Lookin for a Kiss stretches out for allowance

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – As far as Mike Tomlinson is concerned, now would be a good time for Lookin for a Kiss to step up. A prime opportunity presents itself Sunday at Gulfstream Park, where the 4-year-old colt will be a solid favorite in the lone allowance on a 13-race card.

Tomlinson brought 32 horses from Kentucky to Florida for the winter, with the steady sprinter Candip and the promising maiden Lookin for Eight his leading lights. But Candip had to skip the Gulfstream Park Sprint on Saturday after being sent home for a 60-day break, and Lookin for Eight was sold in a private transaction shortly after a breakthrough victory Feb. 4.

Lookin for a Kiss, owned by Mike Bruder of Evansville, Ind., should have no excuses Sunday when being handed the proverbial baton. Favorably drawn on the rail, he’ll stretch out to 1 1/16 miles and face just five others in the 11th race, a $48,000, first-level allowance with a $25,000 claiming option.

Lookin for a Kiss won at first asking here last February for his original trainer, Dale Romans, and soon found himself in deep waters once transferred into Tomlinson’s care, competing with minimal success in three straight graded stakes.

Duly regrouped, he returned to action here in January following a six-month hiatus, faring creditably in back-to-back sprints that should serve as a useful foundation for his return to two turns Sunday.

Face of Winner, with Jose Ortiz named, figures as the main competition in a compact lineup that also includes Magnifier and Niigon’s Edge as fringe players.

First post Sunday is noon Eastern, with the 13th race set for 6:05.

After Sunday, Gulfstream will go dark for three days, with no racing here Wednesday, when the track and the Fasig-Tipton Co. host their annual one-day auction of 2-year-olds in training. A four-day race week starts Thursday.

KEY CONTENDERS (race 11)

Lookin for a Kiss, by Lookin At Lucky
Last 3 Beyers: 81-79-78

◗ His steady kick in those one-turn races here this winter has fallen just a bit short, but he’ll have plenty of room to finally follow through given the added distance here.

Face of Winner, by Street Boss
Last 3 Beyers: 58-83-88

◗ Shrewdly entered by Gustavo Delgado for the $25,000 tag, he figures to improve noticeably over a Jan. 27 debacle in which he might well have needed the race.

Magnifier, by Awesome Again
Last 3 Beyers: 61-77-94

◗ Pedro Castillo is now the fourth trainer of a 5-year-old gelding making just the sixth start of a career in which a maiden romp last March at Aqueduct remains the benchmark.