Gulfstream Park: Groupie Doll gears up for career finale

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Reigning female sprint champion Groupie Doll arrived early Tuesday afternoon at trainer Buff Bradley’s barn at Gulfstream Park, where she will continue preparations for what will be the final start of her racing career later this winter.

Groupie Doll, the leading contender to win a second consecutive title when the 2013 Eclipse Awards are announced here Jan. 18, will be bred to Tapit following her retirement.

Groupie Doll, who was purchased by Mandy Pope in November as a broodmare prospect, was sent to GoldMark Farm in Ocala shortly after concluding her 2013 campaign with a troubled fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile. Three weeks earlier at Santa Anita, Groupie Doll successfully defended her Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint title with a hard-fought, three-quarter-length victory over Judy the Beauty.

“She’s been with Todd Quast at GoldMark, where they’ve been galloping her and had a light breeze with her Saturday, something very easy just to let her stretch her legs,” Bradley said.

Bradley said he is considering several options for Groupie Doll’s farewell appearance, the Santa Monica Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 25, the Hurricane Bertie at Gulfstream on Feb. 9, or the Barbara Fritchie at Laurel on Feb. 15.

“I think the race at Santa Anita is going to be a little too close,” Bradley said. “We’re also looking at the race here and the one at Laurel if we decide she needed an extra week. The plan is to run her once more, then retire her for breeding. Mandy really wanted to see her do well in her silks, and I think she can do well, so we’ll take a good shot at it as long as she’s 100 percent.”

Bradley also was confident Groupie Doll would be voted champion in her division once again in 2013.

“I think that she deserves it,” Bradley said. “She came down here last winter and just wasn’t right. She was sick. She wasn’t traveling well. She just wasn’t herself. But I knew if we gave her the time, she could come back and win the championship again and I think she showed them by beating all the good ones in her division in the Breeders’ Cup.

“It was a tougher field this year, and she turned them back and proved to all the doubters she could do it,” he added. “I think she was just as good as she was last year. I really do.”

Bradley said Groupie Doll would go right to the track Wednesday and could have an easy breeze here as early as Saturday morning.