Shamrocket goes old-school in Sunshine Turf
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Jerry Crawford fondly remembers the good ol’ days of Ak-Sar-Ben, where he learned to love horse racing.
“Horses would run once a week,” said Crawford. “I miss it.”
Nostalgia makes a visit Saturday to Gulfstream Park, where Shamrocket, owned by a Donegal Racing partnership overseen by Crawford, returns just seven days after winning the Sunshine Classic. These days, when some horsemen believe the only thing better than a six-week layoff is an eight-week layoff, it’s a rare sight indeed to see such a quick wheel-back, particularly in the stakes ranks.
Shamrocket, a 5-year-old horse by Tonalist, “is very sound and dead-game,” said Crawford, “so why not?”
With the Hall of Fame tandem of jockey Javier Castellano and trainer Todd Pletcher in his corner, Shamrocket will break from post 2 when he faces six other Florida-breds in the $75,000 Sunshine Turf, a 1 1/8-mile race that might well be run over a course with some give to it. Sporadic rain was forecast for the local area Thursday through Saturday.
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The Sunshine Turf is the fourth of 11 races on a Saturday card that starts at noon Eastern. It is co-featured with its female counterpart, the $75,000 Sunshine Filly and Mare Turf, race 10, to be run at one mile. The races wrap up the annual statebred events that began last weekend with the Sunshine Classic and Sprint.
Crawford, 72, grew up in Warren County, Iowa, some 2 1/2 hours from the closest Thoroughbred track, Ak-Sar-Ben, the iconic Omaha track shuttered in 1995. Racing was more basic then – without the analytics that now frequently determine how a horse is handled – and fans were able to familiarize themselves more closely with the personalities involved, both human and equine.
“It was a different time,” said Crawford, now a highly successful Des Moines attorney with a wide range of outside interests, including Donegal, which he founded in 2008.
Although Shamrocket was able to win the Classic last Saturday with a determined late surge, he earned only a 73 Beyer Speed Figure in that 1 1/8-mile dirt race. His recent prior figures are much better, with his last six starts, all on grass, yielding Beyers ranging from 93 to 98. In fact, the Classic was his first of 22 career starts on anything except grass.
Those superior numbers should be enough to land Shamrocket in the Gulfstream winner’s circle for the second time in a week. It’s a place Crawford wouldn’t mind reaching two weeks hence, given that’s when he and Pletcher will be represented by Remsen Stakes winner Mo Donegal in the first major Kentucky Derby prep of the year at Gulfstream, the Feb. 5 Holy Bull.
If Shamrocket doesn’t produce his usual effort, the Sunshine Turf (post, 1:27) could be thrown wide open with Cucina, Lure Him In, Max K.O., and Sigiloso all meriting nearly equal upset chances.
More than three hours later, Sister Otoole and Kelsey’s Cross figure as the principals in a field of seven in the Sunshine Filly and Mare Turf.
Sister Otoole (post 2, Luis Saez) might bring an inherent class edge to this. The 5-year-old mare competed in a pair of longer Grade 3 turf stakes in winding down a productive 2021 campaign, ending with a runner-up finish in the Nov. 13 Maple Leaf at Woodbine.
“This is probably a little short for her,” said Graham Motion, who trains Sister Otoole for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, “but we backed off her after her race in Canada and this seems like a good comeback spot.”
Kelsey’s Cross (post 4, Ramsey Maragh), trained by Patrick Biancone, was overmatched in the Grade 3 Suwannee River in her most recent start in December, but has proven herself effective in less demanding spots. The 6-year-old mare owns four wins over the local turf, tops in the field.
Fringe players include Lovely Luvy (post 6, Junior Alvarado) and Sugar Fix (post 7, Tyler Gaffalione), an uncoupled duo from the meet-leading barn of Saffie Joseph Jr. Both own solid records over the course, including a 6-3-2-0 mark for Sugar Fix.
The Filly and Mare Turf is part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 6-11), which was expected to offer a guaranteed pool of at least $400,000 if the jackpot was not emptied Thursday or Friday.
◗ Next Saturday at Gulfstream brings one of the marquee dates of the four-month championship meet. The $3 million Pegasus World Cup, featuring a matchup of Knicks Go and Life Is Good, anchors a blockbuster program that also will include the $1 million Pegasus Turf and five other graded races.