February 18, 2025

Gunmetal makes stakes debut in Swale

Gunmetal breaks his maiden at Fair Grounds.
Gunmetal breaks his maiden at Fair Grounds. (Photo by Hodges Photo)

Two imposing debut winners from prolific barns headline an intriguing renewal of the $165,000 Swale S. at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.

Gunmetal earned a 99 Brisnet Speed rating for his 1 1/4-length maiden win at Fair Grounds on Dec. 26 over six furlongs. The son of Gun Runner is from the family of Grade 1 winner and classic-placed Paynter, and further back, Hall of Famer Tiznow. Gunmetal races for WinStar Farm and CHC and is trained by Brad Cox.

Grayscale, by Frosted, won on debut at Gulfstream on Nov. 16, scoring by 4 1/2 lengths going six furlongs as a 3-10 favorite while earning 92 Speed rating. Grayscale races for e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and is trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., who notched three graded wins last weekend, including the Pegasus World Cup (G1) with White Abarrio.

Slightly more experienced than the above pair is Donut God, a winner in both of his starts for Brian Lynch. The son of Into Mischief graduated over the slop at Churchill Downs in November and followed up a little more than three weeks later when taking the Inaugural S. at Tampa Bay Downs by three parts of a length.

Four others were entered in the Swale but are relatively exposed. The exception is Maitre D, who pulled off a 26-1 shocker in his debut over Turfway Park’s Tapeta surface in late December for two-time Kentucky Derby (G1)-winning trainer Doug O’Neill.

Mi Bago will go for a stakes threepeat at the current Gulfstream meet when he faces seven others in the $165,000 Kitten’s Joy S., a 1 1/16-mile grass test for three-year-olds.

Mi Bago captured the Pulpit S. over the turf in late November and then showed versatility taking the Jan. 1 Dania Beach S. in a race transferred from the grass to Tapeta. He is joined by fellow Mark Casse trainees Coco Cool, a stakes newcomer who has won two straight, and recent debut winner Walking in Memphis.

Test Score finished ahead of Mi Bago in the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance S. at Del Mar on Breeders’ Cup weekend, while Charlie’s to Blame is another who made his most recent start at the San Diego-area course. Tiz Dashing, second by a head in the Awad S. at Aqueduct when last seen in October, also merits respect.

The sister race to the Kitten’s Joy, the $165,000 Sweetest Chant S., is headed by a graded-stakes-placed trio of Vixen, Correto, and Origami.