Joseph takes three shots in Musical Romance

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has some big shoes to fill in his barn in the filly and mare sprint division. That would be Three Witches, who captured the Grade 3 Princess Rooney Stakes and then was sold just days after her third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Joseph took one step in that direction when adding Grade 3 winner Spirit Wind to his stable earlier this season. He’ll look to take another when sending out a trio of key contenders – Bluefield, Imonra, and Mojave Desert – against just five others in Saturday’s $100,000 Musical Romance Handicap at Gulfstream Park.

A fourth entrant from Joseph’s barn, recent stakes winner Batucada, is expected to be scratched.

Bluefield, who continues to maintain top form at age 7, is the starting highweight under 124 pounds and one to beat in the 6 1/2-furlong Musical Romance. The veteran mare is already graded stakes-placed this year, having finished second in the Grade 2 Inside Information on Jan. 27. She is coming off a hard-fought but very popular allowance victory returning from a three-month freshening on May 16.

“Bluefield is just Bluefield, a consistent, grand old mare and deserving favorite in this race,” Joseph said. “Some people maybe thought she should have won her last race a little easier, but she was game and the number came back decent enough. Maybe it wasn’t her best effort, but we’ve been targeting this race ever since and the way she looks and has been training, she should move forward off the race.”

:: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets.

Imonra won a similarly conditioned allowance race as Bluefield’s two starts back after which she shipped to Aqueduct to finish an even-running fifth, beaten just 3 3/4 lengths by Leave No Trace, in the Grade 3 Vagrancy. She also is graded stakes-placed, having finished second last summer around two turns at Prairie Meadows in the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks.

“The end goal for Imonra is the Princess Rooney, so we decided to try this race and maybe one more stakes this summer to get her there,” Joseph explained. “I thought she made a solid run in the Vagrancy. This is a class drop, and the 6 1/2 furlongs is very good for her. My only concern is shipping her back from the cooler weather into the heat. But if she brings her A game, she should be very tough.”

Mojave Desert is the only 3-year-old in the lineup and gets in under a feathery 112 pounds, although she will be giving away a lot of experience to the rest of the field, having only started four times and just once at one turn. The Musical Romance will be her second start on dirt.

“She trains well enough on the dirt, so I want to give her one more chance on the surface,” Joseph said. “I really like the weight advantage we get as a 3-year-old, and for that reason I’m going to probably change the rider because Eddie [Perez] can’t make that weight. She’s really the unknown in the field but if she can make the lead and takes to the dirt, I think she might surprise a little.”

As for Batucada, who won the mile and 70-yard Powder Break by 6 1/4 lengths last week on the Tapeta, Joseph said, “there’s no sense to wheel her right back again since her last win was so big on Tapeta and around two turns.”

Among those facing the unenviable task of taking on the potent-looking Joseph trio Saturday are the suddenly improved Cousin Kristi, who outran her 14-1 odds extending Bluefield to a neck decision after contesting the pace when the pair met at six furlongs six weeks ago, and the Jose D’Angelo-trained duo of Anatomy and Hihellohowareyou.

Athena’s Wisdom and Olga, coming off allowance wins against lesser in their most recent starts, complete the field.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.