Song of Innocence should be tighter for Gulfstream allowance
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – They’re all venturing into the unknown in the Thursday feature at Gulfstream Park.
Only two of the eight fillies and mares in the 1 1/2-mile turf race, Champagne Ivy and Silky Warrior, have actually raced that far – but that common race came over Tapeta when weather forced them off the turf Jan. 13.
With that, everyone will be on common ground, assuming the seventh of nine races Thursday is run around three turns on the turf as scheduled. Two of the likely favorites, Song of Innocence and Federalist Papers, both will be stretching out from shorter turf races with the riding Ortiz brothers aboard in adjacent gates.
Song of Innocence (post 7, Jose Ortiz) was no factor in a lone prior outing at this championship meet when ninth at 18-1 in a solid group going 1 1/16 miles on the turf on the Jan. 29 Pegasus World Cup undercard. The Munnings filly was making her first start in nearly nine months after ending her 3-year-old season in early May with a decent third-place finish going 1 1/4 miles on the Belmont Park turf. She stands to benefit from her needed last start in a big way.
“I sure hope so,” said Jonathan Thomas, trainer of the Augustin Stable homebred. “She had a pretty curious trip last time.”
Federalist Papers (post 8, Irad Ortiz Jr.) returns from an 11-week layoff for Chad Brown, whose barn has been hot lately. Brown not only has won recent stakes with Regal Glory, Early Voting, and Bleecker Street, but the four-time champion trainer sent out Arrobatic as a very sharp first-time winner here Sunday and entered this week 11 for 25 at Aqueduct and 9 for 19 at Tampa Bay Downs.
Champagne Ivy (post 6, Javier Castellano) was second behind the odds-on winner, Mezcal, in the off-turf race Jan. 13. It was a useful effort considering the Shackleford filly was returning from a nearly 10-week layoff for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.
First post Thursday is 12:30 p.m. Eastern, with the seventh going at 3:37. A $54,000 first-level allowance for older Florida-breds going a one-turn mile on the main track directly follows as race 8, at 4:11, with a $12,500 claiming option in effect for three of the seven entries.
Both highlighted races are part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 4-9), which is expected to offer a gross pool guarantee of at least $500,000, assuming the jackpot was not won by a solo ticket when the five-day race week began Wednesday. The Rainbow was last emptied Jan. 30 by forceout.
Mostly sunny skies and a high of 75 are in the forecast for Thursday, when two other races (4 and 9) also are scheduled for turf.