Callaghan ships into Gulfstream in search of short turf sprints

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – When a 3-year-old filly named Comedic finished second as a 4-5 favorite in a five-furlong Tapeta race Jan. 8 at Gulfstream, she became the first-ever starter in Florida for Simon Callaghan, who has been training in Southern California since 2010.

“We sent her to Florida to see if she could break her maiden going five-eighths on the turf,” Callaghan explained by phone this week. “It’s the most speed-favoring kind of race there is at this time of year. We don’t have turf races that short here in California until Del Mar.”

Callaghan said Comedic will remain here until further notice in the care of fellow trainer and English native Jack Sisterson. The Jan. 8 race was originally slated for turf before being rained off.

Callaghan, 38, said he “was close to sending more horses to run at Gulfstream this winter before deciding against it at the last minute” but did not rule out doing so in the future.

Video board obscures views

The new video board that has been erected in the Gulfstream infield has created a problem of sorts. When horses are racing on the backstretch, there’s a span of a few seconds when no one can see them because of the height of the video board – not even race-caller Pete Aiello, whose booth is situated high above the grandstand.

Gulfstream vice president Mike Lakow said Friday that officials will experiment with how to make things better for viewers, including cutting away from the pan camera during the backstretch run by switching to a different camera angle.

The situation is somewhat similar to what has been happening for years at another 1/ST track, Santa Anita, where horses disappear behind the infield video board for less than three seconds when racing is taking place on the turf.

The board is not yet operational but is expected to be ready ahead of the huge Pegasus World Cup card on Jan. 29.

◗ Jockey Miguel Vasquez returned a winner Friday at Gulfstream when he was fortunate to escape injury the previous afternoon in a spill on the Tapeta course. Vasquez won the second race on Backatya ($5.40) in his first ride after being thrown when his mount, What’s Goin On, suddenly shied down the backstretch in the fifth race Thursday. No other horses or jockeys were affected in the incident.

Vasquez took off the rest of Thursday and was medically cleared to return the next day.