Imaboutago, Karaya meet a second time

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Three months after they debuted against each other, Imaboutago and Karaya renew acquaintances Thursday in a first-level/optional $75,000 claiming race scheduled for five furlongs over Gulfstream Park’s turf course.

On Dec. 8, Imaboutago, after breaking a step slow, was sent to the lead by Paco Lopez, set fast fractions, and kicked clear in the stretch to win by 2 1/2 lengths over Turf Rocket. It was another length back to Karaya in third.

“She didn’t break very well in her first start, I expect her to break a little better this time now that she’s had a race,” trainer Wesley Ward said.

Ward said he had tried to run Imaboutago before this, but a race that was scheduled for the turf ultimately wound up being run on the Tapeta and Ward scratched.

“I wanted to run on the grass,” Ward said.

Imaboutago, who gets Lasix for the first time Thursday, will break from post 4 under Tyler Gaffalione.

Imaboutago may have to deal with some early pace pressure from Rainy Knight, a front-running maiden winner on turf Jan. 26.

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Horses coming out of the Dec. 8 race won by Imaboutago are a combined 3 for 18 since. Karaya is responsible for two of those wins, both coming on Gulfstream’s Tapeta surface.

The horses who finished behind Karaya in those races – Trumpets on Dec. 23 and Epona’s Hope on Jan. 14 – both came back to win their next starts. Trumpets won her race by 5 3/4 lengths.

“When she broke her maiden, the filly she beat came back to win pretty impressively,” said Mark Casse, trainer of Karaya. “She’s kept really good company. It looks like a good spot.”

Casse also sends out Demar’s Legacy, a filly who has won on dirt and synthetic from four starts and now tries turf for the first time.

Taprixie, trained by Terri Pompay, won the first time she tried the turf, getting up in the final strides in a five-furlong maiden race at 14-1 on Feb. 23. Pompay has won with four or her last 11 starters at Gulfstream since Feb. 9.

Madness, a daughter of Maximus Mischief, is coming off a runner-up finish in a first-level allowance in her first try on turf. That also was her first start on Lasix and with blinkers.

Fairhopecurly gets back on turf, a surface over which she has two wins and a third from four starts, after finishing last of 11 in this condition on Tapeta.

Quimchis has outrun her odds when finishing fourth in her last two starts at this level. She was 41-1 when finishing just behind Madness and Fairhopecurly in this condition Jan. 10.

Scorpia and Fast Motion complete the field.

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