Condition of turf key variable in Sunday allowance races

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The turf course took quite a soaking here Friday, which could have a major impact on the three allowance events carded for the grass Sunday at Gulfstream Park.

Even if the course dries out enough, as expected, to keep those races on the turf, there is the prospect of less-than-firm footing, which adds another level of intrigue to the already difficult puzzle of handicapping grass races.

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For instance, only two of the eight 3-year-olds signed on for the third race, to be decided at a mile and one-sixteenth under optional-claiming conditions for a $51,000 pot, have competed on anything other than firm ground. One of them, Bless the Kitten, owns a victory over a “good” turf course when he won his maiden at Churchill Downs on Nov. 10. Bless the Kitten and Summer to Remember are the only two members of the field with graded stakes experience. Bless the Kitten finished eighth in a race named after his sire, the Grade 3 Kitten’s Joy, here on Jan. 4.

Summer to Remember finished more than six lengths in front of Bless the Kitten in the Kitten’s Joy and will likely be favored on Sunday despite the fact he’s never raced over anything other than firm ground in three previous starts. Summer to Remember won his maiden as a 1-2 favorite in his 2-year-old finale and is one of two horses trainer Todd Pletcher sends out in the race along with Make a Stand.

The eighth race also offers a $51,000 purse and goes under entry-level allowance conditions for older horses at a mile. A strong field of nine was entered, including a pair from the potent Chad Brown stable, Mutakatif and U S Navy Cross.

Mutakatif would likely relish a turf course that has some give to it, having competed over softer ground in all five of his starts in England prior to coming to the U.S. and joining Brown’s barn early last season. A 5-year-old son of Acclamation, Mutakatif was a beaten favorite in both his North American starts, although he did earn a 90 Beyer Speed Figure finishing second, beaten a head by C Major, going a mile making his U.S. bow here 11 months ago.

A switch in surface would favor U S Navy Cross, who has competed on dirt in all three of his starts, but has not raced since finishing ninth under high-priced optional-claiming conditions last April at Keeneland.

Other key contenders include Souper Scat Daddy off a sixth-place finish in the Sunshine Millions Turf, the graded stakes-placed but idled Surf and Turf, and Personal Time.

The 10th race carries a $52,000 purse and is for fillies and mares at one mile on turf. Nine have been entered, led by four-time winner Miss Munnings, who has captured three of her last four outings but been idle since defeating similar opposition at Belmont Park on June 22.

Other top contenders include Ebullient, exiting a wire-to-wire entry-level allowance win earlier in the meet; La Australiana, who drops in class out of a series of stakes tries; and Grade 3-experienced Cash Out.