Bernier: Gulfstream pick three for Saturday, March 7

RACE 8

All of Todd Pletcher’s runners need to be taken seriously at Gulfstream Park, but especially his first-time starters. CHIPIT (2) makes his debut for Pletcher and Alto Racing, and although the morning times for this son of Tapit don’t jump off the page, it would be foolish to leave him off tickets. The other ‘A’ I’ll be using is CENTAURO STAR (11). The race that Centauro Star debuted in has come back quite weak, but there’s no reason to think this Gustavo Delgado trainee can’t take a step forward in his second start. It’s also worth noting that this will be his first start since being reported as a gelding Feb. 4.

A: 2, 11
B: NONE
C: 1,8,9

RACE 9

The Palm Beach Stakes was scheduled to be run last Saturday before a monsoon arrived in south Florida, and because of that, it will be run as the ninth race this Saturday. DIVISIDERO (9) was quite impressive in winning his maiden in his debut for Buff Bradley – an area where Bradley historically has struggled. If this son of Kitten’s Joy jumps up in his second start, there’s reason to believe he could be a legitimate grass runner as the year rolls along. DECISION DAY (3) did no running in the Holy Bull here Jan. 24, but that can be excused. That was this colt’s first start on dirt, and his best runs have come going two turns on Polytrack at Woodbine. On Saturday, he’ll try turf for the first time, and in a field that doesn’t appear to have much pace, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Edgar Prado go straight to the lead.

A: 3,9
B: 5
C: NONE

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RACE 10

The Gulfstream Park Handicap doesn’t feature a large field, but it makes up for that in quality. This race marks the 2015 debuts of HONOR CODE (1), WICKED STRONG (2), and PRIVATE ZONE (5). While many people are going to be drawn to Honor Code and Wicked Strong (simply because of name recognition), Private Zone looms as the controlling speed in the race. If VALID (6) doesn’t press too hard from the outside, I can see a scenario in which Private Zone shakes loose and is difficult to run down late. He’ll be my lone ‘A’ in this spot.

A: 5
B: 1,2
C: NONE