Royal Stage ready for breakthrough

Gulfstream Park West should take down a good share of the nation’s simulcast dollars Monday, as there are only four other tracks running during the day, and two of them are out West.

Two of the better races on the card are a turf sprint for maiden 2-year-old fillies and a starter race with a $10,000 claiming option.

Royal Stage enters the five-furlong maiden race off a sharp debut effort for trainer Kathleen O’Connell. Royal Stage, a daughter of Shakespeare, the winner of the 2007 Woodbine Mile and 2005 Turf Classic, moved up to challenge for the lead three wide entering the far turn of the five-furlong turf sprint and then battled the length of the stretch before coming up a nose shy.

With that race under her belt, she should prove difficult to defeat here.

FORMULATOR FACT: Over the last three years, O’Connell has won with 72 of her 334 2-year-old starters (22 percent) and has a positive return on investment of $2.07.

Royal Stage’s toughest competition could come from Zeezee Zoomzoom and Roana Daytona.

Zeezee Zoomzoom will be making the third start of her career. Last time out, she finished fifth, beaten 2 3/4 lengths in a six-furlong turf sprint at Belmont Park. She was rank during that race and was steadied several times by jockey Dylan Davis.

Roana Daytona finished third, 1 3/4 lengths behind Royal Stage, last time out while making her fourth career start. She should once again be doing her best work late.

Four-way rematch

Moments Notiz, Quiz Whiz, Haywired, and Blings Express finished within a length of each other at this same starter/optional-claiming level in their last start and should put on another good show Monday.

Moments Notiz rallied from far back to win that six-furlong race by a head over a stubborn Quiz Whiz. It was another head back to Haywired in third and three-quarters of a length farther back to Blings Express.

Quiz Whiz, 6-1 last time out, ran a very strong race to be second. He forged to a clear lead three wide on the far turn and then just failed following a long drive. He may have won with a more patient ride. The cutback to 5 1/2 furlongs Monday should work in his favor.

Blings Express, the 6-5 favorite, had to work his way through traffic on the turn and then flattened out a bit in deep stretch. Haywired was lapped outside Blings Express for the final half-mile.

Moments Notiz was farther back than usual last time and is always formidable. The 6-year-old has won 18 off 33 lifetime starts. He is 6 for 10 this year and was 8 for 12 in 2013.