Kinsley Kisses ends long layoff in allowance sprint

Kinsley Kisses began her 3-year-old season with a front-running victory in a sprint race at Gulfstream Park. She will look to begin her 4-year-old season in similar fashion Friday, when she returns from a 230-day layoff in a second-level allowance sprint that serves as the feature on Gulfstream’s 11-race program.

A daughter of Congrats owned by Everett Dobson’s Cheyenne Stables and trained by Todd Pletcher, Kinsley Kisses meets only four rivals in the six-furlong race that goes as the ninth on the card.

Kinsley Kisses has not been out since finishing last of seven in the Grade 1 Test at Saratoga last Aug. 6. Prior to that, she finished third in a pair of graded stakes around two turns. Dobson said Kinsley Kisses was suffering from “bone bruising” after the Test, and the decision was made to give the filly some time off.

“At this time last year, I thought she was as talented as any filly I had and any filly out there,” Dobson said Wednesday from Oklahoma. “They change. I’m anxious to see if she can get back to the promise that she showed.”

Kinsley Kisses returned to the work tab Feb. 4 at Palm Beach Downs and has had seven breezes leading up to her return. Jose Ortiz rides her from post 3. Pletcher is removing blinkers from Kinsley Kisses. She only wore them in the Test after not wearing them in her first five starts.

Miss Away finished third in a spot similar to this Dec. 16 before shipping up Aqueduct and finishing fourth of six in the Interborough Stakes on Jan. 22. Conquest Dynasty, Savingtime, and Jamie’s Dancer complete the field.

Race 9

KEY CONTENDERS

Kinsley Kisses, by Congrats

Last 3 Beyers: 62-74-81

◗ After winning her first two starts, she competed in four consecutive graded stakes, with a trio of third-place finishes before finishing last in the Test.

FORMULATOR Fact: Pletcher is 11 for 24 at Gulfstream over the last three years when returning a horse off a layoff of 180 days or longer, sprinting on dirt, and removing blinkers.

Miss Away, by Run Away and Hide

Last 3 Beyers: 79-75-76

◗ Had a three-race winning streak snapped when beaten 3 1/2 lengths by the Pletcher-trained Clipthecouponannie, who, like Kinsley Kisses, was returning from a long layoff. Clipthecouponannie is also undefeated in four lifetime starts.

◗ Switched to her wrong lead and may have brushed the rail in deep stretch of that race.

◗ Most recently, she shipped to Aqueduct for the Interborough, where she finished fourth, beaten four lengths by considerably faster foes than she meets in this spot.

Jamie’s Dancer, by Hal’s Image

Last 3 Beyers: 69-75-69

◗ At 3 for 58, she is not necessarily a win candidate but certainly has a knack for finishing in the money, as her 27 combined second- and third-place finishes suggest.

◗ Figures to sit back and make one run under Miguel Vasquez.