Gulfstream: Scatter Joy looks for real in maiden win

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Musical Romance is currently the biggest name on the Calder backstretch but trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. certainly appears to have a potential star on his hands in Scatter Joy, who raised a few eyebrows with his 7 1/2-length debut victory in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight event at Gulfstream Park on Sunday.

Scatter Joy, a son of Scat Daddy, is a homebred owned by Marion Montanari. He earned an 85 Beyer Speed Figure of 85 in his unveiling.

“He seems to be something out of the ordinary and showed it to us early on,” said Plesa, who is just six wins shy of his 2,000th career victory. “Barring the unforeseen, he should have a big future if given time to grow up. I’m really glad to have a nice horse for this owner. She’s a great woman who has been in this business a long time and deserves a horse like this.”

Plesa said he’d probably look for an allowance race while likely stretching Scatter Joy out a little bit further for his next start.

“He’s also bred for the turf, being by Scat Daddy, so we definitely have a lot of options available to us,” said Plesa.