Giralamo's Attack surprises with Miami Beach Handicap victory

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - A lot of people were surprised to see Girolamo’s Attack come out on top at the end of Saturday’s $60,000 Miami Beach Handicap at Gulfstream Park. None more so, perhaps, than his trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.

Girolamo’s Attack, defeated a combined 29 lengths in his previous two starts at Saratoga, tossed his rider Edgard Zayas in the gate just prior to the start of the Miami Beach, then rallied from just off the pace to register a hard-fought three-quarter-length decision over 20-1 longshot Glory of Florida in the one-mile overnight handicap.

Pro Quality overcame an unlucky trip, rallying belatedly to finish third while never threatening the top pair. King Guillermo contested the early pace before finishing a tiring fourth in making his first start since finishing eighth and last in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Handicap on March 6.

Eye of the Jedi, the tepid 5-2 favorite, was done after six furlongs, checking in a disappointing seventh in the field of eight older horses.

The win was the fourth in 13 starts for Girolamo’s Attack, owned in partnership by Paul Braverman and John Fanelli LC Racing. He completed the distance in 1:35.95 over a fast track and paid $19.20.

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“To be honest with you, it was a big surprise to me that he won,” said Joseph, who an hour earlier won the Grade 3 Noble Damsel at Belmont Park with Shifty She.

“Today was a tough race. I thought if he ran his best, he could be close. Then he acted up in the gate and I thought everything was done. But he was impressive. At the quarter pole it looked like he was going to win pretty easily, and at the sixteenth pole I thought he might get beat. That other horse was coming to him and that’s where Edgard (Zayas) really made the difference. He got him to engage and find a bit more. That was him winning the race for sure.”

Joseph said he has learned a few things about Girolamo’s Attack over the course of the season.

“I think we’ve found out he doesn’t want to be rushed, and races like a one-turn mile and even a mile and one sixteenth are good for him, because you don’t have to rush him and he can still sit in a good spot.”

Joseph said he doesn’t have any idea what might be next for Girolamo’s Attack.

“I figured he’d get beat today and we’d go back into a two other than allowance,” Joseph said with a laugh. “Now I don’t know what we’ll do.”

Journeyman Stud Juvenile

Peter D showed an affinity for the new Tapeta surface while also handling two turns like an old pro when rallying to a 1 1/2-length victory over Mr Rum Runner to win his stakes debut in the $60,000 Journeyman Stud Juvenile. C My Meister finished third as the 2-1 favorite.

Peter D, a son of He’s Had Enough, also gave owner-trainer Andry Blanco the first stakes win of his training career.

Peter D had made only two previous starts coming into the one-mile, 70-yard Journeyman Stud Juvenile, winning his debut by 8 1/2 lengths going 5 1/2 furlongs over the main track this summer at Delaware Park while racing under a $25,000 claiming tag, before shipping locally to finish fifth trying turf for the first time in the five-furlong Hollywood Beach. He completed the distance over the all-weather surface in 1:44.67 and paid $11.00.

Juvenile Fillies Sprint

She’s So Beautiful won for the third time in her last four starts in rallying from just off the pace to a neck decision over the pacesetting favorite Sea Art in the $60,000 Khozan Juvenile Fillies Sprint. Demurely finished a similar margin back, finishing third in a blanket finish at the end of the seven-furlong dash for 2-year-old fillies decided on the main track.

She’s So Beautiful, whose modest two-race win streak ended in her last start when a well-beaten second behind Last Leaf over a sloppy strip, is a homebred daughter of Air Force Blue owned by Palm Beach Racing Partnership. She covered the distance in 1:25.28 under leading jockey Samy Camacho and returned $12.20.