Awesome Maria, Brilliant Speed highlight Gulfstream stakes

Awesome Maria will seek to be the first to repeat in the Rampart (Adam Coglianese) Awesome Maria will have little standing in her way when she seeks a repeat score in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Rampart at Gulfstream Park, one of five graded stakes on the Florida Derby undercard. The 1 1/8-mile Rampart was expected to be one of the major highlights of the program as recently as a week ago, but the defection of undefeated champion Awesome Feather has left the gray Awesome Maria as an overwhelming favorite to win. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Awesome Maria swept the Grade 3 Sabin, Rampart, Grade 2 Shuvee Handicap and Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Handicap last season before injury sidelined her during the summer. Returning to action in the 2012 renewal of the Sabin on February 25, Awesome Maria lived up to her moniker with an eight-length triumph over champion Royal Delta, who was using the 1 1/16-mile test as a prep for Saturday’s Grade 1 Dubai World Cup.

Canadian Mistress, who set the pace before weakening to fourth in the Sabin,
will likely play the same role in the Rampart. Listed stakes winners My Pal
Chrisy, Lacie Slew and Go Unbridled will attempt to pull off the upset from
behind.

Brilliant Speed, who captured the Grade 1 Blue Grass and placed in the Grade
1 Belmont and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf last season, returns to action in the
Grade 3, $100,000
Appleton. At one mile on the turf, the Appleton might be a bit
short for Brilliant Speed, though he did miss by a nose in the
course-and-distance Dania Beach in mid-January 2011. The Live Oak Plantation
homebred could eye the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs
on May 5 with a solid Appleton effort.

Brilliant Speed, shown winning the Blue Grass, was a last-out third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (Coady Photography) Street Game, a front-running winner of the Grade 3 Hill Prince last term, captured a one-mile allowance in his February 5 comeback at Gulfstream. The speedy New York-bred might be a dangerous prospect on or near the lead, as could recent Grade 3 Tampa Bay runner-up El Commodore. Others of note are Grade 3 Canadian Turf runner-up Trend and multiple stakes winner Beau Choix. The Grade 3, $150,000 Orchid, a 1 1/2-mile grass test for fillies and mares, has as its probable favorite Keertana, whose Grade 3 scores last year occurred in the The Very One, Bewitch and Louisville Handicap, the latter against the boys. Out of action more than eight months following the Louisville, Keertana has been rounding into form with a third-place effort in the Grade 3 Endeavour and a second in The Very One in her two starts this year. Hit It Rich captured the Grade 3 Long Island Handicap in her 2011 finale, and was most recently a sharp second in the Grade 3 Suwannee River in her seasonal bow. The gray Shug McGaughey trainee likes to run close to the pace, and might race in the vicinity of Shimmering Moment, a stakes winner in Ireland who captured her U.S. debut over 1 3/8 miles on January 2.

Others of note include last year’s Dowager winner Senada and the undefeated
Aqsaam, who steps up in class after two turf allowance scores at Gulfstream this
meet.

The Grade 3, $100,000
Skip Away has attracted eight older horses to go 1 3/16
miles. Where’s Sterling, hero of the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin and second in the
Grade 2 Hawthorne Gold Cup in 2011, will likely be favored off a troubled fourth
in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap in his season debut. Multiple stakes winner Alma d’Oro, recent Challenger hero Fort Larned, and impressive allowance scorer Self
Control appear to be the main threats.

The $70,000
Sir Shackleton at 6 1/2 furlongs came up as a graded quality
event. Grade 3 winner Brethren, who was on the classic trail last in 2011 before
infirmities sidelined him following losses in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and
Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, returns to action after nearly a year on the bench.
Another who could take serious play is Jersey Town, who seeks his first win
since the Grade 1 Cigar Mile in November 2010.

Stakes winner Will’s Wildcat gutted out an allowance victory by a head in the
slop most recently, and would move up if similar track conditions occur.
Preferring a fast track will be Action Andy, who enters off three straight wins
at Tampa Bay Downs including black-type scores in the Pelican and the Super.

The Pletcher-trained duo of Travelin Man and Soaring Stocks, along with Zero
Rate Policy, were all cross-entered in Sunday’s Duncan F. Kenner at Fair
Grounds.