Salutos Amigos using Mr. Prospector as tune-up for Smile Sprint

Spring vacation is over for Salutos Amigos. He will make his first start since a trip to Dubai three months ago in the $75,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Monmouth Park on Sunday. If he does well, Salutos Amigos will fly to Florida on Tuesday for the July 5 Smile Sprint at Gulfstream Park, according to trainer David Jacobson.

“That’s Plan A,” Jacobson said. “If he doesn’t run the way we think he will, we’ll go to Plan B.”

Salutos Amigos will be odds-on in the six-furlong Mr. Prospector despite not having raced since his eighth-place finish in the Golden Shaheen at Meydan on March 28. Prior to the Golden Shaheen, Salutos Amigos had won five of six starts, with his only defeat during that span coming in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. His five wins were all in New York stakes company.

Jacobson said Salutos Amigos came down with a cough after arriving in Dubai.

“He shipped over there great; he was very satisfied when he got there,” Jacobson said. “But after he was there a few days, he got a little irritation in his throat and started coughing. He didn’t have a fever or anything, it was more of an annoyance than anything. But I think it affected how he ran.”

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Jacobson gave Salutos Amigos a freshening after he returned from Dubai. He has worked him six times since May 26.

“I’m very high on him. He’s had a very good spring, and he’s training like a champ,” Jacobson said. “We’ve given him a well-deserved rest, and now we’re ready to start a summer campaign with him. The Monmouth race looks like a nice, easy spot. I’ve been running there a lot, and we decided to send him down.”

Jacobson said he is comfortable sending him to Florida so soon after the Mr. Prospector because Salutos Amigos travels very well.

“You put him in his box stall, and he’ll just lay down and go to sleep,” he said. “He traveled that way to Dubai and did the same thing when we took him to the Breeders’ Cup in California.”

Mr. Prospector, Race 11

Key Contenders

Salutos Amigos (Last 3 Beyers: NA-110-108)

◗ Salutos Amigos was 1 for 14 when he came to Jacobson in the spring of 2014. He has since gone 8 for 14 with earnings of $802,400.

Rainbow Heir (Last 3 Beyers: 85-86-104)

◗ He started his 2014 campaign by tiring to fifth as the odds-on favorite in the John J. Reilly Handicap for New Jersey-breds. He then bounced back to win his second start of the year. He began this season in similar fashion by finishing fourth in the Reilly as a heavy favorite. Expect improvement Sunday when he makes his second start of the meet.

◗ He might end up stalking Happy My Way early.

Happy My Way (Last 3 Beyers: 95-93-92)

◗ Has the best early speed in the field and could prove dangerous if he shakes free.

◗ Just missed winning the Maryland Sprint Handicap at Pimlico for the second year in a row on the Preakness undercard when he finished third, beaten three-quarters of a length.

◗ Joe Bravo will ride him for the 11th straight time.