Gunnevera continues working toward Woodward

Gunnevera continues to thrive on the comeback trail and had his most recent workout Saturday, breezing a bullet five furlongs in a minute over a fast surface at Gulfstream Park West.

Trainer Antonio Sano told Gulfstream Park publicity he hopes to find a suitable race for the 4-year-old colt early next month at Gulfstream as a prep for the Grade 1 Woodward on Sept. 1 at Saratoga. The Saturday breeze was the fourth for Gunnevera since he returned to training after having about 60 days off the track.

Gunnevera has not raced since suffering a hoof injury when finishing eighth in the March 31 Dubai World Cup. Top efforts last year for the son of Dialed In included a victory in the Fountain of Youth and a runner-up finish in the Travers.

“We’ve had no issues with him these last few weeks and have taken our time with him,” Sano said.

Gunnevera has earned more than $2.9 million, although $1.3 million of that total came from a third-place finish in the Jan. 27 Pegasus World Cup following payment of a $1 million entry fee.

Fundraising for Hoffman

John Hoffman, who has worked his entire adult life in the racing industry in a variety of behind-the-scenes positions, has been diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphatic throat cancer and was scheduled to begin treatment this week.

Hoffman, 66, served the last 13 years as the stall superintendent and general manager at the Palm Meadows training center in Boynton Beach after working on numerous other circuits, including as a racing official and jockey agent in Kentucky and Chicago. Aside from Medicare, he has no insurance coverage, and former trainer Mary Jo (Lohmeier) Trotter has started a GoFundMe campaign on his behalf. The link is gofundme.com/john-hoffman.

Baxter gets second winner

With trainer Ralph Ziadie contemplating retirement because of licensing issues, his longtime assistant Georgina Baxter has assumed the training of some of his high-percentage stable, including horses owned wholly or in partnership by the Averill Racing LLC of Richie Averill.

“Georgina has worked for us over five years and does a great job,” Averill said.

Baxter had her second winner from five starts when Fallen Leaf rolled to victory Sunday in an off-the-turf allowance sprint, giving apprentice rider Reylu Gutierrez his third winner of the day.

Thursday turf feature

An open first-level allowance with a $47,000 purse stands as the highlight of a nine-race Thursday program. Mahvelous Kitten, a consistent performer since being claimed in January by Armando de la cerda for Midwest Thoroughbreds, could come a slight favorite in an oversubscribed field of fillies and mares scheduled to go 7 1/2 furlongs on turf.

First post is 2 p.m. Eastern, with the feature set for 4:08 and the last race for 6:24. An allowance restricted to Florida-breds (race 3, 3:00) also is on the program.

The next Gulfstream stakes comes Sunday with the $75,000 Coast Is Clear for 3-year-olds and up.

◗ Unswept since a mandatory payout was held June 30 with the close of the spring meet, the carryover jackpot in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 begins this week at $318,884, representing 10 days of buildup since the 56-day summer meet began July 1. The Thursday sequence spans races 4-9.