Maker has 18 entries for Claiming Crown races

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It is no surprise that trainer Mike Maker is loaded and ready for Saturday’s Claiming Crown races, which highlight opening day of the 2017-18 Gulfstream Park championship meet.

Maker said Tuesday he plans to enter 18 horses for the nine Claiming Crown races, with a half-dozen of the horses belonging to his principal owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey. Maker and the Ramseys have dominated the series since its inception nearly two decades ago, with 15 victories apiece.

“I’ve got 18 to be entered, although a couple might not get in,” Maker said. “We’ll have to see what happens. But this year is a little different because many of my other owners have now embraced this event, not just the Ramseys.”

Maker will send out a pair of recent additions to his stable in the $200,000 Jewel, the main event on Saturday’s card – Flashy Jewel, who ran second here a year ago for trainer Eddie Kenneally in the seven-furlong Rapid Transit, and Capital Letters, a winner of two of three starts since being claimed by Maker for $30,000 in late July at Ellis Park.

“Flashy Jewel ran very well down there last year, and this will be kind of a drop in class for him,” Maker said. “My biggest question is whether he has the ability to handle a mile and one-eighth. Capital Letters has just kept improving with every race since we got him, and I’m looking for an even better effort on his part on Saturday.”

Maker, who keeps a small contingent of horses at Gulfstream Park throughout the summer, said the majority of his Claiming Crown hopefuls have shipped in from other venues.

“All of them have been down there for at least a week, and most got a work over the track last weekend,” said Maker, whose only Claiming Crown win last year came with the Ramseys’ Keystoneforvictory. Keystoneforvictory captured the Emerald, but has been on the farm since finishing third in the Grade 3 American St. Leger on Aug. 12 at Arlington Park.

Maker singled out stakes winners Special Ops, who’ll compete in the Emerald, and Gianna’s Dream, among the likely favorites in the Tiara, as perhaps his two best chances to add to his record Claiming Crown win total Saturday.

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“I just think this is such a great event for people interested in claiming horses,” Maker said. “As far as Mr. Ramsey goes, the Claiming Crown has been part of his strategy – at times a deciding factor – when it comes to whether we claim a horse we’re interested in, and it’s a process we consider not just in the weeks leading up to these races but throughout the year.”

Maker has 50 horses bedded down in south Florida and estimates he’ll have about 80 split between Gulfstream Park and Palm Meadows “once the dust settles” by the first of the year. Maker finished third in the standings – behind only Todd Pletcher and Jorge Navarro – with 28 wins during the 2016-17 championship meet.

Maker said he’s got his eyes on a couple of other upcoming stakes – the Wait a While for his stakes-winning 2-year-old turf specialist Homemade Salsa on Dec. 9, and the Grade 3 Tropical Turf for Shining Copper the following weekend. Shining Copper is coming off a victory last Thursday in Grade 3 River City Handicap at Churchill Downs. He finished second for trainer Chad Brown in the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap here during the winter of 2016.

◗ Post position could be a critical factor in the Jewel when Saturday’s card is drawn Wednesday, with more than a dozen horses expected to run and a short run to the first turn in races at 1 1/8 miles at Gulfstream Park. Aside from the Maker pair, other prospective starters as of last weekend according to the racing office include the Jorge Navarro-trained pair of Flowers for Lisa and Chunnel as well as Gigantic Breeze, Diamond Bachelor, Clubman, Indian Guide, Dream Saturday, Kaitain, Dreaming of Gold, Turco Bravo, and Converge.