Battle Red a solid contender in Wednesday turf-sprint feature
MIAMI – The turf course hopefully will be open for business again Wednesday at Gulfstream Park West, which should make for an interesting featured race, with a well-matched field of 11 scheduled to go five furlongs on grass under first-level allowance and optional-claiming conditions for a $39,000 purse.
Battle Red, who burned a lot of chalk before finally winning his maiden for trainer Todd Pletcher this summer at Saratoga, looks like a solid contender in the main event while returning to south Florida for the first time since January. Battle Red was a beaten favorite in his first eight starts before being virtually overlooked in start No. 9, when leading throughout and holding on for a neck victory at odds of 8-1 to finally earn his diploma going a mile in September at the Spa. That performance was flattered after the second- and third-place finishers that day, Infinite Wisdom and Tweet Kitten, won their next starts, the latter ultimately becoming a stakes winner this fall at Keeneland.
The red-hot It’s Time to Laugh is the one to beat. The 7-year-old son of Irish Road seems to be getting better with age, having captured three consecutive starts for owner and breeder Laurence Foggle and trainer David Kassen while earning the highest Beyer Speed Figure, an 83, of his 36-race career when registering a come-from-behind neck decision over $20,000 claiming foes here Oct. 22.
◗ There will be a carryover of $55,905 in the Rainbow 6 when racing resumes Wednesday. If nobody hits the Rainbow 6 over the next three days, there will be a mandatory payout Saturday, closing day of the Gulfstream Park West season.