Shifty She brings winning habit, top figures into Monroe at Gulfstream
Saffie Joseph Jr. won’t sweep the trifecta in the Gulfstream Park stakes like he did last Saturday. But that’s because Joseph only has two starters in the $75,000 Monroe, the highlight of a 12-race Saturday card at Gulfstream in South Florida.
Joseph will be represented by Shifty She and Lovely Luvy in an oversubscribed field in the Monroe, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares. Shifty She, with leading jockey Edgard Zayas aboard, is the 7-5 morning-line favorite after rising swiftly in the local ranks by winning the Powder Break on May 15 and Ginger Punch on June 12 over the local course, earning an 88 Beyer Speed Figure in each.
“Shifty She just loves to win,” Joseph said. “She has that will and desire. She goes in there as a deserving favorite and hopefully can continue in her good form.”
Fourteen are entered in the Monroe, although only as many as 12 can start. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern, with the Monroe going as race 10, with a post of 5:19 p.m.
Shifty She, a 5-year-old mare owned by the Pedigree Partners LLC of Chris Pallas, will break from post 3. Right alongside in post 2 will be Lovely Luvy and jockey J.C. Diaz Jr. Unlike Shifty She, whose early speed is a major weapon, Lovely Luvy is more of a grinder and “needs an honest pace to run at,” Joseph noted.
Lovely Luvy finished third behind her stablemate returning from an 11-week layoff in the Ginger Punch.
“At the quarter pole it looked like she might even beat Shifty She, but then she just stayed even,” Joseph said.
Last Saturday in the Mr. Steele at Gulfstream, Joseph had three of the seven starters, and they were 1-2-3 when Renaisance Frolic, ridden by Zayas, edged Max K. O., with Noble Indy holding third. The result was a microcosm of the domination Joseph has enjoyed at a spring-summer meet that began April 1, as he began the three-day weekend Friday with 50 wins, more than double any of his colleagues.
By contrast, Zayas has been in a fierce battle to keep the top spot in the local rider standings as he led Emisael Jaramillo by an 80-79 count into Friday action.
If Joseph is to somehow be denied in the Monroe, then Mo of the West, Drapes, or Eskimo’s Boss would be the most logical perpetrators. In the event that rainy weather precludes racing on the turf – and there’s a 60 percent chance of showers in the local forecast at some point Saturday – then Thissmytime would become an obvious consideration in a scratch-laden lineup.
As with all 1/ST tracks, Gulfstream has banned pre-race Lasix treatment for all stakes.
The Monroe is a key link in all the late multi-race wagers Saturday, including the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 7-12), which was expected to offer a pool guarantee of about $600,000, assuming the jackpot wasn’t swept by a solo winning ticket Friday. The week began with $342,424 in the pool.