Largent suits up for Tropical Turf

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Largent will never make the Hall of Fame like his namesake – but he’s been on the receiving end of high praise, and for good reason.

Largent, a Virginia-bred named for Steve Largent, the Seattle Seahawks receiver inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995, has never been worse than second in 10 career starts. That record that will be tested when the 6-year-old gelding returns to action Saturday in the Tropical Turf at Gulfstream Park following a layoff of nearly a year.

“We felt like we’re cutting it a little close in terms of how cranked up he is,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who trains Largent for Eclipse Thoroughbreds and Twin Creek Racing, “but with this race being three weeks before the Pegasus Turf, it could put us in a position to have some options, so we decided to give it a go.”

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Largent will have leading jockey Luis Saez aboard when he breaks from post 1 in the 44th running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Tropical Turf, a one-mile turf race that’s part of the Rainbow 6. The jackpot was depleted after the wager was hit on Friday.

Largent earned a career-high 99 Beyer Speed Figure when beaten just a neck as the runner-up in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf last January by his Pletcher stablemate Colonel Liam prior to going to the sidelines. The $1 million Pegasus Turf will be renewed here Jan. 29.

If Largent isn’t quite ready, the Tropical Turf likely will go to Value Proposition or Phat Man, with perhaps Flying Scotsman the most interesting longshot among a field of seven older horses.

Value Proposition (post 4, Irad Ortiz Jr.) won the Red Bank at Monmouth Park and the Oyster Bay at Belmont Park in the latter half of 2021 and could challenge Largent for favoritism. Trained by Chad Brown for Klaravich Stables, the English-bred ridgling has earned triple-digit Beyers four times during his 13-race career.

Phat Man (post 3, Shaun Bridgmohan) has competed mostly on dirt and has been first or second in 18 of 38 starts, but trainer Kent Sweezey said the 8-year-old gelding “has the pedigree for the turf, and we’re hoping it wakes him up.”

“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, just taking a shot in a small field,” he said.

Trainer Jack Sisterson said Flying Scotsman (post 5, Corey Lanerie) needed his last race, an allowance taken off the turf and run on the synthetic track here Dec. 19. Coming off a seven-month layoff, Flying Scotsman stalked the pace in the mile and 70-yard race and faded to finish fifth, beaten 10 lengths. Sisterson is looking for something similar to what occurred here last February when the gelding got a 99 Beyer in a front-running upset of a turf allowance.

There’s a 60 percent chance of rain in the local forecast for Saturday, when first post is noon Eastern. Besides the Tropical Turf (race 8), the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 6-11) begins and ends with turf races that might have to be run over the Tapeta, depending on how the grass course is affected by weather. The other three (races 7, 9, 10) all go on the main track.

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Race 6 has Mike Maker written all over it, even if it moves to the synthetic, with Rally Squirrel and Tackle both figuring prominently for the trainer, while the ex-Maker horse Caribbean Gold looms a challenger.

Race 7 has Pletcher as the main player with well-bred first-timers Charge It and Calipari sure to draw very close looks.

Race 9 looks like a real scramble with Doo Wop Don, Raise the Rent, and Twice too Many among the favorites in a field of nine older Florida-bred sprinters.

Race 10 reprises a Dec. 11 race won by We Miss Susie, who seeks a repeat when she faces Wild America, My Destiny, and three more exiting that same key race.

The race-11 finale is replete with 3-year-old maidens getting Lasix for the first time. Turf or Tapeta, the Christophe Clement-trained Charming Charlie will be a logical play for many.

◗ Before a sparse ontrack crowd Thursday, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. made his return to action after serving out a 30-day suspension for riding infractions in New York. Ortiz finished last in the second race aboard Macedonian in the first of what was scheduled to be five mounts Thursday.

He is the reigning three-time (2018-20) Eclipse Award-winning jockey, although it’s widely expected that Joel Rosario will win the award for 2021.

◗ At Tampa Bay Downs, a solid card is on tap for Saturday, with four allowances among the 10 races. Stakes action resumes next Saturday (Jan. 15) at the Oldsmar, Fla., track following a five-week break, with the Pasco, Gasparilla, and Wayward Lass.