Gulfstream Mile winner Fearless a prospect for Oaklawn Handicap

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Fearless, a 5-year-old who scored a breakthrough victory in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Mile here Saturday, could make his next start in the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap on April 17, although that’s not yet written in stone, said Elliott Walden, president of WinStar Farm. WinStar owns Fearless with China Horse Club.

The Gulfstream Mile not only was the gelding’s first stakes win, but it also followed an eight-month layoff. Walden credited his team at WinStar in Versailles, Ky., led by Destin Heath, for having Fearless ready to roll, along with trainer Todd Pletcher.

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“Todd does what Todd does,” a beaming Walden said in a post-race television interview.

The win was the fourth on the day for Pletcher, who’s well on his way to the Gulfstream training title for the 17th time in the last 18 winters. Four of his five wins between the Saturday and Sunday cards at Gulfstream came for ownership entities that included Eclipse Thoroughbreds, which also had five winners during the same time frame (Annex, trained by Bill Mott, was the other Eclipse winner).

◗ Overshadowed by the sensational 12 1/2-length romp by Collaborate in a Saturday maiden race was a workmanlike runner-up finish by the debuting Bennyfromthebronx, a half-brother to Charlatan. Collaborate, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., goes next in a Kentucky Derby points qualifier, quite possibly the March 27 Florida Derby. Bennyfromthebronx, trained by Chad Brown for Peter Brant, got a 68 Beyer.