Octane has more gas than his Sunshine Classic rivals

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – With the Pegasus World Cup off his radar and the Grade 3 Fred Hooper coming up a bit salty as well, Octane will take the path of least resistance when returning to statebred company as the one to beat in Saturday’s $75,000 Sunshine Classic. The 1 1/16-mile fixture for Florida-breds drew a field of just seven, including Octane’s uncoupled stablemate The Skipper Too.

Octane had designs on a possible try in the Pegasus World Cup before finishing fifth in the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday in his 2023 finale on Dec. 30. His chances were compromised somewhat when acting up at the gate after which he was hung wide. The homebred son of Brethren ultimately weakened to finish fifth while not badly beaten by the Pegasus-bound trio of O’Connor, Grand Aspen, and Ny Traffic.

In his previous start, Octane turned in one of his most impressive efforts, rallying to a 1 1/4-length triumph in the one-mile Gil Campbell Handicap for which he earned a near career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure. The Campbell was the only time Octane raced against statebreds last year.

“We were originally planning on going to the Pegasus and then we considered the mile race that same day [the Hooper] but the nominations looked ridiculously tough and it figures to come up a big field, so we figured this [the Sunshine Classic] was our best shot,” said Brian Cohen, assistant to trainer Juan Alvarado and the son of Octane’s owner-breeder Alan Cohen. “The timing isn’t great, I’d rather he had another week or even two, but the field came up light with no speed and we figured he’d be able to make an easy lead.”

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Cohen said he was a bit surprised Octane misbehaved the way he did at the gate prior to the Harlan’s Holiday.

“The early antics kind of killed him that day,” Cohen said. “It’s something he did now and then with Carlos [previous trainer Carlos David], but something we hadn’t really seen here before. We’ve brought him back to the gate just about every day since the race.

“As long as he’s good in the gate and breaks well, the inside post should be fine. He doesn’t necessarily need the lead, he’s proven that before, but there just doesn’t look like anything with his kind of speed in there.”

The Skipper Too won back-to-back races here earlier in the season but has lost his last four starts, which include a fifth-place finish in the seven-furlong Marion County Florida Sire Stakes on Dec. 9 at Tampa Bay Downs.

“The race in Tampa was just too short for him, he lost contact with the field and came running late,” Cohen explained. “I think he probably wins if it were a mile. He shouldn’t be that far back in this one and complements Octane well. Hopefully, one of them wins it.”

The Skipper Too will be reunited with Emisael Jaramillo on Saturday.

“His best races have been with Jaramillo, so I’m glad we were able to get him back for this race,” Cohen said.

Like Octane, Lure Him In also exits the Harlan’s Holiday. He finished a distant ninth after having his best chances compromised when hung very wide early on after breaking from the extreme outside post with a short run to the clubhouse turn.

Lure Him In, haltered for $40,000 by his present connections late last summer at Del Mar, returned quick dividends for his new owners when returning locally to capture a high-priced optional-claiming and allowance race going a mile Nov. 25. Lure Him In is much more favorably drawn for his 2024 debut and will break from post 2 under Edwin Gonzalez.

Khozeiress, sixth after prompting the early pace in the Marion County, returns to his favorite track where he has won four times and never finished worse than third in eight starts. Distance is the key to his chances as he’s never run beyond seven furlongs in 10 lifetime tries.

Cashier Check, Slim Slow Slider, and Granted Success complete the compact lineup.

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Senor Buscador gets serious

Senor Buscador turned in his last and to this point best local work for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational here Thursday morning, breezing five furlongs from the half-mile pole in 1:01.08 with jockey Junior Alvarado aboard.

Senor Buscador, who rallied from far back to finish second in the Cigar Mile in his 2023 finale, worked in company here for the first time Thursday. He broke several lengths behind the Michael Trombetta-trained Biz Biz Buzz, taking dirt approaching the stretch before slipping inside his target and drawing off readily without urging to the wire before continuing out seven-eighths into and around the clubhouse turn in 1:26.93.

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