Allowance feature appears wide open
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Anyone with a definite single in the Sunday feature at Gulfstream Park is either a genius or a fool. The 10th race is your typically inscrutable mishmash, with a half-dozen capable winners among a full gate set to clash on turf.
Many of the top trainers here for the winter are represented in the first-level allowance at 1 1/16 miles, including Todd Pletcher, Chad Brown, Shug McGaughey, Bill Mott, and Kiaran McLaughlin. If any of these fillies and mares can be considered favorites, maybe it’s Sky Painter, trained by McLaughlin, or I Am Now, trained by Pletcher.
Sunday normally is the end of a race week at Gulfstream, but racing will be held here Monday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The following Wednesday, Jan. 21, will be dark here.
Race 10
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KEY CONTENDERS
Market Magic (Last 3 Beyers: 79-75-71)
◗ Surely, her decent fifth-place finish on opening day will help toward this, as she had been on the shelf for 10 months before that. She gets a call from Jose Lezcano, a standout on grass with a career return on investment of $2.00 from nearly 4,500 turf mounts.
Sky Painter (Last 3 Beyers: 72-81-80)
◗ A nose defeat in the Grade 3 Miss Grillo in the fall of 2013 continues to resonate with fans, as she has been heavily bet in taking three unsuccessful cracks at this first condition for Godolphin and McLaughlin. She has had four works over the Palm Meadows turf in preparation for her first start in 10 weeks, including a pair of bullets.
Artemis (Last 3 Beyers: 63-77-72)
◗ Former California-based filly will be making her first start for Brown and her first on turf while returning from a nine-month layoff, so clearly there are a number of questions for her to answer. A steady Palm Meadows work slate suggests readiness.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Artemis. Trainer Chad Brown is 8-0-1-1 over the past five years going dirt to turf in routes following a layoff of 180 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Ballylee (Last 3 Beyers: 77-77-77)
◗ You sure can’t knock the Beyer Speed Figure consistency of this Godolphin filly, who likely needed her last start when finishing fourth as a pace factor for this same condition Dec. 28 after having been off for 3 1/2 months. Probably will have to lift up off that 77 plateau if she is to make an impact here.
I Am Now (Last 3 Beyers: 81-36-78)
◗ Finished second as the 9-5 favorite for Pletcher in a longer race for this same condition Dec. 23 and now will make the turnback in what shapes up as a deeper field. Wertheimer homebred clearly has established a preference for grass.
Silvery Starlet (Last 2 Beyers: 72-73)
◗ Lightly raced 5-year-old is one of a handful of sleepers in here, returning from a nine-month layoff for the dangerous team of John Kimmel and Joel Rosario. Worth noting she was the beaten favorite for this condition at Keeneland in her last start.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 12 Comme Chez Soi. Trainer Michael Matz is 54-12-7-7 with a $3.62 ROI over the past two years in turf routes in the second start following a layoff. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan