Royally bred River Front wins maiden race at Gulfstream Park

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – All wins are good but some are a little better than others. A case in point is River Front’s maiden victory here Sunday for trainer Ralph Nicks. River Front is the third foal out of the champion mare Havre de Grace to make the races and is now the third winner in a family that also includes older sister Graceful Princess and younger sibling Heavenly Grace, both of whom are also trained by Nicks. All three Havre de Grace offspring are owned by Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm.

“It’s nice to get a win with another Havre de Grace,” said Nicks. “The mare is now three for three and it seems they definitely prefer to go longer rather than sprint.”

River Front, by War Front, stretched out to a mile in his third start to register a game victory under jockey Edgard Zayas.

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“They all seem to take their time to come around,” said Nicks. “He’s quick and I’m not quite sure he’ll get two turns, but he’s a very talented horse.”

Nobody was happier than Nicks the previous afternoon after watching his good friend and former protégé Tyler Gaffalione win the Preakness aboard War of Will. Gaffalione was Nicks’s first-call rider as an apprentice,with the pair having combined to win 133 races over the past several seasons.

“I’ve been around Tyler from day one and nobody deserves this kind of success any more than he does,” said Nicks. “He worked really hard to get where he is now. He sat in the office with me many days after training watching races and talking about how he should handle himself personally and professionally. And it’s so rewarding to see him go on and accomplish what he has already while staying so grounded and so humble through it all.”

◗ There will be a carryover of nearly $1.3 million in the Rainbow 6 when racing resumes Thursday with a nine-race card topped by the third event, an optional claimer carded at five furlongs on the turf for statebred fillies and mares.