Starship Melody gives Smullen good shot to stay hot

Heather Smullen has been among the hottest trainers on the grounds the past week, having registered five victories over the last five racing days at Gulfstream Park. She’ll attempt to continue that streak when sending out Starship Melody in Friday’s main event, a $70,000 allowance for fillies and mares with a $25,000 claiming option to be decided at a mile and 70 yards over the Tapeta course.

Starship Melody’s form has been inconsistent the past several months, although she has the advantage of being the only member of this field to have won a race over a synthetic track. The 4-year-old Florida-bred also has a couple of races under similar conditions dating back to last fall that would make her a key player in this well-matched lineup, including a second-place finish with a 78 Beyer Speed Figure during the recent Championship meet.

“She’s definitely been off form in her last two starts but is training well and I’m hoping switching back to the synthetic will put her back on her game,” Smullen said by phone from Ocala, where she’s currently shopping for new stock at the OBS sales. “She’s kind of a one-paced grinding type of horse who tends to get disheartened if the race doesn’t back up to her, and the [turf] course was kind of favoring speed in her last two starts.

“But she put in a really big effort three [races] back, and if she can show up with a race like that she should be right there in this spot. I breezed her in company on the main track earlier this month and I loved the way she dug in and wanted to stay in front of her company at the end.”

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Bojaca Blessing crossed the finish line first under similar conditions over the Tapeta strip on March 21, only to lose the victory when disqualified and placed second for drifting into the path of runner-up Equitas and forcing that rival to check in late stretch. Bojaca Blessing was awarded a lifetime-best 82 Beyer for the effort.

Trained by Jose D’Angelo, Bojaca Blessing will return to South Florida after shipping to Churchill Downs off that performance to finish eighth when stepping up into a much tougher entry-level allowance on May 10.

Ditched and Classy Lass, who finished a neck apart in first and second while squaring off over the turf on April 26, also figure to garner plenty of support. However, both will be question marks while making their synthetic track debuts.

Smullen gave a lot of credit for her recent string of success to her riders, including the red-hot Diego Herrera. He was aboard for three of Smullen’s recent victories, including maiden special weight winners Mitt and Dr. Jekyll.

“The horses are all coming around and running in good form and I’ve been trying to put them in spots where they are competitive,” said Smullen. “And all the jockeys I’ve been using have ridden them very well.

“Basically everyone has been showing up and running to their training, and I’ve been extremely pleased with all my 2-year-olds – a couple of whom I knew needed a race and probably turf, but who were able to get a start underneath them, which should prove beneficial moving forward.”

◗ Seven 3-year-old fillies have been entered in Saturday’s $100,000 Azalea Stakes, two each from the barns of Saffie Joseph Jr. and Joe Orseno.

Joseph will send out the pair of Late Night Text and the lightly raced Sorokin, with both coming off maiden wins. Orseno will counter with Winplaceandshow, who figures to vie for favoritism with Late Night Text off her one-sided allowance win five weeks ago, and longshot Win Bet Only.

The speedy Flowko, Permian Basin, and Wander Woman complete the field.

◗ Gulfstream Park will amend its live racing schedule, eliminating Friday cards and switching to a Saturday-through-Monday format until further notice starting the weekend of July 11, with the first Monday program slated for July 13.

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