HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – When the field for Thursday’s feature race left the backstretch and trainer George Weaver saw his 4-5 Up in Smoke suddenly drop to the rear of the field, he turned to his owners and commented “I don’t know what’s going on, she’s going to finish last.” But all’s well that ends well in this business, and all ended well for Up in Smoke, who somehow regained her best stride and readily ran by the tiring leaders in the final furlong to remain undefeated with an oddly orchestrated but decisive four-length victory in the optional-claiming race for 3-year-old Florida-bred fillies. The win was the second in as many starts for Up in Smoke, who ran to her ample backing when debuting here last month with a similarly one-sided 4 3/4-length triumph. “From my point of view, this was a very weird race to watch,” a relieved Weaver said shortly after the race. “All of a sudden Johnny was tapping her, and she wasn’t going anywhere. It was kind of a nightmare. But then I saw her start making up ground, the others were starting to drop back, and at the eighth pole I turned to the owners again and said ‘I think we got a shot here.’ ” :: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Weaver said John Velazquez, who rode Up in Smoke for the first time, told him afterward that when she started getting hit in the face with dirt, it felt like somebody just grabbed her by the tail and was dragging her backward. Then he gave her a couple of taps with the whip and she just took off. “I guess we’re learning as we go along with her,” Weaver said. “It was good experience for her. I’ll put her behind a couple of horses when I work her before her next start, which will be the Florida-bred [Sophomore Fillies Stakes] going seven-eighths [on March 29] at Tampa.” Weaver also reported that Vekoma, winner of the 2019 Blue Grass but idle since his 13th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, is progressing nicely toward his 4-year-old debut. Vekoma has had seven published works at his winter home at Palm Beach Downs, including a bullet five-eighths in 1:00 on Friday. “We’ll run him seven furlongs the first time out, whether we shoot high or low depends on how everything shakes out,” Weaver said. “Personally, I think he’s probably a better one-turn horse, and we’ll focus on that the first part of the season and see how he does.” Compact field for Sunday feature The turf course will be the focus of attention Sunday with the afternoon’s $44,000 main event luring a field of just seven Florida-breds to go five furlongs on the grass in race 10. The race couldn’t be more wide open, with four of the seven potential starters posting Beyer Speed Figures within one point of one another in their most recent starts. That group includes Fully Loaded (82), R Boy Evens (82), Cryogenic (82), and the speedy Captain Ron (81). :: Get a closer look at the Gulfstream Park card with the DRF Clocker Report Fully Loaded finished second under a straight $16,000 claiming tag, beaten three-parts of a length by What’s Inside, after contesting the pace throughout. The 82 Beyer he earned in his last outing was a career best on grass. R Boy Evens makes his first start since being haltered for $30,000 out of a wire-to-wire, conditioned claiming victory on Feb. 5 and is one of two horses from trainer Mike Maker’s barn in the race along with Cryogenic. The latter rallied to a neck decision over Captain Ron under similar statebred allowance conditions here Jan. 29, with a third member of Sunday’s lineup, Honolulu Express, finishing third, just 1 1/2 lengths behind the winner.