Kantstaros tries to build on blowout debut win

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There is nary an allowance race on the card when racing resumes Wednesday at Gulfstream Park. But it may be worth sticking around for what will be the afternoon’s finale and feature event, a $38,000 race carded under starter-allowance conditions that drew a strong field of nine 3-year-olds to go five furlongs on turf, weather permitting.

The headliner lured a field that includes stakes winner It Can Be Done, the multiple stakes-placed Fulmini, and the streaking pair of Nitro Time and Kasim. The most intriguing member of the lineup could be Kantstaros, who ran off the screen to a 14 1/2-length victory going six furlongs over the main track when launching his career under a $35,000 claiming tag here Feb. 3 for trainer Terri Pompay.

“We took a chance running him for the tag the first time out because we didn’t pay all that much for him and he’s kind of a short and stocky horse, he could use a little more leg, so I didn’t think anybody would take him,” Pompay said. “I thought he would run good, although obviously never thought he’d run that good. I was looking for a starter race to bring him back, and this came up. I’d prefer to run him on the dirt, since he’s already done that, but his pedigree suggests he’ll like the turf, although there’s no way to know until he goes out there and tries it.”

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Nitro Time was claimed for $25,000 by trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. for owner Frank Calabrese out of a winning effort on Dec. 20, the first of what is now a three-race winning streak for the speedy son of Munnings. Each of those victories came at five furlongs on turf.

“This race came up pretty tough for a starter,” Joseph said. “His best asset is his speed. He likes to run as fast as he can as far as he can, and that will be the plan again on Wednesday.”

Kasim was haltered for $50,000 out of a second-place finish when making his lone start at 2 and has since captured a pair of five-furlong turf sprints for trainer Mike Maker, including a similarly conditioned starter-allowance dash as Wednesday’s finale by 1 1/4 lengths on Jan. 27.

It Can Be Done was a wire-to-wire winner of the grassy Nownownow Stakes going a mile this fall at Monmouth Park. He did not show the same speed when running an even fifth over a yielding course in the 1 1/16-mile Awad at Belmont Park in his most recent start on Oct. 31. The Red Oak Stable homebred has started just once at five furlongs, finishing second, beaten a head, against maiden special weight company last summer at Monmouth.

Fulmini ran second in both the Armed Forces and Juvenile Turf at 2, both races scheduled for grass but moved to a sloppy main track, the first at Gulfstream Park, the second against Florida-breds at Gulfstream Park West. A winner of his turf debut going five furlongs here early last summer for trainer Maker, he was claimed for $50,000 by trainer Carlos David out of a sixth-place finish going a mile over the turf here last month.