Little Mike returns with great numbers, lots of rust

When Little Mike makes his long-awaited return in the seventh race Sunday at Gulfstream Park, the strength of his statistics should prove unmistakable to horseplayers. A four-time Grade 1 winner, he has racked up more than $3.5 million in earnings, more than 4 1/2 times the collective bankroll of his six rivals, and he has repeatedly run Beyer Speed Figures in the upper 90s or 100s – exceeding the top figures of his opponents.

But he also leads in one numerical category that is typically a disadvantage: time away from racing. He hasn’t started since winning the Flying Pidgeon Stakes at Gulfstream on May 17, 2014; he’s returning from a layoff of 785 days.

But if Little Mike, 9, is able to shake off the rust from more than two years of inactivity, he should prove difficult to defeat in this race, which is written like a customary $44,000, second-level allowance except that it also allows horses into the race who haven’t won on grass since Jan. 9. Also eligible for this race going 1 1/16 miles on grass are horses racing for a $62,500 claiming price.

Trainer and breeder Carlo Vaccarezza, who trains Little Mike for his wife, Priscilla, is encouraged by how his horse has trained leading up to his return but said, “There is a big difference between the afternoon and the morning.”

Mornings have been active for Little Mike, who resumed breezing April 9 and went through a stretch in May and June in which he breezed a mile four times.

Prior to that, he received numerous physical examinations and rehabbed with hyperbaric treatments and swimming after being sidelined with tendonitis and a suspensory injury. “I wanted to be 100 percent positive that it’s fine to bring him back,” Vaccarezza said.

Elvis Trujillo, who was aboard for a front-running 2 3/4-length triumph in the Flying Pidgeon, returns in the irons.

Key Contenders

Little Mike, by Spanish Steps

Last 3 Beyers: 99-NA-101

◗ Being fresh and drawn inside, he figures to flash his customary speed. And though there are a few other horses in this field who typically race on or near the lead, none appears to have his early quickness.

Daddy’s Kid, by Scat Daddy

Last 3 Beyers: 94-91-86

◗ Another comebacker, he has been away since April 2015 when third in an allowance at Keeneland. And with just a single workout showing in his past performances – presumably with others unpublished while training offtrack leading into this race – an evaluation of his fitness level is difficult.

Gentlmen’s Agrement, by Yankee Gentleman

Last 3 Beyers: 86-84-84

◗ Is arguably the top runner in the lineup by current form, with an allowance win and two close fourths in three starts at Gulfstream Park after winning a pair of races at Fair Grounds.