Diversity major factor in Claiming Crown dirt races

The four Claiming Crown dirt races Saturday that precede the richest race in the 20th annual series, the $200,000 Jewel, range in distance from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles, one illustration of the diversity in the popular event at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Those four races – the Glass Slipper, Iron Horse, Express, and Rapid Transit – all drew large, competitive fields, and handicappers had better get tied on before digging in. There are details galore to be analyzed and scrutinized, with each race’s distance just one critical variable that could make the difference between cashing a big ticket or suffering a brutal beat.

Here’s a rundown of the four races:

Glass Slipper (race 8, 3:26 Eastern)

Bella Vincenza was an odds-on winner on Preview Day in early November at Gulfstream Park West, and her outside post in a full gate of 14 fillies and mares should afford her and jockey Luca Panici a clean trip in this one-turn mile. She’s one of a handful of likely favorites in a typical Claiming Crown jumble, along with a California shipper, Ransomed, and a trio trained by Jorge Navarro.

Starship Reina, who came to top form over the summer, is foremost among the Navarro trainees, having earned an 89 Beyer Speed Figure two starts back. The other Navarro runners are Misschief Maas and Radiantrithym.

“This is a day I always look forward to,” Navarro said. “Claiming horses are what made me.”

The Glass Slipper leads off the final 50-cent pick four of the day, on races 8-11, a sequence ending with the Jewel.

Iron Horse (race 6, 2:20)

Does Twocubanbrothersu have one more big effort in him? A winner of a remarkable 23 races from 56 career starts – including a win and a second in two Claiming Crown starts – the 8-year-old gelding went off form this summer for trainer John Rigattieri, who has been intent for the last couple of months on regrouping him for this 1 1/16-mile race. Three November breezes at Tampa Bay Downs suggest Twocubanbrothersu isn’t to be ignored in defense of the race he won here last December in gate-to-wire fashion.

Otherwise, Navarro figures prominently with the threesome of Guns of Steel, Donji, and Salsa’s Return. Of those, Guns of Steel might rate the best chance, given the way he has trained since being claimed out of his most recent start in mid-September at Penn National. The 6-year-old Pennsylvania-bred figures to sit a nice trip after breaking from post 1 under Emisael Jaramillo.

Other possibilities in a deep cast of 14 include Moon Gate Warrior, a winner in five of seven starts since being claimed by trainer Louis Linder Jr.; Quenane, a six-time winner over the local course; To Dare, a winner of his last two starts; and the Peter Walder duo of Lewis Vale and Cheech Thunder.

Express (race 4, 1:20)

Appealing Future, trained by Jason Servis, could be a slight favorite after earning a 92 Beyer at Parx Racing in his last start, but this six-furlong race is filled with logical would-be winners from a field of 14.

One thing that’s for sure: the pace will be hot. Harryhee and Small Fortune are but two of maybe a half-dozen capable of leading past the half-mile pole.

If there’s a pace meltdown, one win possibility is Leadem in Ken, an 8-year-old Kentucky-bred who has enjoyed a terrific year in Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma by finishing first or second in eight of 10 starts, most of them stakes.

Rapid Transit (race 2, 12:20)

As the first of nine Claiming Crown events of the day, this seven-furlong race with no fewer than four Navarro runners should get the series off to an exciting start – especially with the Loooch Racing colorbearer Uno Mas Modela trying to prove his last-out stakes victory with a 102 Beyer during Breeders’ Cup week at Churchill Downs was no fluke.

Trained by Anthony Quartarolo, Uno Mas Modelo won the Nov. 1 Bet On Sunshine to earn the career-high figure. He’ll break from the inside post in a field of 10 and will need another big effort to repel a Navarro contingent led by Chunnel, a grizzled earner of more than $400,000, and Sal the Turtle, in off back-to-back wins in New York.

The Rapid Transit leads off the first pick four (races 2-5) of an afternoon filled with numerous multi-race wagering opportunities.