Daddy's Joy shortens up to more suitable distance

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A field of eight Florida-bred fillies and mares will clash Friday in the race-9 feature at Gulfstream Park, a $44,000 first-level allowance going five furlongs on turf.

Daddy’s Joy, returning to a more suitable distance after finishing second around two turns Dec. 12, figures as a major contender when breaking from post 8 under Edgard Zayas.

“We’ve been wanting to try her at a slightly longer distance than this, but those races haven’t been filling,” said her trainer, Saffie Joseph Jr. “She’s sharp, she’s training well, so this might be the right kind of spot for her. I think she has a good chance.”

In all, Daddy’s Joy has raced four times, with a front-running maiden win going five furlongs in early September being her lone prior score. The chestnut daughter of Daddy Long Legs is owned by Slam Dunk Racing and Myracehorse.com.

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Probably the top threats to Daddy’s Joy in the Friday headliner are La Cara Bonita and Song River.

La Cara Bonita (post 3), trained by Victor Barboza Jr., retains leading jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. following a Jan. 29 triumph in a turf sprint restricted to “never-won-two” $20,000 claimers.

Song River (post 5, Tyler Gaffalione), trained by Cherie Devaux, seems a key “under” proposition for vertical wagers, having finished second or third in 5 of 13 career starts, including a runner-up finish for these same conditions in her most recent start Jan. 22.

Rounding out the cast are Charlotte the Brit, Miss Miami, Follow Me Mom, True Heiress, and a curiously spotted maiden, Arch of Fire.

First post for a 10-race Friday card otherwise composed entirely of maiden and/or claiming races is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. Post time for the nominal feature is 5:16.

Following a very rainy Tuesday, all turf races were moved to the Gulfstream main track when another five-day race week began here Wednesday with a 10-race card. However, dry conditions were in the local forecast throughout the rest of this week, so grass racing was likely to resume as scheduled by Friday, if not before.

The feature is part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 5-10) that is expected to offer a pool guarantee of about $400,000, assuming the jackpot was not swept Wednesday or Thursday by a solo winning ticket. The Rainbow 6 was forced out last Saturday.

Meanwhile, Joseph said he and the ownership partners in Mischevious Alex remain undecided whether to send the standout sprinter to the March 27 Golden Shaheen in Dubai or remain stateside for the April 3 Carter at Aqueduct.

“We’re probably close to 50-50 toward going to Dubai, but we’ve got a couple more weeks to think about it,” he said.

Mischevious Alex, owned by Cash Is King Racing and LC Racing, was an easy winner of the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint last Saturday.