It will be back to square one again for Alexander Helios when he returns from a much-needed freshening and tries to recapture his Grade 3-winning form as the likely favorite going 1 1/16 miles in Sunday’s $71,000 main event at Gulfstream Park. The race drew a field of six older horses and also includes the multiple graded-stakes placed Steal Sunshine and serves as the second leg of yet another mandatory Rainbow 6 payout with a pool expected to be in the vicinity of $1.25 million. Alexander Helios reached the pinnacle of his success during the winter of 2025, winning a high-priced optional-claiming and allowance race at Gulfstream as a stepping-stone to his game victory in the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap five weeks later at Oaklawn Park. But his form tailed off dramatically in three subsequent starts against graded stakes company and included being eased to the wire in the Grade 3 Blame at Churchill Downs and a distant seventh-place finish in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic in his season finale. “He obviously put up some uncharacteristically poor races last summer so we just backed off, sent him to the farm and he’s training as well as he’s ever trained since he’s returned,” informed trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. “I see no reason why he shouldn’t be able to get back to his top form again. In fact I’m optimistic he will do that or perhaps be even better this year.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Alexander Helios figures to have a pace advantage against a field lacking much in the way of any real early speed. He stalked the leader before outgaming Banishing to win the Razorback and has always been at his best when on or close to the pace. Alexander Helios is one of two horses Joseph entered in the race along with Sir London, who has been idle since finishing eighth in the Barbados Gold Cup returning to dirt for the first time in over 2 1/2 years on March 7. “He missed a work so I’m still undecided if he’ll run, but wherever he winds up racing next I plan to keep him on the dirt,” Joseph said. Steal Sunshine has been beaten double-digit lengths in each of his last three starts but did finish a distant second to the odds-on Knightsbridge in the Grade 3 Gulfstream Mile on Feb. 28. He will be getting significant class relief dropping in against allowance competition. The remainder of the field includes Capitan Danny, who runs off a very popular but hard-fought optional-claiming and allowance win in his last start; the graded stakes placed Racing Driver; and Awesome Train. A double Game Face whammy Joseph suffered a double whammy in last Saturday’s Game Face Stakes. It started with his top contender Late Night Text being scratched in the paddock and culminated with Love Like Lucy being disqualified from first and placed second behind Lennilu for causing interference after drifting out sharply in the stretch run. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  “I thought the call could have gone either way,” said Joseph. “I understand that she [Love Like Lucy] did drift out and cause interference. But there was pressure on both sides, the horse from the outside closed the gap too, and if she hadn’t come in, the favorite wouldn’t have checked. Plus, there was no concrete evidence the incident altered the final result.” As for Late Night Text, she injured her foot in the paddock, necessitating the late scratch, according to Joseph. “I feel like I lost the race twice, first in the paddock and then on the racetrack,” Joseph lamented. “But it’s all water under the bridge now and you just have to try to forget about it and move forward.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.