Gulfstream: Sweet Whiskey overcomes sluggish start to take Old Hat

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Todd Pletcher said the moment he picked up the overnight sheet for Saturday’s program at Gulfstream Park and saw Sweet Whiskey had drawn the rail for the $100,000 Old Hat, he knew his filly would have to leave the gate running or be in for an eventful trip in the Grade 3 dash for 3-year-old fillies.

Sure enough, Sweet Whiskey did not break sharply and wound up trapped behind a wall of horses during the opening half-mile of the six-furlong Old Hat. But under patient handling from jockey Javier Castellano, Sweet Whiskey found ample room to slip through rivals to launch her bid turning for home and she drove away to an impressive 2 3/4-length decision over stablemate Co Cola.

The Old Hat was marred when Side Street stumbled suddenly and broke down inside the sixteenth pole. Side Street was euthanized after the race while jockey Jesus Castanon walked away from the frightening spill without any apparent serious injuries.

Sweet Whiskey is a daughter of Old Fashioned owned by Alto Racing LLC. The Old Hat was her first start since finishing second in the Grade 2 Matron at Belmont Park more than three months ago. She completed the distance over a fast track in 1:10.63 and paid $5.40.

Co Cola circled four wide rallying into the stretch but proved no match for the winner while easily second best. Aurelia’s Belle passed the early pace duelers Zensational Bunny and Milam to be up for third following the tragic accident in late stretch.

“When I picked up the overnight and saw we drew the one hole I kind of said ‘ah’ and knew it would force our hand a little bit and make sure we left there running,” said Pletcher. “ She didn’t get a super break. She broke in a little and a couple of horses got good starts and squeezed her out a little bit. She was in kind of a situation she hadn’t been in before along the inside and behind horses, but I thought she handled it really well. She took the dirt great and had plenty left when the time came.”

Pletcher said he will monitor Sweet Whiskey coming out of the race before deciding whether to bring her back in the Grade 2 Forward Gal at seven furlongs here on Jan. 25.