Csaba back on favorite surface for Eight Miles West
MIAMI – The name may have changed, but the track surface at Gulfstream Park West, formerly known as Calder Race Course, remains the same. And that’s all trainer Phil Gleaves will really care about when he sends Csaba back to his favorite track to face likely favorite Valid and recent stakes winners Stormin Monarcho and Decisive Moment in Saturday’s $90,000 Eight Miles West Stakes.
The Eight Miles West is for 3-year-olds and up going a mile and is carded as the fourth race on a 10-race card.
Csaba has won 10 of his 14 starts at Gulfstream Park West/Calder since 2012, and his affinity for the track has Gleaves confident that Csaba can avenge his setback at the hands of Valid last month at Gulfstream Park.
“I don’t care what they call the place now, the racetrack is still the same as it’s always been, and it’s obviously Csaba’s favorite surface,” said Gleaves. “When he met Valid last month, Csaba made a premature move a quarter-mile into the race into a 22-second quarter, and that was that. But from his outside post on Saturday, he should be able to do anything he wants – go to the lead or stalk the others – depending upon what happens into the first turn.”
Valid splashed to a 1 3/4-length victory over Black Diamond Cat, with Csaba finishing a laboring third going a mile over a sloppy track under allowance conditions Sept. 11. That triumph avenged Valid’s second-place finish behind Csaba 10 months earlier in Calder’s Grade 3 Fred Hooper Handicap.
Trainer David Jacobson, who will campaign a stable of horses in south Florida for the first time this winter, has shipped Stormin Monarcho down from New York for the Eight Miles West off a nose victory over a wet track in Delaware Park’s Governor’s Day Stakes on Sept. 13.
Decisive Moment also enters the race off a hard-fought stakes triumph, leading throughout for a head decision in the Presque Isle Mile on Sept. 7.
The Chilean-bred Turco Bravo, making his U.S. debut, and Valid’s uncoupled stablemate, Midnight Cello, complete the lineup.
Key contenders
Valid (Last 3 Beyers: 98-101-110)
◗ He has been a model of consistency for trainer Marcus Vitali since being purchased at the 2013 Saratoga dispersal sale, having won 5 of his last 11 starts while off the board just once during that period.
◗ Vitali and jockey Orlando Bocachica have been a red-hot combination over the past 30 days, winning with 9 of their last 22 starters, with return on investment of $3.40.
Csaba (Last 3 Beyers: 92-77-94)
◗ Six of his 10 victories at Gulfstream Park West/Calder have come in stakes, including back-to-back renewals of the Grade 3 Fred Hooper.
Stormin Monarcho (Last 3 Beyers: 102-96-101)
◗ He has posted triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in four of his last six starts, including a career-best 107 going a mile last spring at Delaware Park, but he has yet to try the Gulfstream Park West surface.
Decisive Moment (Last 3 Beyers: 90-82-91)
◗ Like Csaba, he has always run well at his home course of Gulfstream Park West/Calder, with 2 wins and 8 in-the-money finishes in 11 starts here.
◗ He has always been at his best on the lead, and the key to his chances in the Eight Miles West is whether he can clear off early from Valid and Csaba without a struggle.