Up in Smoke's stakes win has trainer Weaver thinking big

Saturday’s Gulfstream Park card featured Up in Smoke’s last-to-first two-length victory over even-money favorite Boerne in the Game Face over a track that favored her come-from-behind style of running throughout the day. The win was the fourth in five career starts for Up in Smoke, who is perfect around one turn, with her lone defeat having come in the 1 1/16-mile Hollywood Wildcat.

Up in Smoke’s performance, for which she received a career-best 82 Beyer Speed Figure, was a prelude for trainer George Weaver to Vekoma’s smashing victory an hour later in the Grade 1 Carter at Belmont Park.

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Weaver said he plans to ship the Florida-bred Up in Smoke north for the summer and perhaps run her in the Grade 1 Test or Grade 2 Prioress at Saratoga.

“I want to get her out of the heat,” Weaver said. “We’ll look at one of those spots at Saratoga. She hasn’t necessarily tipped the Beyer scale to make you think she could win a race like the Test, but she acts talented enough that under the right circumstances she could give a good enough showing.”

– additional reporting by David Grening