Always Dreaming probably will make 2018 debut in Gulfstream Mile

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – As if having the Florida Derby and a massive Rainbow 6 dispersal isn’t enough, the March 31 program at Gulfstream Park also could feature the comeback of 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming.

Trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed Wednesday that the colt is a good possibility to run in the Grade 2, $300,000 Gulfstream Park Mile, a one-turn mile that will serve as a fresh start for a colt whose three starts following his Derby victory resulted in disappointment.

Pletcher said Always Dreaming will have his eighth and final breeze toward his return Saturday at the Palm Beach Downs training center, where he has been working on a steady basis since late January. If all goes well, the Bodemeister colt likely will be entered in the Gulfstream Mile.

After sweeping the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby last spring, Always Dreaming was eighth in the Preakness, third in the Jim Dandy, and ninth in the Travers. Pletcher stopped on him after the Travers, and the colt subsequently was diagnosed with a serious ulcer problem that has been remedied.

The Gulfstream Mile also is expected to get another star 3-year-old from last year, Irish War Cry, who will have the benefit of a start over the Gulfstream surface. The winner of the Holy Bull and Wood Memorial at 3, Irish War Cry was second behind Economic Model in his 4-year-old debut, the Feb. 24 Hal’s Hope, and had his first work back for trainer Graham Motion last Saturday, going five furlongs in 1:00.80 at the Palm Meadows training center.

Another Gulfstream Mile prospect, Conquest Big E, went five furlongs in 59.85 seconds here Wednesday for trainer Donna Hurtak.

The Gulfstream Mile and the $1 million Florida Derby are among seven stakes on the 14-race March 31 card. One of those races, the $125,000 Sanibel Island, lost its prospective favorite when Motion said Thewayiam will be diverted to Keeneland for the Grade 2 Appalachian on April 8. Thewayiam has won three races at this meet in the 3-year-old filly turf division.

Meanwhile, the Rainbow 6 mandatory payout will be held on the last six races on Florida Derby Day, assuming the jackpot pool is not emptied before then. The Rainbow 6 began this week Wednesday with nearly $3.8 million in a jackpot that has gone unswept since the last dispersal Jan. 28. Nearly $16 million was bet into the Rainbow 6 that day, so a similar scenario March 31 could threaten the record for handle for a Florida Derby card ($32.08 million, set in 2016) or the track record of nearly $42 million, set Jan. 27 on Pegasus World Cup Day.

Closing day of the four-month championship meet is April 1, but track officials did not want to have the dispersal that day because many bettors will not be playing because of the Easter holiday.