Gulfstream Park: Sweet N Discreet in peak form entering Sabin

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – If there happened to be a Vegas prop bet Sunday on the Grade 2, $200,000 Sabin at Gulfstream Park, it might look something like this:

Team Pletcher, 6-5; Team Wolfson, 7-5; all others, 8-5.

Of course, no such offering exists, so horseplayers will have to make more specific picks from among two Todd Pletcher horses, three Marty Wolfson horses, or three other fillies and mares in a field of eight.

Pletcher will send out Sweet N Discreet and Private Ensign, both of them sharp last-out winners.

Sweet N Discreet (post 4, Joe Bravo), a Robsham Stables homebred, has really come to peak form since arriving in south Florida following the Saratoga meet, with three wins and two seconds from five local starts. The 4-year-old Discreet Cat filly has had two breezes at the Palm Meadows training center since a 1 1/2-length victory in the Jan. 18 Sunshine Millions Distaff at Gulfstream.

Private Ensign (post 8, John Velazquez) was making her first start under Pletcher’s care when returning from a layoff of eight-plus months to capture a second-level optional claimer at a mile here Jan. 15. The Siena Farms homebred also has breezed twice at Palm Meadows in the interim.

Wolfson, who will be represented in the 1 1/16-mile Sabin by Gamay Noir (post 1, Julien Leparoux), Kipling’s Joy (post 3, Paco Lopez), and Devil’s Cave (post 6, Javier Castellano), said Friday he intends to run all three.

“They’re all different types,” Wolfson said. “Devil’s Cave is a speed filly who really should’ve been four or five lengths in front last out,” when second to Sweet N Discreet in the Sunshine Millions. “She’s more a free-running type, and I’m sure Castellano will be letting her go Sunday.”

Wolfson said Gamay Noir and Kipling’s Joy “both might look like turf fillies, but boy, they’ve really trained well on the dirt. I think all three fillies are in there with a good shot.”

Among the others, Rose to Gold (post 2, Jesus Rios) rates the best chance. Based at Calder with Sal Santoro, the $1,400 yearling purchase has been a terrific rags-to-riches tale, having won 6 of 11 starts and $963,509. In her last start, she shipped to Texas to win the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic when reunited with Rios.

Triple Arch (post 5, Orlando Bocachica) and Angelica Zapata (post 7, Luis Saez) round out the Sabin lineup.

The Sabin, named for the top mid-1980s racemare trained by Woody Stephens, goes as the 10th of 11 races on a Sunday card that also includes one allowance (race 3), a first-level turf sprint for older horses. First post is 12:40 p.m. Eastern, with the Sabin going at 5:03.

◗ There will be racing at Gulfstream on Monday, normally a dark day, because of the Presidents Day holiday. Entries were drawn Friday.