Friday turf allowance sprint comes up strong

MIAMI – For a five furlong first-level allowance and optional claimer restricted to statebreds on the turf, Friday’s $38,000 main event at Gulfstream Park West attracted a pretty strong bunch. One of the keys to the race is how Kantharos’ Image will return off a 10-month layoff for trainer Steve Klesaris.

Kantharos’ Image closed out his 2019 campaign with a win, a second and pair of third place finishes, with his victory coming over the Gulfstream Park West course against opposition similar to Friday’s in early November. Now 7, Kantharos’ Image shows just four works prepping for his return, all at three furlongs over the main track at Gulfstream Park. He will compete under a $20,000 price tag on Friday while breaking from post 2 under jockey Hector Berrios.

:: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more.

Harry’s Ontheloose has switched barns since his latest outing, returning to Herman Wilensky, who trained the son of Uncaptured to a win in five starts as a 2-year-old in 2018. Harry’s Ontheloose is coming off one of the best races of his career, a third-place effort behind turf sprint specialist Fully Loaded for which he earned an 86 Beyer Speed Figure five weeks ago at Gulfstream Park.

R Man Joe and Allegedly Perfect both defeated open 3-year-old allowance and optional-claiming opposition on the grass during the recently concluded spring-summer Gulfstream Park meet and loom major players against older horses in Friday’s headliner. R Man Joe looks like the stronger of the pair, having never finished worse than se