Divisidero all prepped up for Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – For a trainer, the first start back for a horse following a layoff is like a big gulp of medicine. You might not like it, but you know it’s probably going to help.

In that vein, Buff Bradley feels better now that Divisidero has a tightener under his belt. In his first race in seven months, Divisidero showed his usual closing kick when finishing third in the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale last month over the Gulfstream Park turf, and now it’s onward and upward for the rest of the year.

“You’d like to win them all, and he maybe could’ve even won that last one with a little better trip,” said Bradley. “But yes, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, he should be all set.”

Divisidero, a multiple graded stakes winner and earner of $737,450 for the Gunpowder Farms of Tom Keithley, will be one of the principals in the Grade 1, $350,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap on Saturday. Ectot is listed as the 122-pound highweight for the 1 1/8-mile race but is unlikely to run after having last breezed Jan. 7.

Divisidero, with Edgar Prado back to ride, has been assigned 118 pounds and figures among the core of favorites, along with Fort Lauderdale winner Flatlined (120) and whichever two or three horses Chad Brown enters among his six nominees, a group that includes Beach Patrol (119) and Almanaar (118).

Bradley, who is stabled in the far reaches of the Gulfstream barn area adjacent to the one-mile chute, said he is elated with how Divisidero came out of the Fort Lauderdale.

“When he got back for his bath afterward, it was like he hadn’t even run a race,” said Bradley. “The next few days, his energy level was high, and he’s trained great since then. Edgar breezed him Sunday and jumped off and said, ‘He’s right.’ So, we’re pretty excited.”

The 1 1/8-mile Gulfstream Turf is one of three graded races on a Saturday card that also will include the Grade 2, $350,000 Gulfstream Park Handicap and the Grade 3, $150,000 Suwannee River. Entries were to be drawn Wednesday.

The Gulfstream Handicap, a one-mile dirt race for older horses, is expected to have Tommy Macho (120), Sharp Azteca (118), and Squadron A (117) among the favorites. The Suwannee River is for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf.