HALLANDALE BEACH - Amy Dunne and trainer Patrick Biancone’s Squire ($7.20) graduated at first asking today at Gulfstream Park, providing his connections with their second 2-year-old winner by first-year stallion Leinster.

    “That stallion, Leinster! I’ve got two runners by him and they both win – and I have some more at home that are as good as that. Maybe Leinster is the new Mr. Prospector,” said Biancone through a wry smile.

    Dunne and Biancone were represented in the Keeneland winner’s circle April 6 by Lennilu, a daughter of Leinster who captured a 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds by a length with a late rally.

    Squire, who had been working impressively at Palm Meadows Training Center, encountered some light bumping leaving the gate but recovered quickly to chase the pace set by Chance to Party into the stretch. Under strong handling from jockey Joe Bravo, Squire rallied while racing wide in the stretch to out-duel Beers on Me by a head. The high-energy, long-striding colt ran 4 ½ furlongs for Race 2 in :54.11 seconds.

    “I breezed this horse a couple times for Patrick. He had high hopes,” Bravo said. “He broke good. We always knew he’s not the fastest leaving the gate, so I really couldn’t panic as long as I knew he had something to run at, and he did. When he made the lead he kind of waited on other horses.”

    Squire’s debut was regarded by his connections as a prep for the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile, a five-furlong turf stakes for 2-year-olds May 10 at Gulfstream that is a designated Royal Ascot qualifier.

    “We’re trying to prepare him for the stakes here May 10. I think this was a good indication from him. He’s going to go longer. We’re very happy with him,” said Biancone.

    Leinster, a son of Majestic Warrior who stands at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Morriston, FL, was a multiple graded-stakes winner on turf who closed out his career with a third-place finish in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland and a victory in the 2021, Gr. III Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint.

    “Turf is better. Leinster was a turf horse,” Biancone said. “But they’ll go everywhere. Good horses go everywhere.”

    Trainer Mary Lightner’s Chance to Party, from the first crop of Chance It, held third. comments powered by Disqus