Gulfstream Park: Baffle Me brings rating ability into South Beach

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There was a time, earlier this season, when trainer Mark Hennig might have worried if his consistent turf filly Baffle Me drew into a race with a speedster like Silverette. But not anymore.

The formerly one-dimensional Baffle Me has become even more effective now that she has learned to rate, a trait that should serve her well when she tops a full field of 14 fillies and mares that includes Silverette in Sunday’s $100,000 South Beach at Gulfstream Park.

Baffle Me has had an outstanding campaign for Hennig, winning 3 of 9 starts while banking more than $211,000 for owner Lee Lewis. Two of those victories came earlier this fall in overnight stakes at Belmont Park, carbon-copy performances in which Baffle Me rated off the lead before rallying to convincing tallies under her new rider, Javier Castellano.

“She’s had a great year,” Hennig said. “She has been a difficult filly but she’s really matured a lot as the season’s gone on. She got rattled a bit in her first start at Saratoga, but she’s been just perfect ever since. And she loves Gulfstream.”

Hennig expects Baffle Me to again lay close to the pace in the South Beach, although he didn’t rule out seeing her in front if the race flow dictates.[bc_video_id:312150:]

“She’s really learned to settle nicely but going two turns she’s probably still going to show quite a bit of speed,” Hennig said. “She used to be dead set on being on the lead, but now if somebody wants to do more, she’s more than happy to let them do it and then go on and pick up the pieces.”

Baffle Me will share high weight of 121 pounds under the allowance conditions of the 7 1/2-furlong South Beach with Silverette, who was purchased by her current owner, Unlimited Equine, out of the Fasig-Tipton November sale and transferred to trainer Eddie Kenneally. The well-traveled Silverette began her career on dirt but really flourished once switching to the turf during the summer, winning a pair of five-furlong sprint stakes at Saratoga and Parx Racing, followed by a fourth-place finish when stretched to 5 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland.

[Clocker Reports: Get Mike Welsch’s clocker reports from Gulfstream Park and Palm Meadows]

“She’s been sprinting recently and certainly has moved up on grass,” Kenneally said. “This is two turns, and two turns is very different than one. We’re just hoping she’ll show she can handle it, because it would give us a lot more opportunities for her down the road going long rather than just short.”

Silverette’s ability to carry her speed two turns is one of many question marks for handicappers. Another is attempting to figure out what to expect from Ana Luisa, who makes her U.S. debut for trainer Todd Pletcher.

Ana Luisa won each of her first three starts in her native Brazil, including a pair of group races, before suffering her first defeat when finishing second against Group 1 company in her most recent start June 29.

European invader Dauphine Russe figures to improve off her lone North American start, a fifth-place finish in Belmont Park’s one-mile Pebbles Stakes.

Young talent on display

Sunday’s 10-race card also will include a first-level optional $75,000 claiming race for 2-year-olds going a mile that lured several promising runners, led by Hy Kodiak Warrior, Coup de Grace, and Prudhoe Bay.

Hy Kodiak Warrior finished first in a similarly conditioned event three weeks ago only to be disqualified after racing greenly through the stretch. She will be equipped in blinkers for the first time Sunday.

Coup de Grace and Prudhoe Bay were impressive debut winners for trainers Chad Brown and Eddie Plesa Jr. Coup de Grace, a son of Tapit, earned an 85 Beyer Speed Figure capturing her only start Nov. 9 at Aqueduct, while Prudhoe Bay, by Songandaprayer, rallied from the rear of the pack to win going 5 1/2 furlongs here the following day.

Harlan’s Holiday nominees

Next week’s main event, the $100,000 Harlan’s Holiday, drew 24 nominations. Among the top names on the list is the multiple graded stakes winner Neck ’n Neck, who has not started locally since his fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Florida Derby during spring 2012. Bourbon Courage and Finnegans Wake, fourth and sixth, respectively, in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap, and recent graded stakes winners Nikki’s Sandcastle and River Seven also were among the nominees for the 1 1/16-mile Harlan’s Holiday .

◗ There is no live racing scheduled here Wednesday, although fans hankering for a little extra action can come out at the regular 12:40 p.m. Eastern post time and wager on a couple of special races, to be run under the auspices of the Gulfstream Park Thoroughbred After Racing Program. The abbreviated program will consist of two races, both to be decided at 150 yards, for a purse of $5,000 apiece.