile and $100,000 The Very One for fillies and mares 3 and older sprinting five furlongs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

       
Thursday, February 6, 2025
In $140,000 Ladies Turf Sprint . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Having swept Gulfstream Park’s series for older female turf sprinters last winter, Bradford Kinsell’s Victoriam Farm and trainer Brian Lynch will take another step toward repeating the feat with Just a Care in Saturday’s $140,000 Ladies’ Turf Sprint.

    The 16th running of the Ladies’ Turf Sprint for fillies and mares 4 and up scheduled for five furlongs on the grass headlines a 12-race program that begins at 12:20 p.m.

    Lynch campaigned Victoriam’s Stone Silent to wins in the Abundantia, Ladies’ Turf Sprint and Captiva Island during the 2023-2024 Championship Meet. She raced twice more, including a third in the Franklin (G3) last fall, before being retired.

    Shortly after the Franklin, Victoriam went to $200,000 during Keeneland’s November breeding stock sale to purchase the Irish-bred Just a Care, who had returned from nearly 10 months between starts with a determined front-running allowance triumph just weeks earlier for previous trainer Rusty Arnold.

    “When we got her out of the sale last year … she was in great form and looked amazing when she came to us. We’ve been lucky enough to just continue on with that,” Lynch said. “She’s in very, very good order. She had a nice work [Sunday] so it’s all systems go for Saturday.”

    Just a Care joined Lynch’s string at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, in mid-November and the 5-year-old mare paid immediate dividends for her new connections with a come-from-behind 1 ½-length triumph in the five-furlong Abundantia Dec. 28.

    “We bought her in mind to try and run her in this little grass series down here, because it’s the same owners that had the filly that won them last year,” Lynch said. “The intention was to try and do that again. She got us the first leg, now let’s see if she can get the second one.”

    Jockey Luis Saez, who has two wins and a second in three prior tries on Just a Care, gets the riding assignment from Post 7 in a field of nine at co-topweight of 120 pounds.

    “Luis Saez is back on her and he’s had success with her so that’s good,” Lynch said. “We couldn’t be happier with her after her first run back. She’s trained great in between, she draws a perfect post and is back in against the same sort of group. She’s doing very, very well.”

    Also exiting the Abundantia are runner-up Karaya, winner of the 5 ½-furlong Nicole’s Dream overnight handicap on Gulfstream’s all-weather Tapeta course, and multiple stakes-placed Shoshanah, who finished sixth. New to the group is Ironhorse Racing Stable’s Beauty of the Sea, a multiple stakes winner whose six overall victories from 13 starts tops the field.

    Beauty of the Sea won the Goldwood at Monmouth Park and Colonial Downs’ Andy Guest sprinting 5 ½ furlongs on the grass in back-to-back starts last summer for trainer Joe Orseno. Her last two races have been going six furlongs on Tapeta, including a third – beaten a length – in the mid-October Ontario Fashion (G3) at Woodbine.

    Following that race, Beauty of the Sea ran seventh in the Holiday Inaugural at Turfway Park before getting some time off. She breezed three times in January over the Gulfstream Tapeta for her 5-year-old debut.

    “We took her to Turfway and then I just freshened her up a little bit. This is a good spot,” Orseno said. “She loves the course and instead of shipping her and all that, we might as well keep her home. That’s the thought. We’ll see how it goes. Plus if it rains and comes off we’ll be OK.”

    Beauty of the Sea has two wins and a second in three tries over the Gulfstream turf course, each at the five-furlong distance. She also has won over the synthetic, and her $346,311 in purse earnings is second-most in the field. Jockey Reylu Gutierrez will be aboard from outermost Post 9.

    “From the outside I think we’re going to be in good shape. She drew a post that, if I had to pick, it’s really where I wanted to be,” Orseno said. “Reylu doesn’t really know her, but she’s not difficult to ride. And she’s doing well. The freshening was by design.

    “She really ran a winning race in Canada. It looks like she can’t go six furlongs, but I believe in my heart that she can,” he added. “The last race at Turfway, she just had no chance. She was trapped down on the inside. The jock didn’t really know her, no fault of his but by the time he got her out and running it was too late.”

    The richest horse in the Ladies’ Turf Sprint with a bankroll of $418,078 is Reitman Stables’ Freedom Speaks, racing first time for trainer Heather Smullen. It will be her first start since finishing seventh by 2 ¼ lengths in the 5 ½-furlong Caress last July on the Saratoga turf. The 6-year-old mare won the 6 ½-furlong Music City in 2022 at Kentucky Downs.

    Stakes winner Blind Spot, last-out maiden winner Sinead, stakes-placed stablemate Weekend Rags, and twice stakes-placed Epona’s Hope complete the field
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Sunday, February 2, 2025
Five stakes for 3yos . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Whitham Thoroughbreds’ Burnham Square, exiting an eye-catching maiden win at the course and distance four weeks ago, proved that effort was no fluke by putting away favored front-runner Tappan Street at the top of the stretch and edging clear for a 1 ¾-length victory in Saturday’s $265,000 Holy Bull (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

    The 36th running of the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull headlined a 12-race program featuring five stakes for newly turned 3-year-olds worth $925,000 in purses anchored by Eclatant’s rallying triumph in the $165,000 Fasig-Tipton Forward Gal (G3) for fillies.

    Other stakes Saturday saw Vixen register a popular victory in the $165,000 Sweetest Chant and California shipper Charlie’s to Blame take the $165,000 Kitten’s Joy on the turf, and Gate to Wire spring a 13-1 upset in the $165,000 Swale sprinting seven furlongs on the main track.

    The second step on Gulfstream’s road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) March 29, preceded by the Jan. 3 Mucho Macho Man, the Holy Bull offered Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points to the first five finishers on a 20-10-6-4-2 basis.

    Burnham Square completed the distance in 1:43.60 over a fast main track to capture his stakes debut. It was the second straight win for the gelded bay son of Liam’s Map since adding blinkers to his training and racing equipment.

    “The key is the blinkers. I had to put the blinkers on because he wasn’t helping me at all. I had to help him,” winning trainer Ian Wilkes said. “He wouldn’t help the jockey. He wouldn’t start running in the race. He’d run away from horses, wouldn’t run into the dirt. He did everything wrong.”

    Appearing somewhat anxious before the race, Burnham Square broke evenly and settled in fourth position as 13-1 longshot Kinetic Control quickly established command from his rail post and went in 23.42 seconds for the opening quarter-mile. Mucho Macho Man winner Guns Loaded pressed in his outside in second, with Ferocious – making his highly anticipated season debut – racing third.

    Guns Loaded took over the top spot as Kinetic Control began to retreat following a half-mile in 47.60 seconds, with Ferocious holding third and million-dollar yearling and 8-5 favorite Tappan Street gaining ground into fourth. Tappan Street inherited the lead after going six furlongs in 1:11.69 but Edgard Zayas was following his move around the far turn on Burnham Square, setting his sights on the leader.

    “Last time he broke a little sharp, so I really thought he’d break a little sharp and be close to the pace, but I feel like he was a little worked up before the race, a little nervous, so he broke out of there a little slow and I had to go to Plan B,” Zayas said. “I dropped to the rail and let him do his thing. He’s a horse that doesn’t get tired, has a really good stride, steady. Once I was closing in on the quarter pole, I knew I had a really good shot of winning.”

    Burnham Square straightened for home with full momentum and surged past Tappan Street, digging in to hit the wire 1 ¾ lengths in front. It was another 9 ¼ lengths back to Burning Glory in third, followed by Ferocious, He’s Not Joking, Kinetic Control and Guns Loaded.

    “This horse doesn’t get tired, and that’s an asset you saw today,” Wilkes said. “He overcame a lot of adversity today and still won.”

    Wilkes spent many years as an exercise rider and assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Carl Nafzger, who won the first Holy Bull with Home At Last in 1990 when it was known as the Preview Stakes. Nafzger was in attendance Saturday.

    Next up on Gulfstream’s stakes schedule for 3-year-olds on dirt is the $415,000 Fountain of Youth (G2) March 1, also going 1 1/16 miles.

    “That’s a strong possibility. First, I’m going to enjoy the night,” Wilkes said. “I’ll talk to Mrs. [Janis] Whitham and [her son and racing manager] Clay after this.”

    Trainer Brad Cox, who ran 1-2 in the Forward Gal with Eclatant and Stunner, was pleased with Tappan Street’s effort.

    “I thought he ran really big,” Cox said. “He was wide throughout. Youn horse, still learning, second start of is life. He’s going to really move forward off this, I believe.”

    A dominant debut winner last summer that ran second in back-to-back Grade 1 stakes before finishing a troubled fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 1 in his most recent start, Ferocious went off the 2-1 second choice from Post 2 in his season opener. It was his first race since adding blinkers.

    “I had a great trip. I liked the way he settled behind horses on the first turn. I saved all the ground, and on the backside I gave him a little break. I stepped up outside and let him keep track of those pacemaker horses and he traveled good,” Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano said. “He hadn’t run since the Breeders’ Cup and we tried to put a couple works together to make him fit for this race, but it seemed to me like he got tired a little bit.”

    The connections, including trainer Gustavo Delgado and co-owner Ramiro Restrepo of Marquee Bloodstock, were encouraged by how the blinkers helped Ferocious, who had three breezes since the Breeders’ Cup leading up to the Holy Bull.

    “He seemed more focused [with the blinkers], right on the bridle from the beginning the whole time,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant to both his father and Restrepo “He was going good until the quarter pole and then he got a little tired. You have to start running. This horse seemed to be fit and you have to carry on and keep going. We were expecting to be a little closer. We’ll regroup and look forward.”

Saturday, February 1, 2025
Feature is Gr. III Holy Bull . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - The 20-cent Rainbow 6 will have an estimated pool of $300,000 for Saturday’s stakes-filled Gr. III Holy Bull Day program at Gulfstream Park.

    Post time for the first of 12 races is noon.


    Saturday’s sequence begins in Race 7 with an optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds going one mile. River Thames stretches out after a dominant debut victory sprinting six furlongs Jan. 11 for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. Souper Times goes turf to dirt after winning his Jan. 4 unveiling. Tux cuts back following his third in the 1 1/8-mile Remsen (G2).

    The sequence concludes with four of the day’s five stakes for newly turned 3-year-olds worth $925,000 in purses starting with the $165,000 Swale sprinting seven furlongs in Race 9. Gunmetal, a 1 ¼-length winner Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds, steps up to stakes company for his second start against fellow debut winners Maitre D and Grayscale. Stakes winner Donut God is unbeaten in two starts.


    Race 10 is the $165,00 Kitten’s Joy scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on grass, where Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse sends out the trio of Mi Bago, Coco Cool and Walking in Memphis. Coco Cool and Mi Bago have each won two straight, the latter coming in the Pulpit on turf and Dania Beach on Tapeta, while Walking in Memphis won his lone start at the course and distance Dec. 21.

    The 36th running of the $265,000 Holy Bull going 1 1/16 miles comes in Race 11. Gulfstream’s next step on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) March 29 offers Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points to the first five finishers on a 20-10-6-4-2 basis. Twice Grade 1-placed Ferocious is the 9-5 program favorite in his 3-year-old debut. The field also includes Mucho Macho Man winner Guns Loaded, Grade 3 winner He’s Not Joking and $1 million yearling Tappan Street.


    Saturday’s Race 12 finale is the $165,000 Fasig-Tipton Forward Gal (G3) for fillies sprinting seven furlongs. Championship Meet leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. is represented by Rojo Rita, a 16 ¼-length debut winner Nov. 15 making her second start, and Grade 3 winner The Queens M G. Stunner, winner of the 2024 Tempted that was beaten a neck as the favorite in the FSS My Dear Girl Nov. 30, cuts back from 1 1/16 miles for her season opener.

    Also on Saturday’s card is the $165,000 Sweetest Chant for fillies scheduled at 1 1/16 miles on the grass in Race 4. Casse-trained Vixen comes in off three straight one-mile turf races including a runner-up finish by a neck the Natalma (G1) and a sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) last fall. The field also includes Grade 2-placed Correto and Grade 3-placed Origami.


    In addition to the Rainbow 6, Gulfstream will have estimated pools of $1.25 million in the 50-cent Late Pick 5 (Races 8-12), $750,000 in the 50-cent Early Pick 5 (Races 1-5), and $500,000 in the 50-cent Late Pick 4 (Races 9-12).

CNBC to Broadcast Eight Live Races from Gulfstream, Santa Anita

    NBC sports will broadcast eight live races. including the $265,000 Holy Bull (G3) from Gulfstream,  Saturday from 4-6 ET as part of the “1/ST Racing Tour presented by MyRacehorse.”


    The broadcast will include the Holy Bull, Forward Gal (G3), Kitten’s Joy and Swale from Gulfstream and the Santa Monica (G2), Megahertz (G3) and Robert Lewis (G3), featuring Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Citizen Bull, from Santa Anita Park.

    The “1/ST Racing Tour” will be hosted by Britney Eurton alongside Jerry Bailey, Randy Moss, Michelle Yu and Matt Bernier.

    Who’s Hot: Jockey Tyler Gaffalione notched a Friday hat trick aboard Air Combat ($3.20) in Race 3, Ever Dangerous ($5.20) in Race 5 and Shifty Gold ($15.20) in Race 6 … John Velazquez visited the winner’s circle twice on Defended ($9.20) in Race 7 and Solidaria ($19.40) in Race 8 … Luis Saez also doubled on Jurassic Chick ($10.80) in Race 2 and Silent Heart ($4.60) in Race 9.