Jaramillo must ride My Dear Venezuela cleverly from rail
It’s not just the Kentucky Derby where drawing the rail can compromise a contender’s chances. Even in a six-horse field like the one entered for the $75,000 My Miss Gracie Stakes, the featured eighth race Sunday at Gulfstream Park, breaking from the fence can make things tricky.
The horse drawn on the rail, My Dear Venezuela, looks like a primary contender in the My Miss Gracie, a seven-furlong dirt race for Florida-bred fillies and mares. Trained by Bruno Tessore for owner Orlyanna Farm, My Miss Gracie gets the services of Emisael Jaramillo, the leading rider at the meet that began April 6, and that despite the fact the Jaramillo rode Too Clever By Half, another major player in the Sunday feature, to a blowout win in her last start.
But what ought Jaramillo do with My Dear Venezuela? The filly possesses speed, but will she be fast enough to stick with Too Clever By Half? And if My Dear Venezuela goes for it, will she become embroiled in a compromising duel?
It’s that sort of question that makes an outside draw, especially in a one-turn race, so much more comforting, but My Dear Venezuela might be good enough to win anyway. She’s a 3-year-old facing older, but that gets her a weight break from her five rivals, including nine big pounds from Too Clever By Half. And while the 2016 Old Hat wasn’t a sparkling edition of the race, it is a Grade 3, and My Dear Venezuela finished a creditable second there.
Too Clever By Half finally gets off the rail after breaking from the fence in her last three starts. Two of them produced open-length wins, including a nine-length victory earlier this year in a Florida-bred sprint similar to the My Miss Gracie, and her one loss in those three starts was narrow and came at a one-mile distance that’s probably farther than ideal. But Too Clever By Half has been in peak form for a couple of months now, and 8-year-olds don’t maintain that level indefinitely. Caution is advised at a presumably short price.
If Too Clever by Half and My Dear Venezuela tussle on the pace to both horses’ detriment, Savingtime might strike some bettors as an appealing, later-running alternative, but while Savingtime likes seven furlongs and has run well enough before to contend, she’s back from a layoff of nearly three months with a light work pattern.
How’s My Gold has started much more recently, won with a closing run at this distance two starts ago, and probably will be overlooked in the wagering. She’s not the best horse in the race, but it’s not out of the question that she could be best on the day at a price.