Kukulkan gearing up for Clasico Internacional del Caribe

MIAMI – Kukulkan, who along with his stablemate Jala Jala stole the show at the 2018 Clasico Internacional del Caribe at Gulfstream Park, is back in town and ready to pick up where he left off.

Kukulkan rallied to a 10 1/4-length victory under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. last December in the main event, the $300,000 Clasico del Caribe for 3-year-olds. The pair are scheduled to team up once again on Dec. 8 in the 1 1/4-mile Confraternity Cup for older horses.

Kukulkan remained in the United States after his easy victory in the Clasico del Caribe to embark on a 4-year-old campaign that began with an 11th-place finish in the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational. That was the first loss in 15 career starts for the Mexcian-bred son of Point Determined, whose lone tally this year came in a high-priced optional-claiming race at Churchill Downs in May. Kukulkan has been stakes-placed on two occasions in the United States in 2019, his most notable effort a second-place finish as the tepid favorite in the Grade 3 West Virginia Governor’s Cup at Mountaineer Park.

Kukulkan arrived in town earlier than the majority of his competitors from Latin America and the Caribbean who will participate in the Clasico Internacional del Caribe, which is being held for the third consecutive year at Gulfstream Park. Kukulkan is prepping for the event at Palm Meadows, where he breezed four furlongs in 47.20 seconds last Saturday.

Kukulkan is trained by Fausto Gutierrez, who sent out the filly Jala Jala to beat males in both the 2017 Clasico del Caribe and again last year in the Confraternity Cup, which she won by nearly five lengths as the 6-5 favorite with Ortiz aboard. Like Kukulkan, Jala Jala also remained at Gulfstream Park last winter, finishing second in the Grade 3 Royal Delta and fifth in the Grade 2 Inside Information, her most recent start to date.

More than a dozen representatives from Mexico arrived at Gulfstream Park earlier this week to prepare for the Clasico Internacional program, including a trio of 3-year-olds – El Santo, Lopecitos, and Thibaut – who hope to follow in both Kukulkan and Jala Jala’s footsteps in the main event.

The Clasico del Caribe Internacional is part of a banner weekend at Gulfstream Park that kicks off with the rich Claiming Crown program on Saturday, Dec. 7.

Yodel E. A. Who favored

Yodel E. A. Who figures to be heavily favored to continue his winning ways in Sunday’s $45,000 headliner at Gulfstream Park West, a 6 1/2-furlong dash for older horses to be decided under optional-claiming conditions on the main track.

Yodel E. A. Who has captured his last two starts against lesser, conditioned claiming opposition by a combined 13 3/4 lengths. He was haltered out of his most recent victory, going a mile at Gulfstream Park on Sept. 15, for $40,000 by leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and has trained extremely well for his local debut, capping off a series of impressive breezes when completing five furlongs in 58.97 here Sunday with regular rider Edgard Zayas aboard.

Yodel E. A. Who will face seven rivals, including Rayo My King, who exits an easy win of his own, a popular 6 3/4-length decision over a weaker group of $16,000 conditioned claiming foes, in his first start off the claim for trainer Aubrey Maragh.