Gulfstream Park features a four-pack of stakes on Saturday. Sprinters will square off in the $125,000 Mr. Prospector (G3) and $125,000 Sugar Swirl (G3), and three-year-old turf horses take center stage in the $125,000 Tropical Park Derby and $125,000 Tropical Park Oaks.
Sibelius will seek a second consecutive edition of the seven-furlong Mr. Prospector, rolling to a 2 1/4-length decision last year, and the five-year-old gelding strung his stakes-winning skein to three when adding the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) at Meydan two starts later. Jeremiah O’Dwyer trains the son of Not This Time and Junior Alvarado rides.
Multiple graded stakes-placed Gilmore, last seen finishing seventh in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1), looms as a major contender on the cutback. Second in the Bay Shore (G3) and third in the Woody Stephens (G1) in two starts at the distance, the Brendan Walsh-trained sophomore colt will be rallying with Jose Ortiz.
Other runners in the nine-horse field include Grade 2-winning millionaire Long Range Toddy, who will return to stakes competition following wins over handicap and allowance rivals at Gulfstream; multiple stakes victor Winfromwithin; and restricted stakes winner Great Navigator, who exits a third to Cody’s Wish in the Vosburgh (G2) at Aqueduct.
Intrepid Daydream heads eight fillies and mares in the seven-furlong Sugar Swirl. A Maryland-bred daughter of Jess’s Dream, the four-year-old filly will make her first Gulfstream start with a four-race win streak in tow, romping in the Maryland Million Distaff and Politely at Laurel Park in her last two outings, and Tyler Gaffalione picks up the mount on the speedy dark bay for Saffie Joseph.
Multiple stakes queen My Destiny, a close second in the Mahoning Distaff on Nov. 20 and last-out Tampa stakes winner, also merits respect. Grade 2-placed Headland, third in the Garland of Roses at Aqueduct earlier this month, will invade for George Weaver.
Dueling Grounds Derby (G3) winner Anglophile and promising turf runner Ohana Honor are top draws in the Tropical Park Derby. Fourteen sophomores were entered, including a pair of also-eligibles, for the 1 1/16-mile turf affair.
Anglophile defeated odds-on Grade 1 winner Far Bridge when earning his first stakes win in the Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs in early September, and his unplaced effort in the off-the-turf Jockey Club Derby last time can be thrown out. By English Channel, the Brian Lynch-trained colt recorded a fast-finishing second when making his stakes debut in the Cutler Bay on Gulfstream’s turf earlier this season, and John Velazquez will guide the stalker.
Ohana Honor, a convincing allowance scorer at Colonial Downs when making his first start vs winners two back, will make his first graded attempt off a rallying second in the Nov. 6 Gio Ponti at Aqueduct. Gaffalione will be up on the Honor Code colt for Shug McGaughey.
Other horses of interest include Armstrong, Boppy O, Legacy Isle, Smokey Mandate, and Souper Blessing.
The Tropical Park Oaks for three-year-old fillies kicks off the stakes action, and Cairo Consort is a contender for Todd Pletcher. Winner of the Sweetest Chant (G3) and Ginger Brew at Gulfstream earlier this year, the gray filly also recorded a neck second in the Appalachian (G2) at Keeneland. Irad Ortiz Jr. will be up for her first appearance since early May.
Pletcher will also send out multiple Grade 3 runner-up Alpha Bella, who was last seen finishing fourth in the Sands Point (G2) at Aqueduct in mid-October.
Pebbles (G3) winner Implicated rates as a major player for Chad Brown. By Connect, the gray early/presser has captured three of four starts since switching to turf in her second outing. Brown is also responsible for Startup Mentality, a fine third when making her second lifetime appearance in the Pebbles. The Irish-bred Kingman filly will be running late with Jose Ortiz. Notinamillionyears, who exits a head second in an Aqueduct allowance, will look to draw in from the also-eligible list for Brown.
Jose Carroll has a pair of runners among the 13 entrants. Dolce Sopresa, who owns a 3-2-1-0 record on turf, will switch back to the sod off a fast-closing third in the Bessarabian (G2) at Woodbine. Speed Trap will make her turf debut after racing exclusively on Woodbine’s Tapeta, recording a two-length allowance triumph most recently in mid-September.
