Letruska connections eye Miss Gracie with Omixochitl

Omixochitl might not roll off the tongue, but she can roll down the lane. Three wins so far this year make her one of the more accomplished 3-year-old fillies within the year-round class at Gulfstream Park in South Florida, and she’ll be among the favorites Saturday in a competitive renewal of the featured Miss Gracie.

Omixochitl is one of nine 3-year-old fillies in the $75,000 Miss Gracie, which will be run at 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta. The daughter of More Than Ready will be ridden by Edgar Perez breaking from post 5.

She is trained by Fausto Gutierrez for the St. George Stable of Mexican billionaire German Larrea, the same team affiliated with Letruska, the 2021 Eclipse champion filly-mare dirt runner who remains on target for the Aug. 27 Personal Ensign at Saratoga.

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Gutierrez said by phone this week from his stable at Churchill that Omixochitl is “a very versatile horse, and I think she should be a big contender in this race. This year she has won over the dirt, the turf, and the synthetic.”

Omixochitl, named for a South American flower, comes off a subpar effort in the June 11 Martha Washington on turf, but Gutierrez believes she should be forgiven for that. “It was very soft, and although she was trying she could not advance,” he said. “She has had very good workouts since then at Palm Meadows,” including a July 3 bullet going five furlongs in 58.20 seconds.

Omixochitl figures to have Miss You Ella (post 6, Edgard Zayas) among her main challengers. Miss You Ella, from the meet-leading barn of Saffie Joseph Jr., competed in three straight turf stakes after winning a Jan. 6 maiden race over the Tapeta.

Other possibilities in the Miss Gracie include Therearenorules (post 8, Edwin Gonzalez), Empress Ellie (post 4, Miguel Vasquez), and Nana Fanny (post 9, Jose Morelos), the respective 1-2-4 finishers in a Tapeta allowance route July 8.

Gutierrez, meanwhile, said he was very pleased with a Wednesday work by Letruska at Churchill. The 6-year-old mare went five furlongs in a bullet 59.20 seconds in her third work since returning from a disappointing effort in the June 11 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park.

“She is doing good, getting stronger,” he said.

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First post for an 11-race Saturday program is 12:25 p.m. Eastern, with the Miss Gracie going at 5:16 as race 10. It’s part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 6-11), which was expected to offer a pool guarantee of at least $200,000, assuming the jackpot was not emptied Friday.

The Miss Gracie was run on the grass last September, but with the Gulfstream turf course undergoing another extensive summer renovation, the race was moved to the Tapeta and to this earlier date. Five other Saturday races will be run on the all-weather surface and the other five on the main track.