New Tapeta surface gets cautiously positive reviews on opening day

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Tapeta era at Gulfstream Park kicked off Thursday with four of the eight races on the opening-day program of the fall meet decided over the newly installed synthetic surface.

Trainer Kathleen O’Connell, the second-winningest female trainer in history and a Florida mainstay for the past several decades, had the honor of sending out the first winner over the Tapeta track when Emoji Guy captured the first race under jockey Edwin Gonzalez.

“It means a lot,” O’Connell said. “He’s pretty much an all-terrain model, so I wasn’t so much worried about him. Some of the others I do worry about. I spent a couple of seasons at Presque Isle. Not all of them that like the turf like the synthetic. I’ve had some dirt horses that turned into synthetic specialists. You just have to be in tune with your horse.”

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Gonzalez, who has had plenty of experience riding over synthetic surfaces at Presque Isle, Golden Gate, and Arlington, had praise for the local version of the Tapeta track.

“They did a really good job,” Gonzalez said. “Right now, it’s good, and when the tractors start working it more, it’s going to be better. You have to ride it like the turf.”

Edgard Zayas, fresh off capturing the spring-summer riding title, called the new Tapeta a “work in progress” even for the riders.

“I’ve never really ridden over Tapeta before, but just from being out there today I can already see some horses like it and others don’t,” Zayas said. “Even in the post parade, you can tell just by warming them up. Some handle it, and others struggle with it. It’s definitely deeper than the main track, although it seemed to get a little better after they watered it during the day. But it’s brand new, and I think it will get better and better as horses get over it and they get to work on it more and more.”

Saffie Joseph Jr., runaway winner of the spring-summer training championship, picked right up where he left off on opening day of the new meet, greeting all three of his starters in the winner’s circle, including Strategy Queen after the fifth race, run over the Tapeta.

“So far it seems safe,” Joseph said. “The horse I ran on it today was supposed to like it because her dad won on it, which suggested she should like it, and she handled it well. But for the most part it’s just too early to tell which horses will and which won’t.”