Barboza loaded for opening day of Sunshine Meet

Gulfstream Park is offering nine claiming races to kick off its Sunshine Meet on Friday, and trainer Victor Barboza Jr. is coming prepared. The Florida-based trainer leads the way with five entries on the card and likes his chances in several spots.

“It’s a very good season, always, for the season before the winter meet,” Barboza said. “You classify the horses in the stakes before the winter meet and the other horses move into town. It’s an interesting season.”

The Sunshine Meet will run through Nov. 23. The track will host racing three days per week from Friday to Sunday until the Championship Meet begins on Nov. 27.

Saffie Joseph Jr. won his 13th straight training title at Gulfstream this summer, but he only has one horse entered on Friday. While he carries on with business at Kentucky Downs and other tracks, his Florida-based contemporaries will have a chance to get the jump on him.

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Jose D’Angelo, who came up three wins short of Joseph in the spring/summer meet, has 18 horses entered in the first three days. Barboza, who finished fourth in the standings last meet, may not have the numbers necessary to sustain a title bid, but he’s kicking things off the right way on opening day.

Barboza does not expect 2-year-old filly Come On Poppi to get off the also-eligible list in the second, a $35,000 maiden-claiming race, but his other four runners are slated to run. Paddy’s Gift, a 3-year-old filly, could earn favoritism in the third, a $12,500 maiden claiming race, after finishing second at the same level and six-furlong distance last time out.

“He has a very good chance,” Barboza said. “Second last time by less than a half-length. The only bad thing is the 1 position, but he’s maintained very good condition. I like him for that race.”

In the first, Barboza will send out 3-year-old gelding Alinao Forever, who will run in a $12,500 claiming race on synthetic, his first start since being pulled up in an allowance in April. Barboza has two fillies entered on the synthetic in the seventh, an $8,000 claiming race. Dialithic finished second in the same condition last time out, while 3-year-old Diamonds and Thrills will drop slightly in class after a runner-up finish for a $12,500 tag in late August.

All of Gulfstream’s top jockeys will take a handful of mounts on Friday in anticipation of a bigger Saturday card, which will kick off the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series with a pair of restricted $100,000 stakes, the Dr. Fager and Desert Vixen. Edgard Zayas, the runaway winner of the spring/summer meet riding title, is scheduled to ride 17 mounts opening weekend, while runner-up Emisael Jaramillo is scheduled to ride 16.

Edwin Gonzalez, winner of the Sunshine Meet title last year, is currently named on 17 mounts in the first three days at Gulfstream. He is listed to ride in two stakes at Colonial Downs on Saturday, but trainer Jose D’Angelo said that the jockey will stay in Florida.

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