HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Charlie Appleby won 14 graded stakes with 10 horses in North America last year. Bold Act didn’t account for any of them, though it wasn’t due to lack of effort. Bold Act had two thirds and a second from three graded tries last year, twice beaten as an odds-on favorite. Bold Act, who won the Grade 3 Sycamore at Keeneland in 2023, is back in the United States on Saturday when he heads a full field for the Grade 3, $215,000 William McKnight Stakes going 1 1/2 miles on turf at Gulfstream Park. Bold Act’s last run of 2024 was probably his best when, despite a wide trip, he was beaten just a nose in the Sycamore by race favorite Highway Robber, while finishing 4 1/4 lengths clear of the field. “He had an ‘almost’ year last year, he was always in the frame, but things didn’t just quite fall right for him,” said Chris Connett, assistant to Appleby. “Hopefully, he can start off the year a little bit better. He won a group [race] in Dubai last year to start the year and in his American campaign he was always there or thereabout.” Bold Act, who had post 11 in last October’s Sycamore, drew that same post for the McKnight. Sixteen were entered, 12 are permitted to start. :: Play Gulfstream Park with confidence! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. Utah Beach finished third in the Sycamore and then was upset by 60-1 shot Lord Eddard Stark in the H. Allen Jerkens, a two-mile race in which there was a runaway speed horse who set a rapid pace for the distance. Utah Beach took over from that horse in upper stretch but was nailed at the wire. “I was disappointed that he lost the Jerkens. He lost in the last jump,” trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Correas IV said. “He ran a big race in Keeneland and I think he’s maturing, and like all the English Channels, the older he gets, the better he’s going to be. I think he has the potential to have a great year this year.” Limited Liability was beaten one length by Bold Act when third in the 2023 Sycamore. He ended his 2024 campaign with a victory in the 2 1/16-mile Nashville Gold Cup and a runner-up finish behind Integration in the Grade 2 Red Smith. Yamato is an interesting longshot if only because of his affinity for the 1 1/2-mile distance. He only raced three times in 2024, but none on turf. His last race on turf came in the 2023 Japan Turf Cup at Laurel, a 1 1/2-mile race he won by 2 1/2 lengths. The 9-year-old Rockemperor, who won the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic in 2021, is 1 for 18 since. La Prevoyante Chop Chop found a niche as marathon turf specialist in 2024, something her new connections hope continues when the 5-year-old mare starts in Saturday’s Grade 3, $165,000 La Prevoyante Stakes at 1 1/2 miles. Owner Mike Repole purchased Chop Chop for $900,000 out of November’s Fasig-Tipton auction. From six starts in marathon turf runs, Chop Chop had two wins, two seconds, and a third. Her most recent run was a nose victory over Forever After All in the Grade 3 Dowager on Oct. 20. Previously trained by Brad Cox, Chop Chop is now with Todd Pletcher, who has liked what he’s seen from the City of Light mare in the mornings. She had a strong five-furlong move in 59.08 seconds working on dirt by herself Jan. 18. “Very straight-forward, good-training filly, has had a couple of good works recently,” Pletcher said. “She’s a stayer who attends the pace in those route races.” Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride Chop Chop for the first time. Pletcher also sends out the New York-bred Whatlovelookslike, who was fifth to Be Your Best in the Grade 3 Long Island in November. :: Get Gulfstream Park Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. Beautiful Love won the Jockey Club Oaks for Appleby and Godolphin last year and was beaten just one length by Moira when fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. This will be her first start at 1 1/2 miles. “She’s a real tough mare,” Connett said. “She won a nice race there in the summer. Her last start, in the Breeders’ Cup, was a step up in class you could say to what she’d been running against and she fared really well. The extra bit of distance is ideal for her as well.” La Mehana won the Via Borghese by a neck over Forever After All in December. She was a two-time winner at 1 1/2 miles in France before being sent to Christophe Clement at the end of 2023. Forever After All has three consecutive runner-up finishes, all by a length or less with less-than-clean trips. She goes out for trainer Brendan Walsh, who also sends out Queen Regent in a race that drew 13 but will be limited to 12 starters. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.