C. Zee gets class relief in sprint feature
C. Zee couldn’t keep up with Private Zone in his last two starts and will appreciate the class relief when he runs in a $62,500 optional-claiming race that will serve as the featured race at Gulfstream Park West on Sunday. The six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up drew nine horses, but if C. Zee shows up with his best stuff, he’ll be tough to handle.
The last time C. Zee raced in Florida, he won the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint on Feb. 21 for trainer Stanley Gold. The 99 Beyer Speed Figure he received for his 2 3/4-length win over Happy My Way is his career best. He came back with another strong effort in the Grade 3 Commonwealth at Keeneland, where he had the lead in midstretch but couldn’t hold off Kobe’s Back and had to settle for second.
Moving to Nick Zito’s barn, he wasn’t much of a factor in his next two starts in graded races at Churchill Downs and Belmont. He was racing against pretty tough company, though. The winner of both races, Private Zone, likely will be favored when he makes his next start in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Oct. 31.
C. Zee, who will break from post 5, has been off since July 4, but he can fire fresh, and he’s reunited with Edgard Zayas, who was aboard for three of his four lifetime wins.
Dreaming of Neno looks like the main threat.
Trained by Michael Petro, Dreaming of Neno is coming off a sharp front-running win at this level at Gulfstream on Aug. 15, and with a 3-1-1 record from seven starts at Gulfstream Park West, he won’t mind the change in venue.
KEY CONTENDERS
C. Zee (Last 3 Beyers: 76-76-97)
◗ The Grade 3 winner probably needed a break after a couple of dull efforts and may have tipped his hand when he worked a bullet five furlongs at Gulfstream on Oct. 3.
◗ He’s versatile and should get a nice trip stalking what figures to be a fast and contested pace.
Dreaming of Neno (Last 3 Beyers: 92-81-80)
◗ He is coming off three solid efforts at Gulfstream and earned a career-best 102 Beyer on this surface.
Galardonado (Last 3 Beyers: 94-84-73)
◗ Trained by Antonio Saco, he improved dramatically in his last two starts, and the move back to dirt probably had a lot to do with it. ◗ The 3-year-old son of Mineshaft is moving up in class, but he is trending in the right direction and may not have reached his peak.