Quant, Lead Along stand out if Thursday feature stays on turf

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Back-to-back allowances serve as early highlights on an 11-race Thursday card at Gulfstream Park, where the possibility of rain threatens to move the first of those races off the turf and onto the main track.

Rain was in the local forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, and it would buck a recent trend if in fact conditions were severe enough to cause turf races to be transferred to the main track. In the last 30 days, there has been only one racing date – Jan. 29, the Sunday after the Pegasus World Cup – during which weather forced turf racing at Gulfstream to be canceled.

In any event, the co-features go as races 2 and 3. Both races carry a first-level restriction and a $48,000 purse. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

In race 2, a filly-and-mare race scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on turf, Quant and Lead Along figure as favorites, assuming the race stays on the grass. They were the second and third finishers in a key race here Dec. 16 in which the winner, Summersault, proceeded to win right back at a higher level. Moreover, both are homebreds hailing from stables known for winning turf races with regularity: Quant, representing Robert S. Evans, is trained by Christophe Clement, and Lead Along, whom Bill Mott saddles for Juddmonte Farms.

If the race moves to the dirt, the complexion could change dramatically. Esken Lady and Amaluna then would be permitted to draw in as viable contenders, as they were the second and third finishers in the Claiming Crown Glass Slipper on opening day of this championship meet.

In race 3, for older horses at six furlongs, the 8-year-old Mr. Baker will take some catching when looking to overturn a couple of disappointments that ended his 2016 campaign. The earner of nearly $250,000 has run the occasional eye-popper, including a victory three starts back at Gulfstream West in which he earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure. His opposition includes Curlin’s Vow, entered off a sharp runner-up effort for Mike Tomlinson, and Avast Matey and Force, both working well after having last raced in May.

Neither co-feature is part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 6-11), which had a rollover jackpot of $134,347 following Sunday’s action.