HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A. P.’s Secret, who never quite lived up to all the hype at 2 and 3, will start a new chapter in his career when returning from yet another lengthy hiatus in Sunday’s $52,000 co-feature at Gulfstream Park. The seven-furlong dash will be decided over the main track while sharing top billing on the card with a similarly conditioned 5 1/2-furlong test for older fillies and mares on the Tapeta. A. P.’s Secret was bet to 6-5 when successfully launching his career here during the fall of 2021 and briefly hopped on the Kentucky Derby trail after kicking off his 3-year-old campaign with a popular allowance victory going a mile in early January. But after finishing seventh in the Fountain of Youth and fourth in the Wood Memorial those dreams ended, with A. P.’s Secret struggling to find his identity ever since. He comes into Sunday’s headliner having started just once in the last 16 months, that outing a seventh-place finish on the turf here in March to no less a rival than recent Breeders’ Cup Turf runner-up Up to the Mark. “We tried him the last time on turf, he came back with another issue and had to stop on him again,” said Saffie Joseph Jr., who trains A. P.’s Secret for Gentry Farms. “He’s working well for his return, although he’s always been a horse who has trained better than he’s shown. But he’s fit enough off the layoff, I think cutting him back to one turn again is something he’ll really like and I feel he should be good enough to win.” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. p>A. P.’s Secret may have his stablemate, Positive Review, to beat. The steadily improving 4-year-old has been a model of consistency of late, most recently finishing second behind the odds-on Steal Sunshine going a mile Oct. 14. The 88 Beyer Speed Figure he earned that day is easily the best last-out number in this field. Although Edgard Zayas was aboard Positive Review for that outing and his victory against lesser allowance and optional-claiming company in July, he has taken the call aboard A. P.’s Secret on Sunday. “Obviously, Positive Review is doing great and has the more current form. Plus, cutting back to 6 1/2 furlongs is the perfect trip for him,” Joseph said. “Yet even off the layoff, I’d lean a little towards A. P.’s Secret.” The Joseph duo will face a field that includes Willy Boi, making his first start locally since finishing sixth in the Grade 3 Smile Sprint on July 1, the multiple stakes-placed Cattin, and the speedy 3-year-old Hurricane J, who has worked extremely well since joining trainer Jorge Delgado’s barn earlier this season. Joseph will send out a pair of fillies, Fawning and Qualy, against logical favorites Choose Joy and Talkin Tipsy in the co-featured ninth event. Joseph’s contenders are both coming off victories but stepping up in company. “Fawning jumped back to good form to win her last start, and Qualy ran really well when we put Schuyler [Spanabel] on for her last race, although both will have to really improve to be competitive in this spot.” Joseph had successful BC Joseph recently returned from the Breeders’ Cup, where he sent out Princess Rooney winner Three Witches to a third-place finish in the Filly and Mare Sprint and Skippylongstocking to be a good third in the Dirt Mile. “Three Witches ran as well as we could have hoped for,” Joseph said. “Of course you always hope to win, but realistically we thought if she could get a Grade 1-placing it would be a win for us. She did, then sold for $1.7 million at the Keeneland sale.” Skippylongstocking came off his easy win in the Charles Town Classic with another huge effort in the Dirt Mile when beaten less than four lengths by Cody’s Wish after forcing the pace from the outset. The performance will serve as a springboard to his next start in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational here Jan. 27. “Even though you’re in the race, it’s hard to root against a horse like Cody’s Wish because it was such a great story,” Joseph said, referring to the Dirt Mile. “I thought Skippy ran great and we’ll train him straight to the Pegasus off that effort.” :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Joseph also said that contrary to what some people might have believed, he was rooting as hard as anyone when his former pupil, White Abarrio, captured the Classic later that same day. “Why would I want to have rooted for anybody else in that race,” Joseph said. “It was a positive for all of us just to have been a part of his story. I still have eight or 10 horses for those owners. It was all part of a process that started at Churchill Downs. “Everything happens for a reason. I never look backwards. Sure it would have been nice to have had him, most definitely. But we’re in a good position, we have a lot of good opportunities. I have no regrets.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.