Reclaimed Luz de La Luna can better her last race

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Some reclaims work out for the best, and the reclaim of Luz de La Luna by owners Lisa McCallum-Smith and Patrick Steane, along with trainer David Borsk, could be one of those in Thursday’s main event at Woodbine.

Those connections won a six-furlong sprint at the same conditioned allowance/optional-claiming class as Thursday’s level with Luz de La Luna last August, after which they lost her via a $47,500 claim in October.

Following a winter layoff, trainer Marty Drexler sent her out to win her season opener over 5 1/2 furlongs May 3. Normally a stalker or closer, she inherited the lead most recently when moving out to seven furlongs before fading late to fifth, a rare dull performance from which she was haltered for $50,000 by Borsk and company.

Luz de La Luna is cutting back to the more suitable distance of six furlongs on Thursday while being reunited with Jose Campos, who was aboard for the majority of her finest performances.

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The seven-horse field has two front runners – Maximum Fifty and Cara Cara.

Maximum Fifty went gate to wire in back-to-back first-level allowances in the spring. In a racing rarity, she was eligible for the second one because she was protected by waiver in the first one in her season debut.

Cara Cara has been a model of consistency throughout her career, while displaying hanging tendencies at times. She’s coming off two consecutive seconds on different surfaces and is dropping some weight with leading apprentice Pietro Moran taking over.

Orderofthephoenix won an allowance by disqualification two back before checking in third behind Cara Cara after getting away slowly in her latest.

Trainer Debra Rombis sends out the live longshot Chromeplated Heart in the feature and Gizmo’s B F F in the fifth, a starter/optional claimer in which she will be favored to win her fourth in a row. Both were recently quarantined due to a positive test for equine herpesvirus in barn 32 at Woodbine but were cleared to enter last Friday for this card.

Gizmo’s B F F was a productive allowance runner during her formative years before going into the dumper after Rombis claimed her for $15,000 late in 2023. Rombis said it took quite a while for the now 7-year-old to get back on the beam.

“She had a lot of issues last year,” Rombis recalled. “I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. It took a long time and by the end of the year, she started coming around a little bit. She was training great [this spring] and here we are. She seems like she’s just getting better.”

From post 6, Gizmo’s B F F is drawn outside the other speed in the seven-horse field and should be dangerous under regular rider Sofia Vives, who worked her an easy half-mile in 50.20 seconds last Friday.

Post time for the eight-race card is 3:10 p.m.

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