Conquest Sandman must be caught in rescheduled Mecke Stakes

It took a couple of tries but the $75,000 Mecke Stakes will finally take center stage, five days later than originally planned, when it tops Sunday’s 11-race program at Gulfstream Park. The Mecke drew a field of seven 3-year-olds and up and will be decided at 1 1/8 miles on the turf.

The Mecke failed to attract sufficient entries when originally scheduled to be run on Wednesday’s Fourth of July card

The connections of Conquest Sandman had the option of running their much-improved former $16,000 claimer in a starter allowance event that goes as the third race on Sunday’s card. But they needed little prodding to enter him in the Mecke, given the extra $35,000 in purse money and that he will be one of the favorites in the race.

Conquest Sandman has won six of nine starts since returning locally for the 2018 campaign, with four of those victories coming after trainer Juan Carlos Abarrio claimed the son of Scat Daddy for owner Costa Brava out of a win here on Feb. 10. Two of those tallies were against stakes company, including in the Miesque’s Approval on April 28 when Conquest Sandman led throughout and hung on to post a three-quarter-length decision over Fast and Accurate, a turf stakes winner and perhaps best known as a member of the field for the 2017 Kentucky Derby.

Conquest Sandman will break from the inside on Sunday. It’s the third time he’s drawn the rail this season. He won both of the other times he drew the rail, and figures to use his abundant speed to control the pace once again in the Mecke.

“He doesn’t necessarily need to be in front to win, although I think he prefers it better,” said Abarrio through an interpreter, his assistant Heather Boraco, whose husband, David, is the regular exercise rider for Conquest Sandman. “He can just kind of play around with the other horses when on the lead and it seems to make him happy. And we were lucky to pull the one hole again.”

Abarrio, a native of Venezuela who took out his trainer’s license in this country during the winter of 2017, said the distance is not a concern for him, even though Conquest Sandman, like everybody else in the field, has never won going 1 1/8 miles.

“In fact, I think the further he goes the better,” said Abarrio. “As long as he doesn’t blister the pace like he did in his last start.”

Abarrio was referring to the splits of 22.07 and 45.57 he set or forced before narrowly hanging on for a neck decision over starter allowance rivals on June 10. Emisael Jaramillo will replace Conquest Sandman’s regular rider Carlos Montalvo in the Mecke.

Conquest Sandman is likely to vie for favoritism with several others, including Archer Road, Til the End, Galleon Mast, and Durocher.

Archer Road brings a two-race win streak and career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 90 into the Mecke, which will be his stakes debut.

Til the End and Galleon Mast finished second and fourth behind the 40-1 Salute the Colonel in the Soldier’s Dancer Stakes here on June 9. The loss snapped a two-race win streak for Til the End, claimed for $16,000 here in early April. Galleon Mast has now been a beaten favorite in all three starts since capturing the Sunshine Millions Turf to kick off his 2018 campaign.

Durocher seeks to regain the form that led to his upset victory in the Tropical Park Derby in his 2017 finale. He has given every indication he’s ready to perhaps do just that after posting a pair of bullet works on the main track within a two-week span in late June.

Owner-trainer Roger Laurin will likely be doing a rain dance prior to the race for his wet-track-loving Zipping, who along with My Point Exactly completes the field.

◗ Georgina Baxter recorded her first victory as a trainer when Starship Wildcap captured Thursday’s eighth race in impressive fashion. Baxter, an assistant for trainer Ralph Ziadie and the regular exercise rider for the multiple turf sprint stakes winner Pay Any Price, is the trainer of record for the stable while Ziadie works through licensing issues with the state.