Fast Flying Rumor eyes fourth straight win in Pelican Stakes
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Regardless of the surface, Fast Flying Rumor is one fast horse, and he’ll put that speed on display once again at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday in the $100,000 Pelican Stakes, where he’ll be gunning for a fourth straight victory at this meet. The six-furlong sprint for older horses drew a field of nine.
After a three-month freshening, Fast Flying Rumor ran in a pair of five-furlong turf races here, winning a rich optional claimer by 1 1/2 lengths on Dec. 11 and taking the $90,000 Turf Dash by 4 3/4 lengths on Jan. 9. Fast Flying Rumor earned a 108 Beyer Speed Figure in the Turf Dash, which track officials believe is the highest mark ever recorded here.
Fast Flying Rumor switched to dirt Feb. 5 to win a $50,000 optional claimer by 5 1/4 lengths with a 94 Beyer, the highest last-race mark in this field. The 4-year-old gelding will have Ronnie Allen Jr. aboard for the fourth straight race when he breaks from the No. 7 post.
“He’s coming into the race good,” trainer Gerald Bennett said. “It’s back quick, but the other two races were just five-furlong races. He’s training good and came out of that last race really good. He’s got an outside post, where he can track the speed, and I expect him to run a big race.”
KEY CONTENDERS
Fast Flying Rumor, by West Acre
Last 3 Beyers: 94-108-91
◗ He appears to be getting better with each start after being given a break last year and has shown an ability to win on the lead or tracking the pace.
Barbados, by Speightstown
Last 3 Beyers: 83-100-74
◗ This Grade 3 stakes winner ran a bang-up race to be second to eventual sprint champion Runhappy in the Grade 3 Phoenix last October before finishing 12th in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last out.
◗ Trainer Michael Tomlinson shows very profitable returns on investment in sprints, on dirt, and with runners coming back from breaks of 61 to 180 days. He appears to have Barbados set to fire fresh following a bullet five-furlong workout in 59.40 seconds at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 9 and a half-mile in 47.60 seconds there Feb. 2.
My Johnny Be Good, by Colonel John
Last 3 Beyers: 75-NA-47
◗ Following a 10-month layoff, he finished second to Tiger Tank, who returns in this spot, in a second-level optional $32,000 claimer here last month. He has every right to improve in his second start back following a bullet five-furlong work in 59.80 seconds here Monday.
El Grande Rojo, by Bowman’s Band
Last 3 Beyers: 82-91-NA
◗ He finished a well-beaten second to Fast Flying Rumor last out, but in his prior start here Dec. 30, he equaled the track record for seven furlongs of 1:21.40, dominating a second-level optional $32,000 claimer by seven lengths.