Love Her Lots takes on pair from Joseph barn in allowance

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Love Her Lots has improved with every start since launching her 3-year-old campaign winning a high-priced optional-claiming and starter-allowance race on Jan. 14 and will be tough to beat if able to continue her forward progression in Sunday’s main event at Gulfstream Park, a one mile and 70-yard allowance over the Tapeta course for a $51,000 purse.

The versatile Love Her Lots, who launched her career winning a six-furlong maiden special weight dash on dirt at 2, was trying the synthetic track for the first time when she captured her 2022 debut, withstanding a stretch-long duel with Demogorgon before prevailing by a head while posting a then-best 63 Beyer Speed Figure. Her Beyer numbers have risen steadily in four subsequent starts, all on turf, with a win, two seconds, and a third-place finish in the one-mile Honey Ryder on May 7 for which she received an 80 Beyer Figure.

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Trained by Ron Spatz, Love Her Lots runs on Tapeta for just the second time on Sunday and has drawn the outside post in a field of eight 3-year-olds fillies. Miguel Vasquez, who has been aboard for all seven of her previous starts, takes the call once again.

Leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will counter the likely favorite with a pair of key contenders in Running Legacy and Republique. Running Legacy won her only start at 2 and only try on the Tapeta by 1 1/4 lengths here last December. She has run just twice at 3, finishing a troubled fifth trying turf in her seasonal debut before being overmatched and finishing a distant third behind Kathleen O. and Goddess of Fire in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks. Kathleen O. and Goddess of Fire went on to run in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.

Republique earned high marks winning her only outing by a length on April 14. She rallied from just off the pace to defeat maiden special weight opposition, including the speedy runner-up Sadie Bear. Republique figures to be a serious pace factor Sunday stretching out around two turns for the first time. The added distance is not likely to prove an issue for Republique, a half-sister to last year’s Preakness winner and Belmont Stakes third-place finisher Rombauer.

Demogorgon has finished behind Love Her Lots in all three of their encounters and will try her again while having been transferred from the barn of Brendan Walsh to trainer J.K. Sweezey since her latest start on April 10. Demogorgon and Republique figure to be part of the early running.

Rounding out the lineup are Keen Kingdom, who has already won twice over the Tapeta, her uncoupled stablemate Empress Ellie, the lightly raced Built Different, and three-time winner Cagua.