Rumours Have It brings big Beyer into Sheer Drama

When Rumours Have It makes her stakes debut in the $75,000 Sheer Drama at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, trainer Kent Sweezey may feel like he’s just along for the ride following her unexpected blowout victory last time out.

When the 4-year-old filly entered Sweezey’s barn after two starts for Todd Pletcher, she immediately improved off a layoff to win a $43,000 maiden special weight by 3 1/2 lengths in April. She ran back to that performance to finish a distant second in a $57,000 allowance in May.

It was a relatively mundane success story until the rains came in July. Running on the first sloppy track of her career at the same allowance level, Rumours Have It took a two-length lead on the backstretch and exploded in the stretch, powering home to a 10 1/4-length score.

The filly earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure for the shocking performance, a 28-point improvement on those earned in her two prior starts. Sweezey didn’t see it coming and still can’t explain it.

:: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports

“Hard to say,” Sweezey said. “I’d say the slop probably helped her freak like that. But she was in really good form and she’s kind of stayed in that good form.”

After her aberrant victory at Gulfstream, the trainer brought her to Churchill Downs to prepare for races there, but he eventually decided to bring her home for the Sheer Drama.

“When they’re doing good, you have to run them,” Sweezey said. “That’s one of the reasons we brought her back down to Florida.”

Her prospects would have been uncertain in her next start regardless, so Sweezey is doing everything he can to ensure similar conditions. The Sheer Drama will be run at seven furlongs, a half-furlong longer than her last start, and jockey Jose Morelos will return to the saddle.

Sweezey also considered the near-constant threat of rain in Florida when he decided to bring Rumours Have It back to Gulfstream. The competition is noticeably tougher on Saturday, but it should still feel familiar to her.

Another wild-card performance from Rumours Have It might be the only thing standing in the way of trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who has entered a pair of heavily favored 4-year-old fillies in the Sheer Drama. Sweezey acknowledged that they’ll be tough to beat, regardless of whether Rumours Have It brings her best.

Claret Beret made an explosive improvement of her own soon after entering Joseph’s barn in May, winning a $70,000 handicap at Gulfstream by 19 3/4 lengths. She sustained her form in the Grade 2 Chicago at Churchill next time out, finishing second by three-quarters of a length to Vahva.

While Claret Beret has made a brief and instant impact for Joseph, her stablemate, Haulin Ice, has been a major player in the trainer’s barn for nearly two years. The filly has won four straight stakes races and is using the Sheer Drama as a prep for the Grade 3 Princess Rooney at Gulfstream in September.

She will carry 127 pounds on Saturday, the highest weight in the field of nine. Joseph said that the higher weight on her gave him cause for concern, but he still plans to run both horses.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.