Mucho starts season in sprint

HALLANDALE BEACH Fla. – One day before trainer Bill Mott finds out if Hidden Scroll is indeed Derby trail-worthy in the Fountain of Youth, the Hall of Fame horseman will learn if he’s got another 3-year-old to be reckoned with later this season when he sends out Mucho as the heavy favorite in Friday’s $51,000 main event at Gulfstream Park.

Mucho has not started since finishing second as the even-money favorite in the Grade 1 Hopeful on closing day of the 2018 Saratoga session. A homebred son of Blame owned by Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, Mucho had a win and a second in his two starts prior to the Hopeful, including a 9 3/4-length maiden victory.

“What we’re looking out down the line with him depends on what we see Friday,” said Mott. “He got a little stoved up behind after the Hopeful, so we just turned him out for a while. He missed one work down here with a bruised foot, otherwise he’s doing fine and has trained well. We just need to get him started.”

Friday’s race is an allowance with a $75,000 claiming option for 3-year-olds going six furlongs, the same distance as Mucho’s maiden tally. Regular rider Jose Ortiz will be aboard, with Mucho racing on Lasix for the first time.

“He’s won at six furlongs before,” said Mott. “Although if this race came up at seven furlongs, we’d have gone seven. I certainly think he’ll run farther than that. But this race was available, the timing was right, and we’ve got to start somewhere.”

Mucho drew the rail and will face four in his return: Lutsky, The Boss Factor, Ourbestfriend D L, and Releasethethunder.

Lutsky was an impressive winner of his only start, which came last July at Belmont Park, leading throughout to register a 5 1/4-length victory against New York-bred maidens. He was trained by Jason Servis at the time but is currently under the tutelage of Dermot Magner. Lutsky has prepared for his 3-year-old bow with a steady series of works at Palm Meadows that concluded with a bullet five furlongs in 1:00.65 from the gate on Saturday.

Releasethethunder is also exiting a sharp maiden victory. He edged away to a 3 3/4-length triumph going six furlongs at Tampa Bay Downs on Jan. 18 and received a career-best 81 Beyer Speed Figure. The outing was the first for the son of More Than Ready since he joined trainer Christophe Clement’s stable near the end of his 2-year-old season.

The Boss Factor will try dirt for the first time after making all four previous starts on the synthetic surface at Woodbine, while Ourbestfriend D L is the only member of the field who’ll compete under a $75,000 claiming tag. The race goes as the second event on an 11-race card.