11-time winner Mish, debut winner Elnajd vie in sprint
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The old veteran Mish and young upstart Elnajd are certain to garner most of the attention in Sunday’s $86,000 main event, a six-furlong dash for older horses to be decided under allowance and optional-claiming conditions on the main track.
The 9-year-old Mish enters the race with 11 victories in 38 career starts, while the 4-year-old Elnajd has just a single race on his résumé, having registered a game 1 1/2-length maiden win when launching his career at Fair Grounds during the final week of 2025.
Mish, a stakes winner during the spring of 2024, has obviously seen his best days but is still running at a high level for Saffie Joseph Jr. He enters this race off one of his better efforts, a wire-to-wire, 2 1/2-length victory against $35,000 claimers over a sloppy track here Jan. 22 for which he earned an 88 Beyer Speed Figure.
“He’s doing great and he showed he was back in form last time,” Joseph said. “He ran a fast sheet number and he should run well again.
“We put him in for a $25,000 tag but realistically that’s where he fits at this stage of his career. Otherwise, we’d have to go in a two other than with him, and that’s a pretty hard race to win at Gulfstream this time of the year. We just like to try to run him where he is competitive.”
Elnajd contested the pace every step of the way before edging clear at the end in his debut for Brad Cox, posting an 84 Beyer. He has not missed a beat in the morning prepping for his local debut but will obviously be giving away a lot of experience, not only to Mish but the remainder of the eight-horse lineup.
Nothingsubtle, a bias-aided third with a career-best 84 Beyer in the Sunshine Sprint in his 2026 debut, and recent statebred allowance winner Adios Now are among the other key contenders.
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