Squeezadios sitting on win in allowance feature

The circle of life touches everyone, as trainer Terri Pompay can attest. Pompay decided to shift her primary base of operations from New Jersey to Gulfstream Park a couple of years ago, and it’s rare to see her run a horse outside of Florida anymore.

“My son graduated from college, and I decided to lay low down there, just step back a little bit,” Pompay said earlier this week by phone from upstate New York, where she was looking after her ailing octogenarian parents. “Business-wise, it’s been a good move, although I do miss summers at Monmouth Park and Saratoga.”

Pompay was expected back at Gulfstream for a 10-race Friday card when she saddles Squeezadios for the featured seventh race. With Miguel Vasquez riding from post 1, Squeezadios likely will come favored when he faces five others in a $47,000 first-level mile race for Florida-breds. In his last two starts, both at this same level, the bay colt ran second.

“He’s a really nice horse, very handsome,” said Pompay, who has 494 wins since she began training in 1995. “As well as he’s run, I think he’s actually a little better than what he’s shown.”

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Pompay bases that opinion partly on Squeezadios being a regular workmate of Take Command, a fellow 3-year-old who was a four-length winner of the June 29 Carry Back at Gulfstream.

“They’re pretty close to even, depending on the day,” she said.

Squeezadios, like quite a few Pompay runners, is owned by the My Purple Haze Stables of Wanda Polisseni, the Rochester, N.Y., philanthropist who is heavily involved in Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing and breeding.

“She’s been a client for about 15 years and has been absolutely wonderful, especially in her work with aftercare and rescue horses,” Pompay said.

First post Friday is 2 p.m. Eastern. The feature is part of a Rainbow 6 sequence (races 5-10) that has a jackpot of $113,821 going into Thursday.

The weekend highlight is the $75,000 Sea of Tranquility on Saturday.

KEY CONTENDERS

Squeezadios, by Adios Charlie

Last 3 Beyers: 90-80-77

◗ Despite his field-high and career-high 90 Beyer Speed Figure in his last start, he was no match for Ice Tea, who earned a 100 Beyer for his five-length win.

Frenchmen Street, by Malibu Moon

Last 3 Beyers: 80-72-77

◗ Blinkers come off the 4-year-old gelding, who is favorably drawn in the outside post when making his first start in the care of Saffie Joseph Jr., the leading trainer at the spring meet.

Very Amusing, by Graeme Hall

Last 3 Beyers: 73-77-38

◗ This Larry Foggle homebred has been competitive in both starts since being turned over to trainer Dave Kassen. He now tries statebreds for the first time in a while.