Inter Miami's speed gives him edge in turf sprint
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Speed is a valuable commodity at any time over any surface, but particularly so in five-furlong turf races at Gulfstream Park. Hence the notion that Inter Miami could be tough to beat when he takes on just five rivals in Thursday’s $48,000 allowance feature.
Inter Miami should be loose on the lead under jockey Edgard Zayas when he runs on turf for just the third time in a 15-race career. A son of Big Drama, Inter Miami tried stakes company going a mile in his initial venture on grass when with trainer Alexis Delgado during the winter of 2020, finishing far back after setting the early pace. He did not return to the surface until his most recent start on Feb. 13, again against stakes foes, checking home a good fourth after contesting a very rapid pace in the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint.
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Now trained by Georgina Baxter, Inter Miami has proven particularly dangerous when able to shake loose on the lead, as he did when defeating allowance opposition going 6 1/2 furlongs late last summer at Parx Racing for the most recent of his four wins.
Citrus Burst, Mai Ty One On, and Yes I Am Free, the second-, fourth- and sixth-place finishers in the Silks Run Stakes here March 13, return to allowance company and are key players in the main event at their best.
Citrus Burst, who is in the best form of his career, came wide into the stretch to loom a major upset threat at midstretch of the five-furlong Silks Run before hanging a bit to finish 1 1/4 lengths behind wire-to-wire winner and 7-5 favorite Carotari. Mai Ty One On had his two-race win streak snapped in the Silks Run, falling back near the rear of the field and finishing 3 3/4 lengths back. A similar fate befell Yes I Am Free following a slow start, although he figures to prompt Inter Miami’s pace with a cleaner beginning in Thursday’s headliner.
Old Chestnut and No Needs Never are a couple of fresh faces to Florida. Old Chestnut, runner-up in the Grade 3 Quick Call last summer at Saratoga, has been away seven months but appears to be training forwardly over both the turf and dirt at the Palm Meadows training center. No Needs Never makes his U.S. debut after beginning his career by winning 2 of 14 starts and finishing second in a Group 3 in his native Ireland with trainer Joseph O’Brien. He now is trained by Philip Antonacci
◗ The season’s first baby race, carded for 2-year-old fillies on Thursday, failed to fill, although the open division of the same 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight dash goes Friday as the second race. The $65,000 race attracted a field of seven, including the fillies Laki Lio, Kitodan and Merlin. Merlin is owned by Arindel and trained by Juan Alvarado, who combined to capture the first two juvenile races here last spring.
◗ Saffie Joseph Jr. won five races over the weekend while jumping out to an already commanding lead in the trainer standings with 10 victories from just 23 starters over the first two weeks of the spring-summer meet. The last of those tallies was an impressive performance by Cultured, a son of Tiznow who rallied from far back to capture his career debut in Sunday’s second race.
J. Kent Sweezey and Antonio Sano are second in the trainer standings with three wins apiece.
Reigning spring-summer riding champ Edgard Zayas vaulted back to the top in the jockey race after posting a hat trick on Sunday’s card, giving him a 14-13 advantage over the recently arrived Edwin Gonzalez heading into Thursday’s program.