Northern ship-ins settle in Gulfstream allowance

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A pair of allowance events, one each on dirt and turf, highlight Sunday’s 10-race card that kicks off with a 12:30 p.m. first post.

The ninth race drew a full field of 12 plus two also-eligibles to go a mile on the grass for a $61,000 purse and should prove a head-scratcher for handicappers as the penultimate leg of the popular Rainbow 6 sequence.

The field drew an even mix of local regulars and recent ship-ins from up north. The list of invaders is led by trainer Bill Mott’s Hurricane Hill, Mike Maker’s Klickitat, Todd Pletcher’s Aviano, and Ian Wilkes’ Private Island. The local contingent includes Call Curt, J P Hellish, and Uncle Fun.

Florida-breds will go 5 1/2 furlongs on the main track for a $54,000 purse in the seventh race with Picking Up Pennies, off a pair of one-sided, wire-to-wire victories, likely to be favored against a relatively strong group that also features the Jorge Delgado-trained pair of Fast Loaded and Front Loaded, Twice Too Many, and Raise the Rent along with Kentucky invaders Cool Quest and Feast.

Graded stakes abound

The Grade 3 Rampart is one of five graded stakes races to be decided here next Saturday topped by the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale, scheduled to be run at 1 1/8 miles on the turf. The card will also include the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday, Grade 3 Sugar Swirl and Grade 3 Suwannee River. As expected, the three dirt races came up a little light on nominations while the Fort Lauderdale and Suwannee River garnered plenty of attention, attracting 21 and 17 nominations, respectively.