Classic Rock split horses into the stretch and surged along the inside to win Saturday’s $100,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3) going away by three lengths. Owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and trained by Kathy Ritvo, the 4-year-old horse was prominent from the start of the 6 ½-furlong test and has now won two straight since returning from a layoff earlier in the meet.
Leading rider Luis Saez was up and Classic Rock earned his first graded stakes tally when stopping the teletimer in 1:18.32.
The dark bay colt captured three straight at Gulfstream during the 2016-17 Championship meet, breaking his maiden and taking an entry-level allowance before posting a four-length decision in the restricted Roar Stakes last April. He followed with a pair of unplaced efforts versus graded foes before heading to the sidelines for nearly six months.
Classic Rock was exiting a 2 ½-length romp over conditioned allowance rivals in late December and has now bankrolled $183,902 from a 9-5-0-0 record.
Sweetontheladies, who was overlooked at 95-1, edged 12-1 Eight Town by a neck for second in the final strides. Eight Town wound up two lengths better than 9-2 second choicre Mr. Jordan in fourth. Favorable Outcome, the even-money favorite among 10 runners, dropped far back after bobbling at the start and closed belatedly for sixth.
A son of the ultra-fast Maclean’s Music, Classic Rock was bred in Kentucky by Nursery Place, Donaldson and Broadbent and sold for $180,000 as a yearling at the 2015 Keeneland September sale. He’s the first stakes winner from the multiple stakes-placed High Yield mare A Bit of Pressure, who counts Grade 1 runner-up Past the Point as a half-brother.
Classic Rock has now won five of six starts on Gulfstream’s main track.
