Biancone has contenders for Smile Sprint, Princess Rooney

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Diamond Oops has taken a somewhat unconventional route to get there, but he could be one of the more intriguing players in what figures to be a wide open renewal of the Grade 3 Smile Sprint on Saturday’s Summit of Speed program at Gulfstream Park. Diamond Oops is one of two horses trainer Patrick Biancone has been pointing toward the Summit of Speed for the past several months, along with the graded stakes-placed Razorback Lady, who will be among a small field of fillies and mares expected for the Grade 2 Princess Rooney.

Diamond Oops has raced just three times since winning the Buffalo Man Stakes to conclude a promising 2-year-old campaign here in December of 2017, and has made only two starts this year after an unsuccessful comeback last July. Both of the gelding’s 2019 efforts have come on turf, including a fifth place finish behind World of Trouble in the Grade 1 Jaipur earlier this month at Belmont Park.

“He strained a flexor in his pastern in January of 2018. We thought we’d given him enough time before bringing him back last summer, but he got injured again,” said Biancone, who also owns a share of Diamond Oops along with Amy Dunne and Ivy Hui. “At that point we decided to give him as much time as he needed to make sure he had fully recovered, and after the tendon scanned completely clean, we brought him along very gradually.”

Diamond Oops finally returned to action locally on May 27 with a third-place finish in the Crystal River Stakes going five furlongs on grass before shipping to New York, where he finished less than four lengths behind winner World of Trouble in the six-furlong Jaipur while earning a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure.

Julien Leparoux will ride Diamond Oops in the Smile.

“We took a shot going to New York for that race. He ran very well and came out of it perfect,” said Biancone. “But [the Smile] was the race I’ve been targeting all along. I’m not sure he’s as good on the turf as he is on the dirt, but I worked him back on the grass Sunday because it’s a little kinder and he went well again. He’s really good now.”

Leparoux will also be back aboard Razorback Lady for the first time since guiding her to a second-place finish after setting a contested pace in the Grade 2 Inside Information on March 16. Razorback Lady has had one start since, finishing second under Jairo Rendon as the odds-on favorite behind the up-and-coming 3-year-old Trenchtown Cat in the Ana T. Stakes on May 25.

“I gave her a couple of months before bringing her back after the Inside Information, because with sprinters, especially racing in the heat down here, you don’t want to run them too much,” explained Biancone. “And I thought she might have been a bit overweight and needed the race last time, that’s all. The Princess Rooney is the race we’ve had in mind as our goal for her all along, so I feel it was a very good prep for her even though she did not win. She’s ready and Julien will be here this time. He knows her very well.”

In the seven-furlong Princess Rooney, Razorback Lady will face a field that is also likely to include defending winner Stormy Embrace, the well-traveled Saguaro Row, Trenchtown Cat, Royal Asscher, and Worth Avenue.

Along with Diamond Oops, the prospective lineup for the six-furlong Smile could consist of Fast Pass, Jalen Journey, Proforma, Royal Squeeze, Sweetontheladies, and perhaps Cautious Giant and the 3-year-old Garter and Tie. Garter and Tie is also nominated for the $75,000 Carry Back the same day, with trainer Ralph Nicks saying he’s not likely to make a final decision on which race he’ll choose until just prior to entry time for both races on Wednesday.