He's Got Talent heads Friday sprint feature

Trainer Jorge Navarro, who trails only Todd Pletcher in the trainer standings through the opening 12 days of the Gulfstream Park meet, will have a strong hand in Friday’s $43,000 feature when he sends out He’s Got Talent as the likely favorite in a field of 11 entered for the first-level optional $25,000 claimer at seven furlongs.

He’s Got Talent has been idle since finishing fourth in a similar allowance going six furlongs at Parx on Sept. 24. The Pennsylvania-bred He’s Got Talent has captured 2 of 6 starts since joining Navarro’s stable following a 15-month layoff last winter.

“I gave him, like many of my horses, some time off when we finally got down here since they’ve been going all year round and needed a little break,” said Navarro. “But he’s training well and ready to run a big race.

He’s Got Talent has run seven furlongs only once, finishing second in the Lyman Stakes at Parx in June.

“In that race, the rider sent him out to a ridiculously fast pace and he ran well just to be second,” Navarro said. “And that’s not a speed-favoring track. But you can be sure we’re going to put him on the lead again here on Friday.”

Homespun Hero appears the chief threat to He’s Got Talent. One of three 3-year-olds in the eighth-race feature, Homespun Hero will turn back to a more suitable distance after setting a contested pace and tiring to finish sixth in the 1 1/8-mile Claiming Crown Jewel on opening day. That outing came just 10 days after Homespun Hero dueled with Unbridled Outlaw from start to finish before settling for second in a seven-furlong allowance dash at Churchill Downs.

Frammento returns locally for the first time since finishing third as a 63-1 outsider in the 2015 Fountain of Youth. Frammento will be making his third start on the comeback trail after being sidelined for 14 months following his sixth-place finish in the 2015 Travers.

Nick Zito, who has won with his only two starters at the meet, will put blinkers back on Frammento for the first time since the 2015 Kentucky Derby. Zito is looking for an honest pace for his stretch-running gelding.