Salutos Amigos targets Smile Sprint for return
ELMONT, N.Y. – Salutos Amigos, among the top sprinters on the East Coast if not in the country, will make his return to the races July 5 in the Grade 2, $250,000 Smile Sprint Handicap at Gulfstream Park, trainer David Jacobson confirmed Sunday.
Salutos Amigos, who began the year with sharp victories in the Toboggan and Tom Fool – both Grade 3 stakes over Aqueduct’s inner track – has not run since finishing eighth in the Grade 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan on March 28. Jacobson, who also owns the gelding in partnership with Mike Moreno’s Southern Equine Stable, said Salutos Amigos came out of that race coughing.
After a month off, Salutos Amigos resumed training in early May and shows three published workouts at Aqueduct, including a three-furlong move in 39.62 seconds Friday.
“He’s come back as good as he’s ever been, if not better,” Jacobson said. “I haven’t really started tightening down on him. I will as we now get closer to the race.”
Jacobson had been toying with the idea of running Salutos Amigos in the $75,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Monmouth Park on June 28 but opted for the Smile in part because the race offers an automatic berth into the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Oct. 31 at Keeneland as part of the “Win and You’re In” initiative sponsored by the Breeders’ Cup.
“This race could be a good spot for him, and if we get lucky and win, we’re on our way to the Breeders’ Cup,” Jacobson said.
Salutos Amigos finished seventh, beaten only three lengths, in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita.
Jacobson said he also could send Room for Me down to Gulfstream for the Grade 2, $250,000 Princess Rooney Handicap, which offers a berth into the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
First, however, Room for Me is scheduled to run in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Bed o’ Roses Handicap at Belmont.
“Depending how she runs and how she comes out of the race, we’ll decide if she’ll give Salutos a little company on the plane,” Jacobson said.
Room for Me was claimed for $12,500 Feb. 12 and since moving to Jacobson has three wins and a second from four starts, the second being a half-length loss to La Verdad in the Grade 3 Vagrancy on May 16. La Verdad is expected to start in the Bed o’ Roses as well.