Mitchell Road might have to change strategy in South Beach

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Before a flurry of graded action gets under way Saturday on Pegasus World Cup Day at Gulfstream Park, horseplayers can while away the hours with a trio of turf stakes that serve as lead-ins to the more high-profile events.

South Beach (race 6)

Six victories from 11 career starts, including a last-out score six weeks ago in the My Charmer over the Gulfstream turf course, surely will help make Mitchell Road a decisive favorite in a full field of 12 fillies and mares in the $150,000 South Beach. Jose Ortiz will be back aboard Mitchell Road for trainer Bill Mott, and they break from post 6 in the 7 1/2-furlong turf race.

Mitchell Road controlled a paceless My Charmer from the outset, but a new set of rivals strongly suggests stalking tactics could be required here. Several opponents are stretching out from sprints, while speedy mares such as Conquest Hardcandy and Limari also have shown front-running tendencies at their best.

Devant, a group winner overseas at 2, is one of a handful of stretch-runners looking for the race to set up in her favor.

Ladies’ Turf Sprint (race 5)

Jean Elizabeth, making her grass debut, will put a five-race win streak on the line when she faces ultra-quick turf-sprinting specialist Girls Know Best in the $150,000 Ladies’ Turf Sprint.

Girls Know Best won this five-furlong race on the 2018 Pegasus undercard, but was forced to miss the 2019 running because of a minor injury. She and Jose Ortiz are likely to show the way early in a field of nine, with Jean Elizabeth and Irad Ortiz Jr. giving closest chase.

Jean Elizabeth, trained by Larry Rivelli, has racked up 12 wins from 18 starts, all over dirt and synthetic, so the move to turf is a huge X factor.

“She’s just a runner, period,” Rivelli said. “She’s probably the nicest horse I’ve had since Nicole’s Dream,” a 24-time winner who earned more than $800,000. “I worked her over the grass a long time ago, and she got over it real well. I’ve always wanted to run her on it, but it would’ve required passing up certain spots. If she runs like she has been, she’s going to be hard to beat.”

World of Trouble Turf Sprint (race 3)

The Jason Servis connection is hard to miss. World of Trouble recorded some of the highest Beyers of his time for Servis prior to being retired to stud for 2020, and now the first running of a $150,000 turf sprint named in his honor will have the Servis-trained Shekky Shebaz as perhaps the heaviest favorite of the entire Saturday stakes slate.

With triple-digit Beyers in his last four races, Shekky Shebaz will break from post 1 when he faces seven other older horses. Pay Any Price, who set the North American record for five furlongs on turf (53.61 seconds in the 2017 Silks Run at Gulfstream), is among the challengers.