Rampart, Sugar Swirl get afternoon festivities started

A pair of Grade 3 races that both drew six fillies and mares will serve as early lead-ins Saturday at Gulfstream Park, where an 11-race card peaks later with the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale.

The $100,000 Rampart and the $100,000 Sugar Swirl are the longstanding fixtures that will highlight the first half of a busy program. Both are set for a main track expected to be fast, with the Rampart being run as a one-turn mile and the Sugar Swirl going at six furlongs.

Rampart (race 4)

Sally’s Curlin left Florida last spring on a real high, having stormed from far back to win the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie with a career-best 93 Beyer Speed Figure in mid-March, just as the coronavirus pandemic was starting to impact racing at Gulfstream and elsewhere. The classy 4-year-old hasn’t been able to accomplish much in her three starts since then, all in Kentucky, but trainer Dale Romans believes a return to Florida could be just the tonic.

“She really likes it at Gulfstream,” said Romans.

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Sally’s Curlin, with Corey Lanerie riding from post 3, stands to benefit from an ample amount of opposing speed in the 42nd Rampart. Most of her rivals tend to do their best on or near the front end, including the other two favorites, Bajan Girl and Letruska.

Sally’s Curlin sandwiched disappointing runs in the Madison and Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, both at Keeneland, around a solid third-place finish in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff on the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby card. Romans obviously is hoping the Rampart sets up for her late kick.

“She’s won before when coming off a bad race, and the way she’s been training, I think she’s ready to rebound Saturday,” he said. “Let’s just hope all the speed in there gives us a chance to make our run. We feel good about our chances.”

Bajan Girl (post 2, Edgar Prado) suddenly came alive this fall at now-shuttered Gulfstream West when earning 93 and 94 Beyers in back-to-back allowance romps. The 3-year-old Speightstown filly will “do anything the rider asks her to,” said trainer Rohan Crichton. “That’s her biggest asset. She will just relax or if she needs to show some speed, she will.

“She’s always been a very smart, intelligent filly, and what has happened is that physically she’s just starting to mature.”

Letruska (post 5, Emisael Jaramillo) is the only other graded winner besides Sally’s Curlin in the lineup, having led wire to wire in the Grade 3 Shuvee at Saratoga in late August.

Sugar Swirl (race 6)

Even more so than the longer Rampart, there’s speed in great abundance in this 39th running of the Sugar Swirl.

Lady’s Island (post 2, Jaramillo) is back a year after dominating the 2019 renewal with a dazzling display of raw speed, winning off by 6 3/4 lengths in what was one of the flashier of a remarkable 16 wins she has collected from just 33 starts. Whether the 6-year-old Florida-bred mare can use similar tactics with the same effectiveness when facing capable speedsters is the burning question here.

Indeed, with Golden Ami and Cinnabunny – and maybe even Miss Nadine – eligible to flash early foot as well, the possibility of a pace meltdown might be what precludes Lady’s Island from repeating. The apparent beneficiary of such a hell-bent scenario would be Bronx Beauty (post 4, Luis Saez), whose off-pace tactics in winning the Regret at Monmouth Park and finishing second in the Skipat at Pimlico would probably serve her well in this spot.