Gulfstream Park notes: McGaughey brings in Honor Code

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Training hours at Gulfstream Park will get a little more interesting the rest of the winter now that trainer Shug McGaughey has shipped Honor Code down from his Payson Park base to continue preparations for his 3-year-old debut over local soil.

Honor Code visited the track for the first time here on Saturday morning, jogging once around on the outside fence over a sealed and muddy strip to get a feel for his new surroundings. Honor Code was taken out of consideration for the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth earlier this week by McGaughey, who reported the colt had missed 10 days of training at Payson after he developed bruising in his back ankles.

Honor Code, who last year outgamed Cairo Prince to win the Remsen following a second-place finish in the Grade 1 Champagne, was rated fourth in the Experimental Free Handicap rankings for 2-year-olds of 2013, released earlier this week.

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“I brought him down here because I want to be with him on a daily basis,” said McGaughey, who lives in the area and spends the majority of his mornings at Gulfstream. “I think what happened was that being off, and the stress of a new racetrack, might have gotten to him a little bit, being a young horse. He never had anything happen to him before this. The issue with his heels had nothing to do with the track at Payson, although I think a firmer track, like the one we have here, might help him a little, too.”

McGaughey said he has no plans to move Top Billing out of Payson and that the son of Curlin is a definite starter in the Fountain of Youth on Feb. 22. Top Billing is coming off an impressive allowance win here last weekend, his second victory in three career starts.

“He’s doing great and I’m going to point him for the Fountain of Youth,” said McGaughey. “If you asked me if I had my druthers, I wish the race was a week later. But that was the same thing last year with Orb, too. This way I won’t have to be shipping him around.”

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McGaughey also said he plans to run Imagining next Sunday in the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap. Imagining has won three of his last four starts, including the Grade 3 Red Smith Handicap in his 2013 finale. McGaughey won last year’s Gulfstream Park Turf with Point of Entry, who defeated Animal Kingdom in one of the best races of the 2013 session.

“Obviously this is another step up for Imagining, but I was so impressed with his race in the Red Smith that this was what was on my calendar,” said McGaughey. “And the race is not like last year. It’s not Point of Entry vs. Animal Kingdom.”

Riding Ritvo readies for debut

The newest aspiring jockey on the grounds, Michael Ritvo, has a familiar ring to his name. Ritvo is the son of Gulfstream Park president and general manager Tim Ritvo and trainer Kathy Ritvo.

The younger Ritvo had been galloping and working horses at Parx in Pennsylvania with his uncle, trainer Mike Petro, earlier this winter before deciding to join his parents in Florida, where the weather is a bit more conducive to continuing preparations for his riding debut.

Ritvo was scheduled to work horses for trainers Joe Orseno and Wesley Ward on Sunday and another on Monday for his mom, the trainer of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man.

“The plan is to hopefully start riding here next month and be ready to get the mount on Mucho Macho Man in the Breeders’ Cup,” Ritvo said with a big grin. “Well at least to start riding next month.”

◗ Havana, who handed Honor Code his only defeat in the Champagne, breezed three furlongs in 37.75 at Palm Meadows on Saturday, his first work since finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Like Honor Code, he has been ruled out as a starter in the Fountain of Youth by his trainer, Todd Pletcher.