Pursuing Fate should appreciate wet track in optional claimer
Rain in the forecast could bode well for Pursuing Fate when she runs in a $16,000 optional-claiming race for fillies and mares Thursday at Gulfstream Park West. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew nine horses and appears to be a wide-open event. It goes as race 6 and will serve as the feature on a 10-race card that begins at 1:15 p.m. Eastern.
Trained by Mike Maker, Pursuing Fate is moving from turf to dirt after a runner-up finish in a first-level allowance going five furlongs Oct. 17 at Gulfstream Park West. The 3-year-old daughter of In Summation certainly won’t mind the move back to the main track, especially if it comes up wet.
She won her debut going 6 1/2 furlongs on a fast main track in a maiden special weight May 31 at Gulfstream, and after finishing third to Tar and Feather in a $12,500 optional claimer restricted to Florida-breds, she romped in the slop going 5 1/2 furlongs for the same condition July 25.
Pursuing Fate was coming off a fifth-place finish in her first route attempt in the $150,000 Florida Stallion Jewel Princess prior to a solid effort in her latest. She will break from post 4, and Rafael Hernandez retains the mount.
With five wins and $86,353 in earnings, J. L.’s Princess is the most accomplished horse in the field, and she also won’t mind a wet track. Trained by David Kassen, the 5-year-old mare’s only win on dirt came over a sloppy track in a $30,000 claimer that was washed off the turf just over a year ago at Gulfstream Park West.
Key contenders
Pursuing Fate (Last 3 Beyers: 67-41-70)
* She won’t mind the surface switch and could be the one they have to run down if she breaks on top.
J. L.’s Princess (Last 3 Beyers: 67-86-77)
* She figures to move forward in her second start back, and the 80 Beyer Speed Figure she received for her easy win over this surface is the best in the field.
Be Nice Or Leave (Last 3 Beyers: 68-67-66)
* The 4-year-old daughter of Kitten’s Joy has won 3 of 9 starts, all on turf, and could be dangerous while making her first start after being claimed by Gerald Bennett.
DRF Formulator fact: Over the past five years, Bennett has a 26 percent strike rate with claimed horses making their first start for him.