Gulfstream Park: Clement has two shots to win Orchid for seventh time
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
Trainer Christophe Clement will seek a seventh victory in the Grade 2, $150,000 Orchid Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on Saturday at Gulfstream Park with the uncoupled entry of Aigue Marine and Antonia Autumn.
Aigue Marine finished seventh in this race as the favorite a year ago after winning an allowance race in her previous start. This year, Aigue Marine comes off a solid second-place finish behind Inimitable Romanee in the Grade 3 The Very One, her first start of the year.
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Aigue Marine will break from the rail under Joel Rosario.
Antonia Autumn, a half-sister to multiple champion Gio Ponti, makes her stakes debut after winning a pair of allowance races earlier in the meet.
Julien Leparoux rides from post 4.
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Inimitable Romanee ended her 5-year-old season last year with a victory in the Grade 3 Long Island Handicap and began her 6-year-old season with a win in the Grade 3 The Very One.
Inimitable Romanee breaks from post 5 under Alan Garcia and is the 123-pound highweight.
Caroline Thomas finished fifth in the Suwannee River at 1 1/8 miles on Feb. 8. Trainer Barclay Tagg is adding blinkers to her equipment. On March 19, she worked five furlongs in a reported 56.80 seconds over the turf at Palm Meadows.
“I wanted to wake her up a little,” Tagg said. “I know she’s got talent. We weren’t getting it out of her. I always thought she can go a distance and she has enough tactical speed if she uses it.”
Luis Saez rides Caroline Thomas from post 6.