Competitive allowance feature on turf or dirt

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The lone allowance on an 11-race Friday card at Gulfstream Park is scheduled for turf, but hold that thought. More rain was in the South Florida forecast for the latter part of this week in what might well result in an unwelcome Flashback Friday to a soggy Pegasus weekend.

Either way, it should be a competitive race for older fillies and mares going five furlongs for a $51,000 purse. Over turf, Little Dipper and Catharsis could be dangerous out front, although Really Proud and Tap Tap Taparoo appear to have the capability of reeling them in, especially if the pace is too hot. If wet conditions force the race to the dirt, a couple of main-track-only entrants from hot stables could join in as major contenders, with Bodebabe drawing in for Saffie Joseph (15 for 50) and Mo Town Kat for Jorge Navarro (25 for 113).

The nominal feature goes as race 5 on a card that starts at noon Eastern and therefore will be run just before the start of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 6-11), which had a burgeoning jackpot bearing down on the $1 million mark when a five-day week began Wednesday. Gulfstream officials have not committed to a mandatory payout date after rescinding a disbursement planned for last Sunday.

KEY CONTENDERS

Little Dipper, by Eskendereya
Last 3 Beyers: 71-64-65

◗ Runner-up finish after setting swift fractions for this same first-level condition here three Fridays ago not only was solid, but probably very useful given it was her first start in nearly three months.

Catharsis, by Kantharos
Last 3 Beyers: 73-71-53

◗ This Florida-bred forced all the pace in a similar spot in late December and seems to have come to hand in recent months for Kathleen O’Connell.

Really Proud, by Kitten’s Joy
Last 3 Beyers: 60-68-75

◗ Her fourth-place finish behind Little Dipper in their Jan. 11 meeting was subpar, but this is Christophe Clement, after all, and the filly does get Irad Ortiz Jr. back in the saddle.

Tap Tap Taparoo, by Tapit
Last 3 Beyers: 73-65-79

◗ Grass-bred 4-year-old closed stoutly to edge Catharsis for second in their Dec. 22 clash, despite having had trouble in the early going; retains Tyler Gaffalione for this.

Bodebabe, by Bodemeister
Last 3 Beyers: 58-NA-61

◗ She’d be going turf to dirt and making the third start of her form cycle for Joseph, who was 9 for 27 in 2019 headed into Wednesday action.

Mo Town Kat, by Cowtown Cat
Last 3 Beyers: 45-56-79

◗ Would be making her first start since being regrouped at Palm Meadows following a mid-December claim by Navarro, who shows far above average numbers in the categories that apply here.