Salty stands out in first start of season

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The names will jump off the page when Gulfstream Park bettors turn to the Thursday feature – Abel Tasman, Elate, Daddys Lil Darling, It Tiz Well . . .

Those are just some of the top-class fillies that Salty faced last year, when the Quality Road filly earned $437,670 while remaining eligible for a second-level allowance condition. Considering it’s been more than five months since her last race, the Grade 1 Cotillion in late September at Parx Racing, trainer Mark Casse is seeking to take advantage of that uncashed chit with Salty, who was purchased privately by Gary Barber and partners following a promising career debut here last February.

“We’re anxious to get her back going,” Casse said. “It looks like a nice spot. We gave her a break after the Cotillion; she’s trained really well. Hopefully, this starts off a big year for the filly.”

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Salty surely will be a single on many tickets in the Rainbow 6, which began Wednesday with $1,778,601 in the rollover jackpot. Listed at 3-5 on the morning line, Salty will probably be bet down even lower when Tyler Gaffalione climbs aboard for the 10th of 11 races, a $52,000 allowance with a $50,000 claiming option.

Seven other older fillies and mares are entered against Salty, who will start from post 6 in the one-turn-mile race. On paper, it’s a big mismatch, with Salty having proven competitive against the elite of the 3-year-old filly class of 2017 in such major events as the Gulfstream Park Oaks, the Acorn, the Coaching Club American Oaks, and the Alabama. Moreover, her recent work slate looks solid, with 10 breezes from mid-December (three at the Casse training center in Ocala) to Feb. 22 (seven at the Palm Meadows training center).

If a stunning upset is to happen, the most logical perpetrator is Tapella (post 7, John Velazquez), a gray Tapit filly making her first start in more than three months and trained by Todd Pletcher. Back-to-back wins at Belmont Park last fall were followed by a fourth-place finish in her first crack at graded company, the Grade 3 Comely on Nov. 24 at Aqueduct. She, too, shows a steady work pattern toward her comeback.

Two other allowances (races 3 and 9) also are on tap for Thursday, when first post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern. The start of the Rainbow 6 is set for 3:05, with the feature going around 5:08.