Gulfstream Park: Star Harbour back on short rest in Mr. Prospector
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Bobby Dibona originally had no plans to run Star Harbour right back in Saturday’s $100,000 Mr. Prospector following his victory Dec. 8 in the Sunshine State Stakes. The trainers of the seven other horses entered in the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector wish Dibona hadn’t changed his mind.
Dibona said Star Harbour came out of his half-length victory over Jackson Bend in the Sunshine State so well that he decided to bring him right back in the six-furlong Mr. Prospector. Star Harbour was claimed by the Marco Thoroughbred Corp. for $35,000 out of an easy victory this summer at Saratoga and has run well in both his subsequent starts, finishing third in the seven-furlong Duck Dance overnight stakes at Belmont Park before shipping locally with Dibona to prove a wire-to-wire winner of the Sunshine State.
“I had no intentions of going into this race, but he came out of his last start so good, I thought we’d try him back in here,” Dibona said. “He’s happy, he’s had a couple of easy weeks since his last start, and best of all he’s turning back an eighth of a mile to six furlongs, which I think is probably his best distance. So, we should be in good shape.”
Star Harbour is fast and has done his best when able to make the lead. And Dibona is making no bones about his strategy for the Mr. Prospector. Paco Lopez will ride Star Harbour.
“It’s no secret what he wants to do, and anybody that wants to go with him better be ready to run, or he’ll put them in the ground,” Dibona said. “Paco knows him now, having ridden him for the first time in his last start, and he definitely has more confidence in him going six furlongs rather than seven. This way, he can step on the gas a little bit if he has to and still have something left at the end.”
Trainer David Fawkes sends out Apriority in the Mr. Prospector. He is hoping someone will give Star Harbour a little run for his money during the early stages of the Mr. Prospector to enhance Apriority’s chances of winning the race for the second time in three years.
“He really overcame a lot to win this race two years ago,” Fawkes said. “He stumbled at the start, tore a quarter, and still was able to win. It’s hard to say if he’s as good now as he was then, but he’s as good as he’s been in a long while.”
Apriority bounced back from several subpar performances to register a five-length victory in a strong allowance field here last month.
“My horse is tearing the barn down,” Fawkes said. “I’m just hoping there’s enough pressure on Star Harbour. If nobody goes with him, he’ll probably win again.”
Travelin Man finished a troubled third behind Apriority when returning from a five-month vacation last month, and is eligible to improve with that race under his belt. Travelin Man has won five of eight starts locally, including the Sir Shackleton Stakes in each of the past two years.
Black Diamond Cat, who posted two impressive stakes wins here this summer, also wheels back on short rest, looking to rebound from a seventh-place finish as the even-money favorite Dec. 14 in Calder’s Kenny Noe Jr. Handicap.
The Mr. Prospector will share top billing Saturday with the $100,000 El Prado Stakes, carded at a mile on turf. The El Prado drew a full field of 14 which includes defending champion Nikki’s Sandcastle, Salto, and Lea, who makes his first start since being transferred to trainer Bill Mott’s barn this fall.
Nikki’s Sandcastle finished full of run from near the rear of the field to register a three-quarter-length decision in the 2012 El Prado, and comes into Saturday’s race off the most important win of his career, a 1 1/4-length triumph in the Grade 2 Fayette at Keeneland.
Salto has started just twice since checking home third a year ago behind Nikki’s Sandcastle in the El Prado. Salto exits a neck allowance decision here Oct. 13.
Lea, a Grade 3 winner last year, was hung wide while beaten three lengths by Nikki’s Sandcastle in the Fayette and could face a similar fate after drawing post 14 for the El Prado.