Litfin: How I’d play Gulfstream Park on Friday, Dec. 26

Horseplayers will have a smorgasbord of post-Christmas opportunities Friday, including opening day at Santa Anita, the resumption of racing at Aqueduct, and a solid card at Gulfstream Park.

At Gulfstream, I’m focusing on three relatively straightforward contenders that can serve as linchpins for horizontal and/or vertical exotic wagers.

4th race: Making her third start back from a layoff, CENTRIQUE (1) drops from stakes into a starter-optional claimer and takes a beneficial stretch-out to seven furlongs after getting stuck behind moderate early fractions against the hard-knocking Merry Meadow. She lays over this group on class.

6th race: At 1 1/16 miles on grass, stretch-runners always need some racing luck, but barring the unforeseen it’s hard to go past GRAND RAPPORT (9) in this starter-optional claimer for horses that have started for $12,500 or less. That’s the level at which the classy veteran (a Grade 3 winner in 2010) began his 7-year-old campaign, and he has climbed back up the ladder with 10 exacta finishes this season, along with a close fourth in the Bowl Game Stakes after being claimed by his present connections. His main challenge may come from AWESOME ATTACK (10), who is currently in the best form of his career.

9th race: Whether you filter out his turf races with DRF Formulator or a black Flair pen, focusing only on the five dirt races run by MIDNIGHT CELLO (4) this year reveals nothing but one-two finishes with Beyer Speed Figures of 100-96-97-93-93. He is second back from a layoff and takes a 60 percent purse drop after beating half the field in a slow-paced El Prado Stakes less than two weeks ago.