French Reef climbing back up the ladder

French Reef could be tough to run down when he tries to complete a hat trick in a first-level allowance race that carries a $25,000 claiming option at Gulfstream Park on Thursday. The five-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up drew seven horses for turf with Silverly Enough and Front Loaded entered as main track-only starters.

Post time for the first of nine races is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

French Reef showed a lot of promise when he won a maiden special weight race going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf for trainer Chad Brown in his first start in 2020 and just second ever. He received a 92 Beyer Speed Figure for his 4 1/4-length romp at Saratoga.

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However, the Irish-bred son of New Approach could not keep up as the heavy favorite in back-to-back first-level allowance races at Belmont Park and Brown dropped him into a $20,000 claimer for nonwinners of two at Gulfstream, where he was claimed by trainer Rohan Crichton.

French Reef did not fire in his first couple of starts for Crichton, but he showed signs of coming around when he just missed going five furlongs on turf in a $12,500 claimer for nonwinners of two on March 19. He followed that up with a six-length romp at the same level and distance April 15 and then took them all the way in a $16,000 starter race on May 21.

French Reef appears to need the lead to win, so he will have to be on his toes breaking from the inside post with Edwin Gonzalez picking up the mount from Emisael Jaramillo, who was abord for both of the wins.

Jaramillo sticks with Kantharos’ Image, who came from a stalking position to finish second in a first-level allowance race that carried a $25,000 claiming option on April 30. In his previous race he came from well back to win a $25,000 conditioned claimer. Both races were contested over turf, the latest over a course rated good.

Bred in Florida, the 8-year-old gelding by Kantharos is honest and has compiled a 5-6-5 record from 26 starts. He should have speed to run at and could get up in time with the right kind of trip after breaking from post 3.

Fair Haired Boy will attract some betting interest because leading jockey Edgard Zayas rides the 4-year-old son of Cairo Prince for leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who is winning races at a 30-percent clip at the meet.

This will be Fair Haired Boy’s first start since he finished fifth in the $200,000 Laurel Futurity on Sept. 21, 2019, though.

New York’s Finest looked good winning a $16,000 claimer April. 24 and could be dangerous making his first start for trainer Peter Walder, who the past five years has a 22-percent strike rate and $2.15 ROI first off the claim.