Nitrous Channel takes next step in Hutcheson Stakes
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Saturdays at the 2021-22 Gulfstream Park championship meet have dwindled to a precious few. This one brings a trio of $100,000 sprints, to be followed by a pair of $75,000 turf sprints next Saturday, then the huge Florida Derby card featuring 10 stakes on April 2, the penultimate day of the four-month meet.
Twin six-furlong races for 3-year-olds, the Hutcheson (race 11) and Any Limit (race 6), are the top offerings this Saturday, along with the Silks Run (race 10) for older horses going five furlongs on turf. Sunshine in the local forecast for both Friday and Saturday means turf racing most likely will go as scheduled.
First post for a 12-race Saturday card is 12:35 p.m. Eastern. The gross pool guarantee in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 7-12) can be expected to be at least $150,000.
Hutcheson
Nitrous Channel scarcely could have run any better than he did on debut. The $625,000 purchase earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure in winning a six-furlong maiden race on the Feb. 5 Holy Bull undercard when unveiled by trainer George Weaver, who has taken a cautious approach in plotting out what’s next.
“I’ve never had much luck throwing a horse into the deep end off a big maiden win like he had,” Weaver said. “I guess we could’ve gone back in something like the Fountain of Youth or Tampa Bay Derby, but I wanted to make sure I had more foundation in him.
“We’ll eventually stretch him out, but the timing of this race is good. Maybe we can think of something like the Preakness if he runs well again, but this is his first time against winners, and that’s always a big step. I just wanted to see it a second time before we move on.”
Nitrous Channel, with Tyler Gaffalione back riding, will break from post 4 as an obvious favorite versus six others in the Hutcheson. The Nyquist colt has had three timed works at Palm Beach Downs since he rated just off the lead before winning by 2 1/4 lengths at first asking.
Another likely pace factor is Provacateur (post 5, Irad Ortiz Jr.), whose Hall of Fame trainer, Todd Pletcher, has won this race a record seven times. From the back, Cattin (post 7, Emisael Jaramillo) and the come-backing American Sanctuary (post 2, Jose Ortiz) are potential late threats.
This is the 66th Hutcheson, once a key stepping-stone to major 3-year-old events in a bygone era. Shecky Greene (1973), Spectacular Bid (1979), Housebuster (1990), and Holy Bull (1994) are among the prior winners.
Any Limit
Strategic Bird will break from the outside post in a field of six fillies when having benefit of two stakes tries already this winter at Tampa Bay Downs. The Noble Bird filly has compiled a Beyer slate of 79-82-75 in three starts, all of them solid, and will face a couple of rivals – One Identity and Spirit Wind – making their stakes debuts after earning comparable Beyers in last-out wins here.
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Strategic Bird, with Edwin Gonzalez riding for trainer Mark Casse, was a flashy winner of a Florida-bred maiden sprint here in mid-November prior to winning the Sandpiper and finishing third in the Gasparilla, both at Tampa. It’s a record good enough to make her a deserving favorite over One Identity (post 4, Jose Ortiz), who got an 82 Beyer in upping her career mark to 2 for 2 in winning over the Tapeta here last month, and Spirit Wind (post 5, Gaffalione), whose 15 1/2-length romp on Feb. 18 equated to an eye-catching 85 Beyer.
The Any Limit is named for the 2003 foal who was a multiple graded stakes winner for the legendary Allen Jerkens.
Silks Run
A well-matched field of 10 makes for one of the best races of the day, with four of the top contenders having earned a 100 Beyer or higher within his last two starts.
Arrest Me Red ought to come favored in his 4-year-old debut with Irad Ortiz Jr. riding from post 3 for Wesley Ward, but he’ll be challenged by capable sorts such as Cool Quest (post 2, Julien Leparoux), an up-and-comer trained by Brian Lynch; Chess Master (post 5, Javier Castellano), who gave owner-trainer Kerri Raven her first stakes victory four Saturdays ago at Tampa; and Yes I Am Free (post 9, Jaramillo), an 8-1 winner of the Grade 3 Gulfstream Turf Sprint five weeks ago for Laura Cazares.
This is the seventh Silks Run, which was won last year by favored Carotari for Lynch.