Stakes winner Galleon Mast pays rare visit to allowance ranks

The last time Galleon Mast competed in a race other than a stakes was in April 2017, or 12 races ago. The Florida-bred turf star will make a rare class dip and is sure to come favored Friday in the only allowance on a 10-race card at Gulfstream Park in South Florida.

Favorably drawn in post 1, Galleon Mast and jockey Miguel Vasquez will be looking to take full advantage of what figures to be a hot pace in the fourth race, a $48,000 allowance at a mile on turf. One of the multiple race conditions permits the inclusion of horses that have not won on turf since Feb. 24, and that’s how trainer David Fawkes squeezed Galleon Mast into this race.

An earner of $473,255, all for owner Anne Scott, Galleon Mast will have to pass quite a few rivals to register his first victory since the Jan. 20 Sunshine Millions Turf. His opposition includes such fleet steeds as Kroy, One of a Kind, and, interestingly, Conquest Big E, who is nearly absent turf form. From 22 career starts, Conquest Big E – best known for winning the Grade 2 Gulfstream Mile on the March 31 Florida Derby undercard – has raced just once on grass, resulting in a sixth-place finish in the Better Talk Now on Aug. 29, 2016, at Saratoga.

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If anyone thought Conquest Big E was entered in the hope of weather conditions forcing the race to the main track, well, there was no rain in the local forecast this week until Saturday at the earliest. In all, nine older horses are entered, although Local Hero is a likely scratch as the lone main-track-only designee.

The feature directly precedes the start of the Rainbow 6, which spans races 5-10 on a card that starts at 2 p.m. Eastern. The Rainbow 6 carryover was a mere $14,584 when a four-day week began Thursday after the jackpot was emptied again last week.

O’Connell nears milestone

Trainer Kathleen O’Connell, who has been based primarily in South Florida for most of a career dating to 1981, is closing in on the 2,000-win mark. Into Thursday, O’Connell had racked up 1,993 victories, with her most notable horses being Blazing Sword, Watch Me Go, Lady Shipman, and Stormy Embrace.

O’Connell is scheduled to be active on several fronts this week, including Gulfstream, Monmouth Park, and Delaware Park. Her 1,000th victory came in 2007.