Princess Rooney highlight of summer stakes schedule

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Gulfstream Park officials have released the stakes schedule for the upcoming spring-summer meet with $3.5 million in purses spread among 34 races.

Top offerings include the Grade 2, $350,000 Princess Rooney and the annual Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds, worth a combined $1.3 million. The Princess Rooney, a Win and You’re In toward the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, is back in its familiar Independence Day weekend spot as the marquee event on the July 3 Summit of Speed card, along with the $200,000 Smile Sprint for 3-year-olds. Both the Princess Rooney and Smile are being held as invitational events for the first time.

The dates for the Florida Sire Stakes are July 31, Aug. 28, and Sept. 25.

The spring-summer meet runs April 1 through Sept. 26. The first stakes is set for May 1.

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◗ Hog Creek Hustle is returning to the care of trainer Vickie Foley when pointing to the April 3 Commonwealth at Keeneland after the ownership group in the 5-year-old horse had him in training in recent weeks at Palm Meadows with Danny Gargan. A Grade 1 winner at 3, Hog Creek Hustle had been considered for the Feb. 27 Gulfstream Mile and the March 27 Godolphin Mile before taking a pass on both.

◗ This is the second straight winter that Pat Byrne has been absent from the Florida horse scene, “so I guess you could go ahead and say I’m retired from the horse business,” Byrne said Monday from his new home in Franklin, Tenn. “If I’m not fooling around with horses in Kentucky or Florida, I guess that’s it.”

Byrne, 65, enjoyed his best years in 1997 and 1998 with such standouts as Favorite Trick, Awesome Again, Countess Diana, Wild Rush, and Richter Scale, but success became elusive not long thereafter. He won a total of 16 races in his last six years of training (2014-19), with his final start coming Dec. 1, 2019.

“Life is good,” Byrne said. “I’ve still got plenty to do with my real estate and art and other hobbies, and suburban Nashville is a fantastic place to live. Maybe I’ll get back into racing one day, but not for now.”

◗ One Saturday ahead of the Florida Derby, the rescheduled Hurricane Bertie and a pair of $75,000 turf sprints for 3-year-olds are the highlights of the coming weekend at Gulfstream.

The Grade 3, $100,000 Hurricane Bertie was postponed from last weekend when failing to fill, but track officials were hoping to get at least six fillies and mares for the 6 1/2-furlong race, including Cory Gal, Sound Machine, and Royal Meghan. It’ll share the Saturday spotlight with the Texas Glitter (colts and geldings) and Melody of Colors (fillies).

◗ As was widely expected, the disqualification of Spanish Loveaffair from first to fourth in the Feb. 27 Herecomesthebride Stakes has been upheld by an independent arbitrator following a stewards’ hearing last Thursday. Trainer Mark Casse and the ownership group in Spanish Loveaffair, a 3-year-old Karakontie filly, have no plans to appeal further.

◗ Horseplayers are reminded that the Stronach 5 will have a carryover pool of $154,931 for Friday. No perfect tickets were sold March 5 in the cross-country wager, and it was not offered last Friday when racing at Laurel Park was canceled.