Skellig Michael was denied at 4-5 odds in his second maiden attempt in August, but he may come back even tougher in a maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park on Sunday. Trainer Victor Barboza Jr. is doing very little to get in the 3-year-old gelding’s way. “Skellig Michael ran good races in his last two races,” Barboza said. “In the last race, he finished second in a good performance and he has a very good jockey [Emisael Jaramillo] for this positional try. Very good chance in the race.” In June, Skellig Michael made his debut in an exceptionally tough field of 3-year-olds and finished fourth by 7 1/2 lengths. The runaway winner that day, Tres Coronas, came back to win in similarly commanding fashion before shipping to Charles Town for the $500,000 Robert Hilton Memorial. The third-place finisher, Insurmountable, won in maiden company next time out and went on to finish second in the $75,000 Carry Back at 24-1. With a tough first start under his belt, Skellig Michael went off as a heavy favorite in July but was outkicked in the stretch by Keep On Moving, a Michael Yates gelding who improved dramatically to win his fourth career start by 2 3/4 lengths. He came back to finish second by a neck in his first start against winners in August. :: Play Gulfstream Park with confidence! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. Barboza might have expected a winning effort from his gelding last time out, but he’s happy with his chances on Sunday. Back at six furlongs on dirt, Skellig Michael will break from the far outside post in the field of nine. One of the most interesting challengers to Skellig Michael is another runner entered by Barboza. Three Kingdoms, a 3-year-old colt, first began training at Gulfstream more than a year ago and is set to finally make his first start. The Vino Rosso colt, a $110,000 purchase at the 2024 Ocala Breeders’ Sales June 2-year-olds and horses of racing age sale, has recorded 27 published workouts ahead of his prospective debut. He took time off between December and May but has been training consistently since. “Today, in the morning, [Three Kingdoms] jumped from the gate and I really liked the workout,” Barboza said Wednesday. “He’s a good horse. [He] had a little problem in the last year and has not run. But he’s a good horse and we found a good option with this race.” Three Kingdoms will be joined by two more 3-year-olds making their debuts Sunday. Trainer David Braddy has entered Fortunate Ryder off a pair of sharp workouts at Gulfstream, while Heather Smullen will run Smoke an a Pancake, a Bucchero colt who should be suited to sprints on all three major surfaces. Sniper Jack, a 4-year-old gelding trained by David Fawkes, is the only older horse in the field and will be the first 4-year-old to take on Skellig Michael. When he ran for trainer Katerina Vassilieva in 2023 and 2024, he raced exclusively on synthetic in seven starts. He showed very little in his first start on dirt for Fawkes in August, finishing sixth by 27 1/4 lengths after nearly 17 months on the shelf. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.