Florida-breds featured in three allowance races

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Florida-breds will be in the spotlight Friday at Gulfstream Park with a trio of allowance races for statebreds on the card, two over the main track and the third scheduled for the turf. Each event offers a $43,000 purse.

The first of Friday’s co-features (race 6) is for older horses at a mile on the dirt and drew a field of seven, with Parx invader Roan Mountain and former $8,000 claimer Chucky likely to vie for favoritism.

Roan Mountain has made 30 starts but, oddly enough, none in races restricted to Florida-breds. A 5-year-old son of First Dude, Roan Mountain began his career locally during the winter of 2020 with trainer John Kimmel, winning his maiden at third asking under a $12,500 claiming tag. He changed hands shortly thereafter and shipped to Parx, where he’s remained and had a good measure of success ever since.

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Roan Mountain has won four races at Parx and proved a popular item at the claim box along the way. He was haltered four times within a 10-week span last summer before winding up with his present owner, Mark Schwartz, who shipped him locally to trainer Victor Barboza Jr. to finally take advantage of his Florida-bred conditions.

Roan Mountain, a two-turn specialist of late, will turn back to a one-turn mile on Friday while coming off a pair of second-place finishes that include a near-miss against $16,000 starter allowance competition over a muddy strip in his last start at Parx on March 9.

Chucky was claimed for $8,000 by trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. on Jan. 27 and stepped up to finish third against $25,000 starter rivals here last month. The 81 Beyer Speed Figure he earned that day is easily a career best. Chucky has raced exclusively at a one-turn mile here since he graduated at that distance last October. He has flourished in his six starts since then, winning twice and finishing second or third three times.

Nacho Papa and Hercules won this same condition last year and are competing under the optional claiming tag of $20,000.

The seventh race is slated to be run at five furlongs on the turf for fillies and mares, and also lured a field of seven with Joseph again a key player. He sends out The Great Kath and Psychic Ability, who both run for the $20,000 optional claiming tag.

The Great Kath, an eight-time winner, has been on the fringes over her last five starts, all at five or 5 1/2 furlongs. She hit the board in four of those appearances while competing over all three local surfaces: turf, dirt, and Tapeta. Psychic Ability won this condition here over a year ago but has started only four times since, most recently finishing fifth against open allowance company on the main track two months ago.

Simply the Best returned from an 11-month vacation to finish second as the 9-5 favorite under similar conditions here earlier this winter and is another key contender with expected improvement.

Fulminate, an easy four-length maiden winner in July in her only local start, is the only 3-year-old in the lineup. She’s been idle since finishing a tiring eighth and last in the Glorious Song Stakes on Oct. 30 at Woodbine, but has trained forwardly for her return.

It’s back to the dirt for the eighth race, a seven-furlong allowance dash for fillies and mares that looms extremely wide open. American of Course, the speedy No Decaf, Freak, and 3-year-old Sea Art perhaps are best of the group.