Collazo's Field Trip turns bad day into good season

The last thing any trainer wants to see is his horse being vanned back to the barn after a race. But for Henry Collazo, the free ride Field Trip received following his second-place finish in a conditioned-claiming dash here last Dec. 15 turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Field Trip raced under a $30,000 claiming tag that day, and there was a slip in the claim box with his name on it. But under a rule invoked at Gulfstream Park just 13 days earlier, the claim was voided as a result of Field Trip being vanned off.

Field Trip did not race again for eight months. But when he returned he came back a different horse, posting three consecutive victories for Collazo and the Four Horsemen Racing Stable before having his streak stopped with a third-place finish as the 3-2 favorite in the Sunshine Millions Sprint Preview at Gulfstream Park West.

On Sunday, Field Trip will look to get back on the winning track as one of the favorites in the afternoon’s main event, a six-furlong optional-claiming dash that carries a $48,000 purse and drew a field of six that also includes key contenders Commute, Musical Heart, and Scam. The headliner is one of two optional-claiming contests on a 10-race card that begins at 12:35 Eastern.

“He had a shin that was bugging him last year, so when he pulled up after the race, the rider jumped off to protect him,” Collazo said. “He really never had anything seriously wrong, but the ride home meant the claim was voided. We always thought he was a nice horse, it just took him a while to show it. The time off did him a world of good because it gave him the opportunity to mature a little more, which made all the difference in the world.”

Collazo said he’s drawing a line through Field Trip’s race in the Sunshine Sprint Preview since his chances were compromised at the start.

“He turned his head to the right and the assistant starter pulled it back to the left just as they snapped the gate,” Collazo said. “He just didn’t get his break at all. He never comes out last like that, and he was just too far back and left with too much to make up against that bunch. But I was happy with the effort, for him to fight back and finish third, considering the circumstances.”

Field Trip is well drawn in the outside post for Sunday’s headliner.

“It’s a good spot for him being out there like that, he’s trained well since his last start, and I’m excited about the prospect of seeing him come back to himself on Sunday,” Collazo said.

Commute, returning to dirt after a steady diet of starts on turf or over the artificial surface at Woodbine, is the major question mark in the race. In his last start, Commute was claimed at Kentucky Downs for $62,500 by trainer Jorge Navarro in the interests of the Imaginary Stable and will be making his Gulfstream debut for the same tag off a series of five-furlong works over the past month at Palm Meadows.

Musical Heart steps up a notch in company after rallying to a neck decision against lesser optional claiming types at Gulfstream Park West on Nov. 11 in a race that was switched from turf to dirt. The win was the first since March for Musical Heart, whose six previous starts had come on grass.

Scam, who proved no match for Field Trip when they last met here early this summer, exits a strong second-place finish behind odds-on favorite and graded-stakes winner Delta Bluesman in his most recent start, which came at Gulfstream West on Nov. 15.

Focus On Me and Stormy My Way complete the lineup.

Four work for Clasico del Caribe

Four horses prepping for next Saturday’s Clasico del Caribe Internacional program worked here Friday. They included a trio of hopefuls from Panama led by the team of Candy Power and Dynamo, who completed four furlongs in company in 49.08 during the special quarantine session after 10 a.m.

Candy Power will compete in the Caribbean Cup Speed while Dynamo runs in the Confraternity Caribbbean Cup.

Rosa Salvaje followed moments later, breezing six furlongs in 1:17.40 for the Lady Caribbean Cup.