Joseph could have four-horse brigade for Soldier's Dancer

The turf course at Gulfstream Park re-opened for business earlier this week after a brief maintenance period during the month of June and will see stakes action for the first time this summer when a field of 11 older horses head postward, weather permitting, in Sunday’s $100,000 Soldier’s Dancer.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has entered four of the 11 potential starters set to go one mile in the Soldier’s Dancer, a quartet led by Stat, a game allowance winner with a career-best 93 Beyer Speed Figure in his most recent start April 27. The win was the second in three tries this season, both at a mile, for Stat, usually a front-running type but who showed a new dimension when rallying from off the pace to arguably his most impressive victory yet.

Stat could be joined in the starting gate by stablemates Bluebirds Over, Champions Dream, and Novo Sol, although Joseph left the door open earlier this week that all of them might not start.

“I’m not sure I’ll run all four, but this is the race we’ve been pointing Stat for the whole time,” Joseph said.

Bluebirds Over has been off form of late and is still looking for his first win since capturing the Grade 3 Grey Stakes over the synthetic track at Woodbine in the fall of his 2-year-old campaign in 2022.

Champions Dream led gate to wire winning an allowance race over the Tapeta track here just two weeks earlier while earning a whopping 96 Beyer Figure for the effort. It was far and away a career best for the 4-year-old Justify colt who would be making his turf debut if he goes in the Soldier’s Dancer.

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Novo Sol proved no match for Champions Dream, finishing fourth, nearly five lengths behind his stablemate, when they met June 23 after having won two of his previous four outings, all of those races over the turf.

“Bluebirds Over has been training very, very well with his best chance being if the races comes off the turf and move to the Tapeta,” Joseph admitted. “Champions Dream obviously ran very well last time. I wasn’t really planning on running him back in here, but I’m going to keep my options open. Nova Sol seems to be rounding back into form now and if the pace sets up, he might just have a chance.”

There should indeed be a legitimate pace in the race, even if jockey Edgard Zayas opts to take Stat back off the lead again on Sunday, with K. C. Chief, Eyes On the King, and Themanupfront likely to assure very honest early fractions. K. C. Chief and Themanupfront are both coming off front-running victories. K. C. Chief scored on June 27 with a lifetime-best 92 Beyer on the Tapeta course, while Themanupfront won over the turf in an entry-level allowance restricted to 3-year-olds on May 17.

Trainer Mark Casse will take blinkers off Eyes On the King after the multiple stakes-placed 4-year-old stopped badly finishing a distant eighth and last in the Mr. Steele Stakes in his latest start.

K. C. Chief is one of two horses trainer Jose D’Angelo entered in the race along with Amstrong, who is winless in just two starts on grass and appears to be yet another member of the lineup whose chances would improve greatly if the race came off the turf and was switched over to the Tapeta surface.

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