David finds perfect spot for Three Zero to rebound
?q=100)
Much of trainer Carlos David’s recent time with Three Zero has been spent navigating the condition book at Gulfstream Park. David has done well finding five-furlong synthetic sprints for the 5-year-old gelding, who has rewarded him with three victories in his last six starts.
After a poor race on Sept. 20, in which he chased close behind a 21.20 second opening quarter-mile, David decided to give Three Zero a short break through October. He said that he expects a renewed effort in Friday’s eighth race at Gulfstream, a $12,500 starter/$20,000 optional-claiming race.
“They get a little tired, running every 20, 25 days. Sometimes even 15 days,” David said. “So, I just saw the need to freshen up a little, give him like 45 days and then bring him back.”
Three Zero was steady but winless early in his 2025 campaign until David took a risk in April and entered him in a $12,500 claiming race. He knew the gelding was worth more, but he thought it was more important to improve his confidence. He won that race by 3 1/4 lengths and has since won two more, including a $40,000 claiming race in August, in which he earned a career-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure.
In both of the sprinter’s recent victories, he finished just ahead of Mr Narcissistic, who earned a victory over him in May and will look to even the score on Friday. The 7-year-old gelding will be returning from a three-month layoff for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., with his last race being a defeat to Three Zero in August. In 17 straight starts going back to November 2023, he has not finished worse than third, racking up eight victories on the synthetic at Gulfstream in that span.
“He’s a big rival,” David said of Mr Narcissistic. “They’ve been on, like, you’ll win one, I win another one. I think they go at each other well and they are around the same level. That’s definitely the horse to beat, or I have the horse to beat. And there are other horses in the race too. I mean, you never know. Sometimes you get a fresh horse in the race.”
Of the potential new faces David mentioned, the Laura Cazares-trained gelding Fast Fixer may have the best chance of disrupting the rematch. The 5-year-old spent most of the summer taking advantage of spots against Florida-breds, but he will re-enter open company after a photo-finish victory in a statebred allowance on Sept. 19.
In what is certain to be a growing trend in the coming weeks, two geldings from the Mid-Atlantic will make their first starts since shipping south for the winter.
Psychedelic Shack, now with trainer Mary Eppler, and Falfurrias, trained by Steve Klesaris, are both coming out of starter/optional-claiming races at Delaware Park on Sept. 10. They finished second in their respective races that day, though Falfurrias was elevated to first by disqualification after receiving several bumps in the stretch.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.