Early speed reigns at Summit of Speed

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Any time you hold an event called the Summit of Speed, the key word is “speed.” That surely was the case Sunday at Gulfstream because if you didn’t have a horse with pure speed out of the gate, there wasn’t much chance of winning any of the four graded stakes on the outstanding 12-race program.

All four graded stakes winners Sunday were either on the lead throughout or within a length of it while racing over a track that seemed to get faster as the day progressed. Favorite Tale put a punctuation mark on the afternoon when he ran away on the lead from a stellar group that included reigning sprint champion Work All Week to register a resounding victory in the Grade 2 Smile Sprint. Thirty minutes earlier, Merry Meadow stalked pacesetter Flutterby before asserting her class and edging away to victory in the Grade 2 Princess Rooney.

The scenario was the same in the two Grade 3 stakes for 3-year-olds, the Azalea and Carry Back, both at seven furlongs. Dogwood Trail set the pace, then had enough left over the speed-conducive track to turn back the favored Huasca and capture the Azalea. In the Carry Back, Grand Bili was even better, getting pressed through a sizzling 43.76-second opening half-mile before holding off a belated bid from odds-on favorite Barbados.

Favorite Tale and Merry Meadow earned automatic berths in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and BC Filly and Mare Sprint by virtue of their performances in the six-furlong Smile Sprint and Princess Rooney. Favorite Tale is not Breeders’ Cup eligible, but his connections indicated after the race that he is likely to accept the bid. Merry Meadow is Breeders’ Cup eligible, but trainer Mark Hennig said he and his owners would have to decide if the seven-furlong Filly and Mare Sprint is “optimal” for their mare. Merry Meadow has won three graded stakes here this year but none at longer than 6 1/2 furlongs.

To their credit, the connections of the second-place finishers in both Win and You’re In races offered few excuses in defeat.

Richard Papiese, the owner of Midwest Thoroughbreds, said Work All Week cut himself when he banged the starting gate prior to the Smile Sprint, but Papiese did not blame the injury for the horse’s loss to Favorite Tale. Work All Week, the reigning BC Sprint champion, has finished second in both of his starts this year.

Luca Panici, who rode Flutterby in the Princess Rooney, said after the race, “We have no excuse. She ran huge; she tried hard. I don’t have a complaint.”

Although older horses took center stage Sunday, 2-year-olds will be the focus around here for the remainder of the summer, and several served notice that they will be forces to reckon with during the second half of the season.

The most notable juvenile performance on the card was turned in by Ballet Diva, who cruised to a 4 1/2-length victory in the Cassidy Stakes. Despite being geared down, she ran the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.06, nearly 1 1/2 seconds faster than Francesco Blue’s winning time in the Birdonthewire Stakes at the same distance one race earlier. The Cassidy was the second consecutive one-sided victory for Ballet Diva, a homebred daughter of Hear No Evil who captured her debut by more than a dozen lengths.

“She accelerates at the end there, so she’s certainly not at the bottom of the tank,” said Stanley Gold, who trains Ballet Diva for owner and breeder Jacks or Better Farm.

Gold said he believes Ballet Diva and the rest of the Jacks or Better homebreds will stay in town for the lucrative Florida Sire Stakes series, which begins next month.

“I believe we’ll stay for the Stallion Stakes because we support the program, and the purses are up quite a bit this year,” said Gold. “But the final decision rests with the owner.”

Jockey Juan Leyva was the star on the opening half of Sunday’s card, winning three races, including the Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint aboard 8-5 favorite Successful Native for trainer Aubrey Maragh. Earlier on the card, Leyva combined with trainer Bill Kaplan to sweep the two maiden juvenile dashes on the program with first-time starters Danbury and Paddy’s Flight.

“Danbury is a very fast, precocious horse,” said Kaplan. “He turned in a terrific effort overcoming the traffic he encountered turning for home. And the filly [Paddy’s Flight] is really going to be better going longer. I’m excited about both of them.”

Other notable performances on the Summit of Speed card were turned in by jockey Javier Castellano and the team of trainer Gustavo Delgado and owner Grupo 7C Racing Stable. Castellano captured three stakes, including the Princess Rooney aboard Merry Meadow. His other two wins came for Delgado and Grupo 7C aboard Grand Bili in the Carry Back and Grand Tito in the $75,000 Miesque’s Approval Stakes.