Return of War Correspondent spices up El Prado
An 8 1/2-month layoff for War Correspondent is just one of many intriguing variables that horseplayers will need to address prior to the $100,000 El Prado Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
A mix of turf sprinters and miler-types make up the field for the El Prado, which concludes the Gulf card as the 11th race. The filly-mare counterpart to the El Prado, the $100,000 South Beach, will have a similar look when it is run an hour earlier as the ninth race. Both races are scheduled for 7 1/2 furlongs on the turf.
War Correspondent, owned by a partnership led by Eclipse Thoroughbreds and trained by Christophe Clement, hasn’t raced since he won the Grade 3 Appleton Handicap as a 6-5 favorite on the March 28 Florida Derby card at Gulfstream. The 5-year-old horse got time off during the summer and has been prepped for his return to action with breezes at Belmont Park and Payson Park. Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez has a return call Saturday.
Following the Appleton, “he just wasn’t doing as well,” Clement told Gulfstream publicity this week. “He’s training very well at Payson Park, he did very well at Gulfstream last winter, and we have Johnny to ride him, so it’s exciting.”
Strong competition to War Correspondent will come from Aztec Brave and Plainview, along with a pair of recent arrivals from Canada, Tower of Texas and Victory Exchange.
Victory Exchange, a gray 5-year-old, won a Nov. 15 allowance on the Woodbine turf in his first race in 18 months. Javier Castellano has the call from trainer Josie Carroll.
“I thought it was a big, big race off the layoff,” said Carroll. “We’ve always liked this horse. We’ve just always for various reasons had to stop on him. Now he’s doing well and hopefully we can move forward.”
This is the fourth running of the El Prado, a 1989 foal who had a highly productive stud career at Adena Springs prior to his 2009 death. Post time for the Saturday finale is 5:05 p.m. Eastern.
El Prado Stakes (race 11)
KEY CONTENDERS
War Correspondent (Last 3 Beyers: 102-102-98)
◗ Lightly raced son of War Front began his racing career in France before being returned here to his native country, where he has never run a bad one.
◗ He and Velazquez must overcome the outside post here.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 11 War Correspondent. Trainer Christophe Clement is 33-3-5-6 with a $0.85 ROI over the past five years in two-turn turf races at Gulfstream Park following a layoff of 180 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Aztec Brave (Last 3 Beyers: 97-93-96)
◗ Former claimer has had a fine year under the radar, pairing up 103 Beyers in the spring while never finishing out of the money in seven starts.
◗ Comes well-drawn on the rail with Corey Lanerie to ride.
Tower of Texas (Last 3 Beyers: 95-101-98)
◗ Ontario-bred makes his first start since being outrun in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile and gets some class relief from Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Tower of Texas. Trainer Roger Attfield is 71-3-15-4 with a $0.63 ROI over the past four years in turf races at Gulfstream Park.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
South Beach: Plenty of speed
The 11th running of the South Beach (race 9, post 4:05) might be the most wide-open race on the Saturday card, although fans might ultimately default to Chad Brown for a lukewarm favorite in the form of Hope Cross, a recent runner-up in the Grade 3 My Charmer across town at Gulfstream Park West.
Otherwise, the South Beach has a competitive look complicated by all the early speed signed on, including Lemon Point, Unbridled Courage, Endless Light, Celebrity Star, and Spectacular Me. Trainer Marty Wolfson is hoping a swift tempo could set things up for Lori’s Store, who exits a series of slightly longer races, including a troubled fourth at 45-1 in the Nov. 21 My Charmer.
“She should have won,” said Wolfson. “She got in all kinds of trouble.”
South Beach Stakes (race 9)
KEY CONTENDERS
Hope Cross (Last 3 Beyers: 95-89-85)
◗ Irish-bred filly closed steadily to be second in the My Charmer at 8-1 in a solid effort, which followed a second-level allowance score over the Belmont Park grass.
◗ Brown continues to enjoy yet another career-best season, with his stable on par to surpass the $20 million earnings mark this week while having accounted for 48 stakes wins, 32 of them graded.
Spectacular Me (Last 3 Beyers: 86-86-85)
◗ Gray mare might be the most capable of those exiting shorter races, having really honed her closing kick since Steve Klesaris claimed her for $25,000 in the spring.