Coppola's different style pays off in Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Coppola won the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint for the second year in a row on Saturday, though he did it utilizing a different running style.
In 2024, Coppola took advantage of a swift early pace to rally from off the pace and win the race by a half-length. On Saturday, Coppola was the pace, breaking out of the gate under Tyler Gaffalione, setting seriously fast fractions of 20.82 seconds for the quarter and 42.67 for the half-mile, and holding on for a three-quarter-length victory over longshot Capture the Lion in the five-furlong event.
It was a neck back to Reef Runner in third.
Saturday, breaking from post 11 in a 12-horse field, Coppola used the same front-running tactics he used when he won last month’s Janus Stakes here from post 11.
“I thought he could clear, I didn’t know if he’d hang on, but I thought he was fast enough to clear after that last race,” trainer Dale Romans said. “Out of that outside box you don’t want to get hung wide and do something tricky, we just told him to hit the gas and he did.”
Said Gaffalione: “If we had the opportunity to go to the front, we were going to take it. He’s a big strong horse, and if we can get out of the gate first, it alleviates the worry about being bounced around.”
Coppola, a 6-year-old son of Into Mischief owned by Hammer Time Stable and Sport of Kings Stable, covered the five furlongs in 54.43 seconds and returned $6.60 as the favorite.
Coppola (95 Beyer Speed Figure) improved his record to 10 wins from 28 starts and the first-place purse of $84,490 from the $157,000 purse improved Coppola’s earnings to $846,536.
“He’s a fast son of a gun,” Romans said. “To go [42.67 seconds] I think is the fastest any horse of mine’s ever gone in my life and I’ve run a lot of horses. He’s just getting better and better the older he gets.”
Romans said Coppola is nominated to the Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai on April 5.
“We’ll see what happens,” Romans said.
Nobals, the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner, never really got involved early, but showed some late run and finished seventh, beaten just 1 3/4 lengths.
*** Romans won the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint one race after Dreaming of Mo ($19.80), overcame a clumsy break, rated just off the pace and came with a rail rally in the stretch to win the $100,000 South Beach Handicap by 2 1/4 lengths.
Charlie’s Wish, who raced just outside of Dreaming of Mo down the backside, rallied four wide in the stretch and outfinished 2-1 Dana’s Beauty by a neck for second. There was a dead heat for fourth between Tutta La Vita and Sun Bee.
The victory was the fourth for 14 starts for Dreaming of Mo, a 5-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo owned by Mark Holliday’s Blue Devil Racing and trained by Romans. Dreaming of Mo covered the one mile, 70 yards over the Tapeta track in 1:39.08 and returned $19.80 to win.
“She ran beautiful, I think she’s going to have a big year,” Romans said. “It took her a while to get her legs under her, but once she did, she’s become a really good filly.”
*** Smokin' T, purchased at the Fasig-Tipton November auction by Mrs. Gay Smith for $160,000 last November, made a successful debut for her connections including trainer Chad Brown, rallying from off the pace under Frankie Dettori to win the $95,000 Carousel Club Handicap by 1 1/4 lengths over the Tapeta track.
Jerry the Nipper, the 3-1 favorite who stalked the pace under Irad Ortiz Jr., finished second by a neck over In a Jam.
Brown said Smokin' T was using this race as a prep for the Barbados Gold Cup, a race Brown won last year with Portfolio Company, who finished fifth in the Carousel Club last year. He finished seventh on Saturday.
Smokin T, a son of War Front, went 6 for 24 for previous trainer Shug McGaughey and DATTT Stables. He did have a win over Gulfstream’s Tapeta in February 2022.
“His previous form on Poly gave me confidence to run here,” Brown said. “He ran great in his first start for us and he had been training well. He came to us in good shape.”
Smokin T covered the one mile, 70 yards in 1:38.30 and returned $16.20 to win.
The Barbados Cup is scheduled for March 1.
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