Sherpa stands out on maiden-heavy card
On a Sunday Gulfstream Park card that lacks an allowance or a stakes race, maidens are the theme of the day, with six such races. Three are maiden special weights, including the seventh, the richest of the day, carrying a $55,000 purse.
A five-furlong turf dash for juveniles, the seventh race seems to favor Sherpa, who holds an experience edge, having raced three times while his eight rivals are either first- or second-time starters. He has also performed well under similar conditions, finishing second in his most recent race July 3.
That day, he stalked the pace in fourth before surging late to narrowly get up for the runner-up position, a head in front of third-place Animal Quiet and a length behind the victorious Maps and Legends. His effort on grass at five furlongs earned him a field-best 56 Beyer Speed Figure.
A son of Kantharos, the second-leading sire this year of Florida-breds, Sherpa is trained by Jose Pinchin and owned by Pinchin and Kenneth Doyen. Riding is Cornelio Velasquez, who has an 8-for-19 record aboard Pinchin-trained runners at Gulfstream this year.
Southern Sea and Apache Brave seem to have the most potential to improve on their first races. Both rallied after poor starts in their debuts, with Southern Sea running seventh and Apache Brave fourth, 4 1/2 lengths behind runner-up Sherpa.
Southern Sea adds blinkers, an equipment change that could improve his gate performance and sharpen his speed.
Lovell, Quinientos, Dynamic Dancer, and El Sensor appear to be the most dangerous of the six first-time starters.
Dynamic Dancer is the only one who has worked on grass. He has recorded a number of quick turf breezes at Palm Meadows, capped by a bullet half-mile drill in 48.30 seconds.
Per DRF Formulator statistics, his trainer, Patrick Biancone, has debuted 10 juveniles over the past five years, with two winners, one second, and four thirds.