Scam, Walder look to stay perfect together in optional claimer

An 8-year-old Phipps Stable homebred named Scam has earned nearly $300,000 the hard way, traversing up and down the class ladder while changing hands no fewer than 10 times during a 41-race career. Scam is now in his second go-round with trainer Peter Walder, who on Friday at Gulfstream Park will be looking to keep his record perfect with the chestnut gelding.

It was two summers ago that Walder had Scam for a brief spell, winning back-to-back allowance sprints that were also governed by a $16,000 claiming option. After losing him via the claim box from the second of those victories on July 28, 2016, Walder claimed Scam back last month before sending him out for a 7 3/4-length triumph in a conditioned-claiming race July 1.

On Friday, with that 3-for-3 record as a team, Walder will saddle Scam as the horse to beat in a $47,000 allowance that highlights a 10-race Gulfstream card. Miguel Vasquez has a return call on Scam, who is entered for a $16,000 claiming option and will break from post 5 when he faces seven other 3-year-olds and up in race 9.

First post Friday is 2 p.m. Eastern, with the feature going at 6:05 and the last race at 6:37.

The feature is part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 sequence, which spans races 5-10. Into Thursday, the Rainbow jackpot had not been swept by a solo winner through the first 14 programs of the summer meet and stood at $449,288.

Gunnevera works again

Gunnevera is scheduled to breeze once more at Gulfstream Park West in preparation for an Aug. 4 Gulfstream allowance that his trainer, Antonio Sano, hopes will fill. Conditions for the $63,000 six-furlong allowance include horses “which have not won a race since Feb. 4.”

“We will go to Saratoga after that” for the Grade 1 Woodward on Sept. 1, Sano said Wednesday by phone.

Unraced since suffering a hoof injury when finishing eighth in the March 31 Dubai World Cup, Gunnevera now has five works under his belt. He breezed five furlongs in 1:01.40 on Tuesday at Gulfstream Park West.

“Great,” Sano posted on his Twitter account. “Looking forward for the 2nd half of the season.”

◗ Entries were taken Wednesday for the nominal highlights of the coming weekend at Gulfstream, the $75,000 Added Elegance and the $60,000 Copingaway, both to be run Saturday. Sunday entries also were to be drawn Wednesday.

The next six-figure Gulfstream stakes are the first two legs of the Florida Sire Stakes series on Aug. 4, with each worth $100,000.