Promising 3-year-olds square off in allowance

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It’s that time of year when an everyday allowance at Gulfstream Park has a chance to reveal something of note. That sure seems the case Thursday with the ninth of 10 races, a first-level allowance in which Noble Indy and Mississippi will try to make a forward move along the Kentucky Derby trail.

Noble Indy was particularly impressive in winning his Dec. 3 debut by 8 3/4 lengths at Gulfstream, while Mississippi dominated Churchill Downs maidens in November in his second career start. They’ll be among a field of seven 3-year-old colts vying for a $51,000 purse when going 1 1/16 miles.

Noble Indy will break from post 4, with John Velazquez riding for trainer Todd Pletcher. The colt was bred by WinStar Farm, who sold partial interest to another Pletcher client, Mike Repole, following the debut romp.

“We stand Outwork and Overanalyze with Mike, and we hope this horse is as lucky as those,” WinStar president Elliott Walden said. “I think the stretchout will be no problem with his sire, Take Charge Indy, being a two-turn dirt horse. He has trained well and was one of Todd’s favorites of the horses he sent to Palm Beach Downs early.”

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Mississippi, owned by a partnership that includes John Oxley and the Coolmore group, will break from post 2 with Julien Leparoux aboard.

“We thought his maiden win was very good,” said Norman Casse, son of and assistant to trainer Mark Casse. “He’s had a great month at Palm Meadows, and we’re anxious to see how he performs against winners and around two turns.”

Other logical contenders in the Thursday feature include Stronger (post 1, Edgard Zayas), most recently third in the Smooth Air, and Tap Rap Strike (post 5, Irad Ortiz Jr.), adding blinkers for John Servis after finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Remsen at Aqueduct. Rounding out the lineup are Miago, Tip Sheet, and Charge Card.

First post Thursday is 12:35 p.m. Eastern, with the feature set for 4:37. One other allowance, a second-level turf race for fillies and mares, is on tap as race 7. Both allowances are part of a Rainbow 6 sequence that runs from races 5 to 10. The six-day race week began Wednesday with a whopping $1,464,551 in the Rainbow 6 jackpot.

Racing will be held here Monday (normally a dark day) because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.