Mucho Macho Man may be next for Chance It

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – After missing a work and a race, Saturday’s Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs, due to a minor illness several weeks ago, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has Chance It just about back on his regular schedule again. The decision to be made now is where to go next with the leader of the local 2-year-old division. Chance It has not started since cruising to an easy victory in the 1 1/16-mile In Reality Stakes here more than nine weeks ago.

Chance It looked as sharp as ever on Monday morning, working five furlongs in 1:00.34 before galloping out six panels in 1:12.91 under regular exercise rider Jalon Samuel. Chance It broke off about eight lengths behind stablemate He Is Gone and rated through a 37.28-second opening three-eighths before easing out and readily running down his target, completing a final quarter in 23.06 going easily to the wire. He continued out with excellent energy into and around the turn, pulling up after seven-eighths in 1:26.86.

“It was a very good work,” Joseph said. “Early in his career he was keen in his works. We needed to get him to relax as his races get longer, and he just switched off this morning, went in 37 then came home in 23. That’s why we try to put him in different scenarios, like breaking him off behind another horse as we did today.”

Joseph had hoped to use the $400,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park on Dec. 15 for Chance It’s 2-year-old finale, but the current equine herpesvirus quarantine at Remington looks like it’s going to throw another monkey wrench into his plans.

“The Remington race was appealing because it had a good purse and offered early [Kentucky] Derby points, but it’s starting to look unlikely now,” Joseph said. “The Mucho Macho Man seems to be starting to play more into our schedule now.”

The Mucho Macho Man will be decided at one mile here Jan. 4.

Joseph also has a pretty good 2-year-old filly prospect on his hands, the undefeated Tonalist’s Shape, who ran her record to three wins in as many starts with a nine-length victory over two-time stakes winner Ceci Valentina in Saturday’s $75,000 Hut Hut Stakes. The performance was easily the most impressive on the Juvenile Showcase card, with Tonalist’s Shape getting a mile in 1:36.62, more than a second faster than 2-year-old males covered the same distance in the Smooth Air Stakes, and earning a career-best 89 Beyer Speed Figure.

“Her Beyer is very big for a 2-year-old filly this time of the year, I think it might be in the top three in the country,” Joseph said. “It was also impressive to see her run so much faster than the colts.”

Joseph said the long-term goal for Tonalist’s Shape will be the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.

“We’ll work backwards, schedule-wise, from the Oaks and probably come up with a game plan in a week or two,” Joseph said. “We have the [Gulfstream] Oaks here and the Davona Dale. The tricky part is finding a race for her in January since we’d like to stretch her out around two turns and there aren’t any of those [stakes] here for a while.”

Bodexpress tunes up for stakes

About the same time Chance It was doing his thing at Gulfstream Park, Bodexpress was turning in a similarly strong five-furlong breeze about eight miles away at Gulfstream Park West. This year’s Florida Derby runner-up completed the distance in 1:01.20 before galloping out six panels in 1:14, according to track clocker Charlie Davis. Bodexpress returned from a summer hiatus to win a pair of races during the recently concluded Gulfstream West meet, setting a track record capturing a one-mile entry-level allowance race by 6 3/4 lengths on Nov. 20, for which he received a 101 Beyer.

Bodexpress, who is trained by Gustavo Delgado, is expected to start next in the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday on Dec. 14.

Riding colony expanding

Jockeys Emisael Jaramillo and Jaime Rendon were the riding stars on opening weekend of the 2019-20 Gulfstream Park Championship meet. Jaramillo won five races on Saturday’s Juvenile Showcase program, including three stakes -- the Buffalo Man with Shivaree, the House Party aboard Spanish Point, and the Wait a While on Cheermeister.

Rendon had a four-bagger here Sunday, capping off the big afternoon by slipping Carom up the rail to win the $47,000 main event aboard the even-money favorite for trainer Mike Maker. Rendon and Maker also combined to win the fourth event with the 8-5 Peacock Kitten.

The going will get a lot tougher for Jaramillo, Rendon, and all the other locally based jockeys starting Wednesday with the return of Irad Ortiz Jr., his brother Jose, Luis Saez, Tyler Gaffalione, and Paco Lopez, all of whom have mounts on the first weekday card of the 89-day meet.

Irad Ortiz rode 135 winners, one more than Saez, to capture the 2018-19 Championship meet crown and is favored to successfully defend his Eclipse Award title this year. Jose Ortiz, the 2017 Eclipse winner, trails only his brother with $26.3 million in purse earnings this year. Lopez is fresh off three graded stakes wins at Del Mar on Saturday, including the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby with Mo Forza.

There are three allowance events on Wednesday’s 10-race card, two on grass and a $47,000 optional claimer to be run at 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track.