Nothing to Lose rested and fit for Palm Beach

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - In Badge of Silver, owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey have one of the most exciting 3-year-old dirt horses in the country. In Nothing to Lose, they may have one of the top 3-year-old turf horses as well.

Badge of Silver remained unbeaten with his victory in last weekend's Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. Nothing to Lose will try to remain undefeated on turf in Friday's Grade 3, $100,000 Palm Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park, which drew 13 entries.

Nothing to Lose made it 3 for 3 on turf when he won the Grade 3 Tropical Park Derby on New Year's Day at Calder. After skipping the Dave Feldman Stakes earlier in the meet, Nothing to Lose will be well rested to take on seven of the 11 participants from the Feldman, including one-two-three finishers Hypnotist, White Cat, and Private Gold.

"The time has done him well," said Mike Maker, assistant to trainer D. Wayne Lukas, about the 51 days Nothing to Lose has had between starts. "He's filled up, put on weight, his muscle tone looks great, and we're looking for a big race out of him."

Nothing to Lose, a son of Sky Classic, certainly ran big in the Tropical Park Derby. After racing between horses for most of the trip, he closed strongly once in the clear in the stretch. He must overcome post 11 Friday, but with Jerry Bailey riding, that shouldn't be too much trouble.

Imitation and Purely Classic - two horses that did not run in the Dave Feldman - could prove the toughest rivals for Nothing to Lose.

Imitation and Purely Classic finished first and second in a one-mile maiden turf race at Belmont last October. Imitation shipped to California where he finished fifth in the Grade 3 Generous Stakes, a race that has produced three stakes winners.

"He was a little bit rank and he ran below form," trainer Christophe Clement said. "I was a bit annoyed because he looked very good going in. He got sick when he came back to Florida and even now I have a question if he was healthy when I ran him."

Since finishing second to Imitation in that October race, Purely Classic has won two straight, including an entry-level allowance race over this course and distance earlier in the meet.

Private Gold was beaten only three-quarters of a length in the Dave Feldman, but may have taken the worst of it breaking from post 12. He breaks from post 7 Friday under Pat Day.

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