Hope in Him back on Tapeta for Bob Umphrey Sprint
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Hope in Him will return to his preferred surface, Gulfstream Park’s Tapeta track, but must handle a distance perhaps a little out of his comfort zone when going postward the likely favorite in Sunday’s $75,000 Bob Umphrey Sprint. The nine-race program also includes a competitive $60,000 overnight handicap to be decided at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.
Hope in Him has captured his last five starts over Tapeta, the last four since being haltered by trainer Barry Croft in the interests of Kick Start Farm for $12,500 out of the first of those five wins eight months earlier.
Hope in Him’s biggest asset throughout the streak has been his abundant speed, with all five victories coming in gate-to-wire fashion, including his most recent win, a game half-length optional-claiming and allowance victory on April 16. But handicappers will likely take note that each of those five tallies came at five panels. The Umphrey Sprint will be run at 5 1/2 furlongs.
Warrior’s Pride, who set the pace before finishing a tiring fifth in the 2022 Bob Umphrey Sprint, was expected to give Hope in Him an early run for his money when the pair met five weeks ago but was never a factor after failing to break alertly and getting jostled by another rival shortly after the start. Warrior’s Pride has since come back to post a pair of bullet works over the main track, including a 46.40-second half-mile on June 24 and is projected to prove a serious pace factor Sunday.
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Like Hope in Him, both Wora and Uncle B have had considerable success on the Tapeta track. Wora would likely be the main beneficiary if the pace is hot. He exits what appears to have been a much-needed outing when finishing an even third returning from a seven-month vacation on June 2.
Wora closed his 2022 campaign by capturing three of his last four starts, all over the synthetic track, while rallying from just off the early leaders on each occasion.
Uncle B ran too good to lose his last start when beaten a nose by Siglioso after contesting the pace in a 5 1/2-furlong starter allowance over Tapeta here last month. The 9-year-old veteran figures to be a forward factor from the outset after having drawn the rail in a field of eight that also includes No Name Dude, Classicstateofmind, Competitive Saint, and Xy Speed.
◗ Steal Sunshine, overmatched against Cody’s Wish in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Sprint in his previous start, returns to a more suitable spot in the co-featured sixth event, which lured a field of seven older horses, including The Skipper Too and Noble Drama.
Steal Sunshine was beaten 11 1/4 lengths by reigning sprint champion Cody’s Wish when returning to Kentucky for the first time since winning the Ellis Park Derby in August. While Steal Sunshine’s best efforts for the most part have come in one-turn races, trainer Bob Dibona feels 1 1/16 miles may ultimately prove to be right up his alley.
“I think he’s a horse still searching a little bit for his true identity,” Dibona said. “I don’t think his past performance line really shows how well he ran at Churchill Downs. I thought he was still running and trying hard at the end. And the way he gallops out with such energy after his races leads me to believe this [two turns] is really what he wants to do. Hopefully, he’ll show he’s truly a two-turn horse on Sunday.”
The Skipper Too has been at his best going a mile for the most part, a distance at which he registered a career-high 92 Beyer Speed Figure winning a mid-level optional-claiming and allowance race in his latest try on May 27.
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