Standouts loom in Florida Sire Stakes divisions

Chance It and Lenzi’s Lucky Lady stand out in the second legs of the Florida Sire Stakes series at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.

Chance It will be a prohibitive price in the $200,000 Affirmed division for 2-year-olds, which goes as the last race of a stellar 13-race card that begins at 12:15 Eastern.

Lenzi’s Lucky Lady will try to stay undefeated in the $200,000 Susan’s Girl division for juvenile fillies, carded as race 11.

Both races will be contested at seven furlongs for eligible Florida-sired juveniles and are part of an all-stakes pick four which begins with the $100,000 Sharp Susan for juvenile fillies in race 10. Champagne Humor is the one to beat in the about 7 1/2-furlong dash on turf.

The $100,000 Proud Man, for 2-year-olds going the same distance is a wide-open event. It drew 10 horses for turf, and three for the main track.

Chance It is the star of the show on Saturday. Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., he is coming off a relatively easy win in the first leg of the Florida Sire series, the $100,000 Dr. Fager on Aug. 3.

With Edgard Zayas aboard, he broke sharply, but didn’t make the lead immediately. However, he looked very comfortable on the rail sitting inside of Man With a Plan, who posted a snappy half-mile time of 45.82 seconds over a track rated good. When Zayas gave Chance It his cue, he immediately responded and went on to dominate the six-furlong dash. He duplicated the 91 Beyer he received for his blowout win in a maiden special weight race for Florida-breds on June 29. Only two juveniles in the United States have received higher figures this year.

Joseph is looking for another strong performance in the Affirmed.

“He seems to have a bright future,” said Joseph. “He had something left and he galloped out nicely in the Dr. Fager. He is doing great right now. Hopefully he will break well and Edgard can put him in a good spot.”

Chance It will break from post 2 in the 10-horse field.

If there is going to be an upset, it will probably come from Liam’s Lucky Charm.

The Ralph Nicks trainee rallied to finish second in the Dr. Fager. He looked like he was going threaten Chance It at the top of the stretch, but hung when he would not change leads. He eventually made the switch, but it was too late.

“I think Liam’s moving forward as we go along,” said Nicks. “I don’t know if seven furlongs is enough to catch the other horse, but he’ll be someone to be dealt with.”

A son of Khozan, Liam’s Lucky Charm will break from the outside post with Reylu Gutierrez.

Nicks won the 2017 Affirmed with Soutache and last year’s version with Garter and Tie.

Nicks is looking for an improved effort from Garter and Tie’s half-brother Shivaree in the Affirmed. The son of Awesome of Course is coming off a third-place finish going six furlongs in a maiden special weight race on July 20.

Lenzi’s Lucky Lady will try to remain undefeated in the Susan’s Girl.

Trained by Kathleen O’Connell, the daughter of With Distinction is versatile. She forced the issue early in her debut and came from a stalking position in the $75,000 Golden Isles in her second start. She was fourth at the first call before opening up a clear lead in the $100,000 Florida Sire Stakes Desert Vixen division.

“She comes from a real good family and has a lot of talent,” said O’Connell.

Lenzi’s Lucky Lady is the third foal out of two-time 2-year-old stakes winner Blue Eyed Sweetie, who finished second in the Desert Vixen.

Lenzi’s Lucky Lady will break from post 9 with her usual rider Jairo Rendon aboard.

Trainer David Fawkes is hoping for a fast track for Ms Big Spring, who romped going 5 1/2 furlongs in her second start in a Florida-bred maiden special weight. However, the daughter of The Big Beast faded in her two starts over tracks rated sloppy, including a fifth-place finish in the Desert Vixen.

“I think it is more the rain hitting her in the face than the surface,” said Fawkes. “When she gallops in the rain she turns her ears and just doesn’t like it. She seems fine when she’s behind horses with dirt hitting her in the face, though. I am not that thrilled there is a hurricane in the area, which could mean a lot of rain ahead of it.”

He was referring to Hurricane Dorian, which is on track to hit Florida on Monday.

Rain would certainly put a damper on a great card that features full fields and competitive races.