HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The finales of the rich Florida Sire Series, the 1 1/16-mile In Reality and My Dear Girl Stakes, were pushed back nearly two months on the calendar this season to give potential candidates extra time to mature before facing the sternest test of their young careers. But no matter the date, the key question Saturday is the same as always for the majority of the youngsters entered, including odds-on favorites Bentornato in the In Reality and R Harper Rose in the My Dear Girl, neither of whom have ever raced beyond seven furlongs. Can they stay the distance? The $300,000 In Reality and $300,000 My Dear Girl are the highlights on an outstanding 11-race program at Gulfstream Park that also includes the $100,000 Sabal Palm overnight handicap carded at 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta surface as well as a one-mile allowance race over the newly renovated turf course that features Atone, who returns locally for the first time since capturing the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational earlier this year. Bentornato will be seeking to sweep the open division of the Sire Series after having dominated both the six-furlong Dr. Fager and seven-furlong Affirmed by a combined 10 1/4 lengths. R Harper Rose was forced to miss the opening leg of the filly division, the six-furlong Desert Vixen, after contracting a minor temperature a couple of days before the race. She returned with a vengeance to score an easy four-length triumph going seven panels in the Susan’s Girl to remain perfect and virtually untested after three starts. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports The imposing presence of Bentornato has limited the In Reality field to just seven horses, with Mattingly, who finished second in the Affirmed and also will be stretching out around two turns for the first time Saturday, figuring to be a solid second choice. Nobody knows Bentornato better than his trainer, Jose D’Angelo, who seems supremely confident his horse will get 1 1/16 miles without any issue whatsoever even though his pedigree does not exactly scream two turns. “I don’t think this horse will have any problem going a mile and one-sixteenth,” D’Angelo sais. “We’ve been training and preparing him for this even before his last race, stretching out his gallops and workouts on a regular basis.” Bentornato has had three works at the Palm Meadows training center since his 2 3/4-length triumph in the Affirmed, including six furlongs in 1:13.40 on Nov. 18. “I think this horse will make his future. If he responds the way we think he will on Saturday, we can point him to the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby.” Mattingly made his first four starts over synthetic surfaces, winning the five-furlong Hollywood Beach here Sept. 30 after being stakes-placed both locally and at Woodbine earlier this season. “He has a level head and is rateable, so I think he’ll be fine going two turns,” trainer Joe Orseno said. “He didn’t get the best of trips [in the Affirmed], he got stopped and lost some momentum.” R Harper Rose, who is trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., has won her first three starts by an average margin of more than five lengths, although she regressed from a Beyer Speed Figure standpoint in the Susan’s Girl, dropping from a career-high 80 to a 68 while stretching to seven panels. Joseph hesitated briefly when asked about his confidence level when it came to R Harper Rose going two turns for the first time in the My Dear Girl. “You have to try it, when you have a big favorite you’re always going to be more reserved with your opinion, but she’s the class of the field and I think she can do it,” Joseph said. Honey Dijon finished a distant second to R Harper Rose in the Susan’s Girl and will try her again Saturday while stretching out beyond seven furlongs for the first time. “Everything about her says she will stretch out,” trainer Joe Sharp said. Dancing N Dixie is perhaps the most intriguing member of the My Dear Girl lineup, having already started and won twice around two turns. Both of those victories came at a mile and 70 yards over the Tapeta course, including a game half-length decision in the Our Dear Peg Stakes on Nov. 3. ◗ A wide-open field of 10 older turf and synthetic specialists will contest the Sabal Palm. The group is topped by Volcanic and Amstrong, who have combined to win eight of their nine previous starts over the Tapeta surface. They will face a lineup that also features the Joseph-trained duo of Novo Sol and County Final, the multiple stakes winning Me and Mr. C, versatile Kentucky invader Skyro, and the Group 1-placed Brazilian-bred Last Action Hero, who will be making his U.S. debut. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. ◗ Atone, winless in five starts since his three-quarter-length decision in the 2023 Pegasus Turf, 10 months earlier, will get some significant class relief returning to the allowance ranks Saturday for trainer Mike Maker. Atone is coming off an eighth-place finish behind Up to the Mark and Master of The Seas in the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile at Keeneland. In their next starts, Up to the Mark came from off the pace to finish second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf and Master of The Seas was a popular winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile. “We’re basically taking the same path with him [Atone] heading into the Pegasus Turf as last year,” Maker said. “Hopefully, it will work out the same way. A mile may not be his best distance, but I think with the drop in class on Saturday, that shouldn’t matter. He just needs a clean trip.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.