Gulfstream Park: Fawkes gets Apriority good again

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer David Fawkes will be in action in a big way on opening day of Gulfstream’s championship meeting Saturday, having entered horses in six of the 10 races on the card, including longshot Steve in the $100,000 Pulpit and Stately Defence for the main track only in the $100,000 Wait a While Stakes.

Fawkes will go into the new meet on a roll after sending out a revitalized Apriority to capture the main event last Sunday on the final day of Gulfstream’s inaugural summer session. Apriority won the six-furlong optional-claiming dash by five lengths for his first win since he captured the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector on Dec. 31, 2011.

“He’s always had nagging foot issues,” Fawkes said. “I put some glue-on shoes on his feet a couple of months ago, and since that time I could see a difference in his attitude and his works. He was training really well coming into this last start and he really showed himself off in the paddock the other day. He got in the right spot, and I think he got his confidence back with this performance.”

Fawkes, who’ll have 25 horses stabled at both Gulfstream and the Palm Meadows training center this winter, said he would consider either the Sunshine State for Florida-breds on Dec. 8 or the Mr. Prospector three weeks later for Apriority’s final start of the year.

“I’ll probably lean towards the Mr. Prospector because I’ve already got Bahamian Squall for the Sunshine State,” Fawkes said. “He’s about 99 percent certain to run in there, and I’d like to keep the two of them apart if I can.”