Chance It struts his stuff in Dr. Fager

Chance It earned a second consecutive Beyer Speed Figure of 91 in winning the Dr. Fager Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park while further entrenching himself among the elite 2-year-olds in South Florida this summer.

Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. for the Shooting Star Thoroughbreds partnership, managed by Mary Lightner, Chance It was coming off a 92 Beyer in a June 29 maiden victory. Lightner said potential buyers’ inquiries have been fielded but turned down.

“It’s hard to get a really good horse like him,” she said.

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The $100,000 Dr. Fager and its filly counterpart, the $100,000 Desert Vixen, kicked off the annual Florida Sire Stakes series amid spotty weather. Heavy rain fell intermittently during a 13-race program, with the Dr. Fager being run over a sealed track rated good and the Desert Vixen run nearly four hours later over slop.

Lenzi’s Lucky Lady, winner of the Desert Vixen, earned a 67 Beyer and gave trainer Kathleen O’Connell her 12th victory in the 38-year history of the Sire Stakes.

Both Sire Stakes events were run at six furlongs and will be followed by longer, richer races in the $1.4 million series as the Gulfstream summer meet unfolds. The $200,000 Affirmed and $200,000 Susan’s Girl will be run at seven furlongs on Aug. 31, and the $400,000 In Reality and $400,000 My Dear Girl will be run at 1 1/16 miles on Sept. 28.

Rainy conditions prevailed at Gulfstream all of last week, with every turf race being moved to the main track Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Two turf races were run Saturday before the rain returned, a scenario that repeated itself Sunday when two early turf races were run before the remainder had to be transferred because of another downpour.

Swedish rider with U.S. first

Swedish jockey Fanny Olsson rode her first two United States winners last week: Slingin Sammy B (Friday) and Chirping (Sunday). Olsson, a 26-year-old, has ridden more than 100 winners in the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway and Denmark since she began riding races in 2016.

“My dream has always been to ride races here,” she told track publicity.

Olsson came to the U.S. about 10 months ago and has been working as an exercise rider. She now has ridden five races at Gulfstream, with her first mount coming in late May.

Rainbow 6 up to $472,902

A pair of optional-starters (races 7 and 9) serve as nominal features as another four-day week begins with a 10-race Thursday card that starts at 1:15 p.m. Eastern. Both are part of a Rainbow 6, which runs from races 5 through 10.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot stands at $472,902 after failing to be swept by a solo winner for the last 18 racing days, dating to July 6.