Navarro, Jaramillo red-hot together

One might say that jockey Emisael Jaramillo and trainer Jorge Navarro have developed a successful partnership at Gulfstream Park. But to be perfectly fair, that would be saying far too little.

In a sport where hitting one out of three qualifies as raging success, Navarro and Jaramillo have been winning with about one out of every two horses who start for them. The powerhouse partnership sees action Friday at Gulfstream with Percussion, one of two Navarro-trained entrants in the featured seventh race. Navarro’s second runner is Ravalo’s Boy, and Percussion might have his work cut out handling both Brown Almighty and Royal Squeeze in this one-turn dirt mile, basically a second-level allowance race with a $62,500 claiming option.

Navarro and Jaramillo, who teamed to finish a close second in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen with X Y Jet, have hit at a remarkable 48 percent clip from 42 runners since Navarro began using Jaramillo last year. In dirt races, their record is an even stronger 32-17-8-2; that’s a 53 percent strike rate (good for a $3.30 ROI) and an unbelievable 27 of 32 starters third or better.

But all the eye-glazing stats in the world can’t get a horse home who’s not suited to win, and Percussion might wind up being overbet. The 8-year-old has been around, having made 49 starts, and while he was second at this class level April 9, his form suggests that Percussion really peaked a couple of months ago. He looks destined for a pace battle and could be vulnerable.

Brown Almighty’s trainer, Peter Walder, took full advantage of the waiver-claiming rule that allows long-layoff comeback runners into claiming races without actually being available for a claim. Brown Almighty, making his first start since September, won a $30,000 conditioned race on April 3 by more than six lengths in his first start for Walder. That was easily Brown Almighty’s best dirt race, and he might yet have more to give, having found a home on the Gulfstream main track.

Royal Squeeze, though, is the pick. He’s a 4-year-old who never has been in for a claiming price and has bounced in and out of stakes competition. Making his first start for trainer Brian Lynch, he finished third April 3 in a non-winners-of-three allowance, a race he surely needed after a long break. Royal Squeeze dueled on a quick pace in that start, a sharp horse eager to race after a layoff, and he seems capable of shifting to stalking tactics that could prove successful Friday – even against the Navarro–Jaramillo juggernaut.