HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A filly named Gambling Cat has been defeated by a combined total of 50 lengths in her two starts since a debut victory in September – and yet she’s still likely to be among the top wagering choices in the Friday feature at Gulfstream Park. Turning back from longer races, Gambling Cat will garner plenty of attention in the only allowance on a 10-race Friday card, a five-furlong first-level turf dash for 3-year-old fillies carded as the ninth race. First, she’ll be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., and second, she’ll be treated with Lasix for the first time. :: Enhance your handicapping with DRF’s Gulfstream Park Clocker Report After earning a 73 Beyer Speed Figure in winning a one-mile maiden race on the Belmont turf a little more than four months ago, Gambling Cat “was pretty rank” prior to faltering in each of her next starts, noted her trainer, Mike Maker. Those were the Grade 2 Jessamine at Keeneland and a Dec. 12 allowance at Gulfstream, both going two turns on turf. “Let her be rank going these five-eighths and we’ll see what happens,” Maker. “I do think Lasix could make a difference, too.” Gambling Cat will break from post 3 under the ever-popular Ortiz, who began this week with a 55-53 lead over Luis Saez atop the 2020-21 championship meet standings. Bred by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, Gambling Cat is a daughter of Kitten’s Joy owned by Mike Repole, who bought her for $80,000 as a 2-year-old last April at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. auction. Because of many recent rules changes affecting Lasix treatment for 2-year-olds, most of the fillies in this race will be racing on the bleeder medication for the first or second time. Flash Town (post 4, Joe Bravo) is the only starter in here going Lasix-free. The top challengers to Gambling Cat appear to be Magical Soul (post 2, Junior Alvarado) and Fouzia (post 6, Edgard Zayas), the second- and fourth-place finishers under similar conditions here Jan. 1, as well as La Libertee (post 7, Saez), who gets a fresh start following an auspicious beginning to her career last summer in Kentucky. La Libertee has won both her starts, a maiden sprint on turf at Ellis Park in August and the Untapable at Kentucky Downs in September. Rounding out the lineup are Danessa Baby (post 1, Paco Lopez) and Can’t Buy Love (post 5, Tyler Gaffalione), a Ramsey homebred who is trained by Maker. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern on Friday, when cloudy skies and a high of 72 are in the local forecast. The feature is part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 5-10) that began with an empty jackpot Wednesday following a Sunday forceout.