Lenzi's Lucky Lady looks ready for best effort

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Lenzi’s Lucky Lady proved no match for some of the quickest filly-mare turf sprinters in Florida this winter, but she could get back to her winning ways when getting a substantial measure of class relief in the Thursday feature at Gulfstream Park.

“I’ve got her back where I want her,” said Bob Hess Jr., trainer of Lenzi’s Lucky Lady. “Her color is good, her attitude is good, her training is good. She ought to fire her best shot.”

Lenzi’s Lucky Lady is one of seven in the ninth-race feature, a $53,000 turf dash with hybrid conditions. It’s basically a “two-other-than” allowance with a $62,500 claiming option, with four of them, including Lenzi’s Lucky Lady, being risked for the tag.

A winner of her first three career starts for former connections, including the restricted Desert Vixen in August 2019, Lenzi’s Lucky Lady was claimed by Hess for $75,000 in July 2020. Regrouped after one subpar effort under new silks, she won her turf debut here Dec. 13, earning a career-high 82 Beyer Speed Figure, before being overmatched in the Jan. 1 Abundantia, then again in a rugged renewal of the Lightning City on Feb. 24 at Tampa Bay Downs.

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“She may’ve been a little knocked out from that win in December, so I probably ran her back too quick in that stake New Year’s Day,” said Hess, who began dividing his stable for the winter between California and Florida from 2011 to 2014, then resumed the practice again in 2019. “Those were some really nice horses she faced at Gulfstream and Tampa. This ought to be a better spot.”

Paco Lopez will be aboard Lenzi’s Lucky Lady when breaking from post 3 in a lineup that also includes Tracy Ann’s Legacy as a prime win candidate. Tracy Ann’s Legacy (post 5, Edgard Zayas) has compiled a solid record over the local turf course, winning 3 of 9 starts while finishing worse than third only once.

First post for a 10-race Thursday card is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. The lone allowance of the day is part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6, which spans races 5-10 and was expected to offer a pool guarantee of more than $1 million, assuming the jackpot was not emptied Wednesday by a solo winning ticket.

Sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80s are in the local forecast, meaning all six turf races most likely will be run as scheduled.