Casse fillies could find themselves duking it out

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A couple of stakes-proven stablemates, Golden Canary and Ready to Jam, should give trainer Mark Casse the upper hand in the $91,000 allowance and optional-claiming dash that serves as the main event when racing resumes Wednesday at Gulfstream Park.

A full field of a dozen 3-year-old fillies was drawn for the headliner, which is carded to be run at five furlongs on the turf, weather permitting.

Golden Canary won her maiden in the Soaring Free Stakes in her second start last summer at Woodbine and closed her campaign by finishing second in the Algonquin Stakes when defeated just a half-length by another stablemate, Dancing Duchess.

Ready to Jam also captured her maiden at second asking before finishing second in the Catch a Glimpse Stakes four weeks later. The two fillies finished fifth and seventh, respectively, behind She Feels Pretty in the Grade 1 Natalma on Nov. 16 at Woodbine, a super key race that produced five next-out winners, with three of those victories coming in stakes. She Feels Pretty flattered the event even further when returning to be third, beaten just a half-length by Hard to Justify, in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

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Golden Canary and Ready to Jam turned in their final preps for their 2024 debuts on Jan. 3, breezing an easy four furlongs in company over the Palm Meadows turf course in 49.40 seconds, covering the final quarter-mile in a sharp 23.00, according to the Daily Racing Form clocker report. Golden Canary will be ridden for the first time by Irad Ortiz Jr., while Ready to Jam, a daughter of the Grade 1-placed Third Dawn, will have Tyler Gaffalione in the irons.

Only four of the Casse duo’s 10 rivals have won on turf, including Fairhopecurly who launched her career with back-to-back victories on the grass before finishing fifth after prompting the pace to midstretch in Keeneland’s Indian Summer Stakes.

She was haltered for $75,000 by trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. from her local debut, which came over the Tapeta course here Nov. 24.

Field Lass, who earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure for her maiden win on the main track at Keeneland, and Dot, third over the Tapeta course in a similarly conditioned allowance race as Wednesday’s headliner in her juvenile finale, are among those who could give the Casse pair their stiffest challenges.

Pegasus hopefuls work

Reigning Pegasus World Cup Turf champion Atone and the Pegasus World Cup Invitational-bound Senor Buscador topped Monday’s work tab at Gulfstream Park.

Atone breezed an easy five furlongs in 1:00.97. Senor Buscador completed the same distance in 1:01.77 under some late urging before easing up six panels in 1:15.58.

Junior Alvarado, who guided Senor Buscador from last to a second-place finish behind Hoist the Gold in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct in his most recent start, was aboard for Monday’s work and has the call to ride him once again in the $3 million Pegasus.

Alvarado, who launched his career at Gulfstream Park in 2007, is coming off his best year yet with purse earnings of nearly $13.4 million. Eight of his 94 victories on the season came in Grade 1 events, seven of them for his main client, trainer Bill Mott. Three of the Grade 1 wins were aboard Cody’s Wish, a leading contender for Horse of the Year honors, whose game and popular victory in the Dirt Mile was the second of Alvarado’s two Breeders’ Cup winners last year, along with Just F Y I in the Juvenile Fillies.

“I think Junior flies a little under the radar, but I believe he’s as good a rider as anybody in the country,” said his agent, Mike Sellitto. “I just don’t think people realized how good he was until watching him a little closer because of his association with Bill and Cody’s Wish and all the attention he received last year.

“And I have to give thanks to Bill as well as all the owners who have supported us for a lot of that success.”

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