Andover Lady looking like heavy favorite
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The weekend could begin early for Jerry Bailey. The Hall of Fame jockey is sitting on a potential big day at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, when his mounts include Read the Footnotes in the Fountain of Youth Stakes, but he has a chance to pick up some pocket money on Friday afternoon in a pair of allowance races that top a perfunctory card.
In the eighth race, Bailey rides , a stakes-placed filly who will be attempting to atone for a second-place finish as the 3-2 favorite last month in a similar second-level allowance race. And in the ninth, Bailey rides Grand Prayer, who moves into a first-level allowance after narrowly beating maidens the first weekend of the meet. Both should be among the top choices in their respective races.
Andover Lady, trained by John Kimmel, should be a prohibitive favorite in the eighth, which will be run at about 1 1/8 miles on turf. A 4-year-old daughter of Kris S., Andover Lady has finished in the money five times in six starts, was third in the Grade 3 Pebbles Handicap at Belmont Park last fall, and in her first start this year finished second in a race whose slow pace hindered her late run.
Her main rival appears to be , who won a first-level allowance race here on Jan. 8. She is now 2 for 2 since stretching out around two turns on turf. Erase also should be a factor now that she is returning to her favorite surface.
Grand Prayer will need to improve a bit off her maiden victory in order to handle the jump in class, but the 3-year-old filly appears capable of the task. She has never finished worse than second in three starts, has trained swiftly since her win last month for Mark Hennig, and should get a dream trip in the seven-furlong race from her outside post.
Sudith captured her debut at Keeneland, then failed as a lukewarm favorite on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs. Her rail draw should not matter, being as she will rally from behind, but this main track has favored speed in recent days, and that could be to her detriment.
Megan's Appeal scored her lone victory in a restricted stakes race at Woodbine last summer. The British-bred filly Schedule can be a factor if she repeats the quality of her debut victory at Belmont, and not her subsequent try against first-level allowance sprinters.
First post for the 10-race card is 1:30 p.m.