No surprise: Maker loaded for graded turf stakes Saturday at Gulfstream.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Few things in racing have become as rare as Mike Maker missing a major turf stakes for older horses on this side of the Mississippi.

True to form, Maker has a combined five starters in two such races Saturday at Gulfstream Park, the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida and Grade 3 Canadian Turf. They’re all among a mix of top contenders in competitive secondary features on a sensational 14-race Fountain of Youth Day card.

Mac Diarmida (race 4)

On the Jan. 23 Pegasus World Cup undercard, Maker was represented by the 1-2-4 finishers in the W.L. McKnight, and the trainer was barely out of the winner’s circle before deciding on the next race for the top two, Tide of the Sea and Temple. Both have trained forwardly in preparing for this 25th running of the $200,000 Mac Diarmida, a 1 3/8-mile race that honors the Scotty Schulhofer-trained turf champion of 1978. A field of eight goes, led by the Maker trio.

Maker said Tide of the Sea “ran a great race” in the 1 1/2-mile McKnight, leading throughout and bravely fending off Temple in the final furlong to earn a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I think he’s going to be one of my best marathon horses this year,” Maker said. “He’s really come along.”

Tyler Gaffalione will be back aboard Tide of the Sea when the 5-year-old horse breaks from post 3 in the three-turn Mac Diarmida, which has a 12:55 Eastern post time. Irad Ortiz Jr. retains the mount on Temple, a steadfast mid-pack type who will leave from post 1.

Further bolstering the Maker corps is Aquaphobia, a Grade 1 winner getting what amounts to class relief when exiting an eighth-place finish in the Pegasus World Cup Turf. He will be ridden by Jose Ortiz from post 7.

If not Maker, then perhaps this race can go to Brian Lynch, who will saddle a pair with disparate styles – Phantom Currency, a one-dimensional front-runner, and Admission Office, a left-field closer who was the runner-up behind the Maker-trained Zulu Alpha in the 2020 Mac Diarmida and now makes the third start of his latest form cycle. Another outside possibility is Moon Over Miami, who gave trainer Bill Mott his 5,000th career victory in June.

The final stakes in this division at the four-month championship meet is the Grade 2 Pan American on Florida Derby Day, March 27.

Canadian Turf (race 8)

Maker isn’t nearly as well covered in the $125,000 Canadian Turf, a 1 1/16-mile race lacking a clear-cut favorite in its field of nine. Fancy Liquor and Dynadrive carry the Maker banner, but both seem vulnerable in a lineup that can also count Olympic Runner, Eons, and Winters Back as major threats.

Fancy Liquor was a first-out winner here last February before winning a pair of turf stakes, most notably the Grade 2 American Turf on the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby card. The 4-year-old Lookin At Lucky colt, who leaves from post with Jose Ortiz, will be looking to rebound off back-to-back races in which he ran respectably but finished off the board.

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Dynadrive, a two-back Maker claim, was a decent third in the ungraded Woodchopper at Fair Grounds in late December in his only try for new connections. Dynadrive, who leaves from post 8 with Paco Lopez, is a five-time winner from 12 overall starts.

Olympic Runner, in post 2 with John Velazquez, closed furiously to win a Jan. 22 turf allowance over the local course, snapping a nine-race losing streak in the process. Mark Casse trains the 5-year-old Gio Ponti gelding for Gary Barber.

Eons, now 5, reeled off four straight wins as a 3-year-old but has gone winless in his last seven starts, all for trainer Arnaud Delacour. He will be ridden from from post 5 by Irad Ortiz Jr., who it must be noted continues to wield a hot hand, having reached the 100-win mark at the current meet on Wednesday.

Winters Back (post 9, Kendrick Carmouche) has improved his Beyer in every start, most recently posting a 94 when beaten a head in a second-level turf allowance on the Pegasus undercard.

“He’s run well every time,” said Todd Pletcher, who trains Winters Back for Waterford Stable. “He was pretty unlucky to lose that photo last out. He’s trained really well since then, so we feel like he deserves a chance to step up in class in a race like this.”

This is the 54th running of the Canadian Turf, which leads to the Grade 3 Appleton, a one-mile turf race on March 27.