Red-hot Navarro sends out two in Wednesday sprint feature
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trying to beat any horse trained by Jorge Navarro at Gulfstream Park these days seems to be a Herculean task. So, imagine what it must be like going into a race knowing that you’ve got to beat two Navarro runners, as will be the case for the four other trainers with starters in Wednesday’s featured ninth event, a $35,000 optional-claiming dash at six furlongs.
Navarro has won with seven of the last nine horses he’s started over the past week, with one of those two losses coming in the Trust Buster Starter Stakes, which he won with Defer Heaven. Overall, Navarro has registered 30 victories from 100 starts during the current session, putting him second in the standings behind perennial leader Todd Pletcher.
Navarro will send out the co-favorites Gryvon and Gombey Dancer in Wednesday’s headliner. The pair finished first and second, a neck apart, when meeting under a $25,000 claiming tag Jan. 13. Gryvon rallied wide to outlast his uncoupled stablemate, with Gombey Dancer finishing best of all after encountering some trouble at the break.
Trainer Dale Romans will counter Navarro’s pair with two of his own, Seve and Rod McLeod. The duo finished fourth and fifth under similar conditions on a sloppy track here Jan. 22. The 7-year-old Seve is the more experienced and accomplished of the Romans runners, having won four times, his most recent victory coming in an entry-level allowance race going seven furlongs last summer at Churchill Downs. Rod McLeod should improve off his last start, his first in more than four months.
Mitos Y Leyendas, stepping up in company off two straight victories; Galardonado, who does likewise off a never-won-three-lifetime conditioned claiming win five weeks ago; and allowance winner Corps of Discovery complete the lineup.
KEY CONTENDERS
Gryvon, by Spellbinder
Last 3 Beyers: 85-74-86
◗ He was oddly returned to the same owner-trainer combination after being claimed for $12,500 out of a winning effort at Gulfstream Park West on Oct. 30.
Gombey Dancer, by Dixie Union
Last 3 Beyers: 84-72-53
◗ He appears to be rounding back to top form, having posted three straight victories with Beyer Speed Figures ranging from 87 to 97 last spring and summer at Monmouth Park.
Seve, by Giant’s Causeway
Last 3 Beyers: 81-76-80
◗ He’s always run well over the local surface, having posted two of his four career wins while also finishing in the money in seven of his 10 starts at Gulfstream.