Starship runners top contenders in two races

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A couple of promising 3-year-old fillies owned by “Marlins Man” Laurence Leavy’s Starship Stable and trained by his longtime friend and colleague Steve Dwoskin will be in the spotlight when live racing resumes with an eight-race program Friday at Gulfstream Park.

Leavy is best known for the bright orange Miami Marlins jersey he wears while prominently seated at major sporting events around the country. He will be represented by Starship Aurora in Friday’s third race, a six-furlong allowance on the main track for older fillies and mares, along with Starship Agenda in a similarly conditioned race at a mile and 70 yards over the Tapeta course in the afternoon’s finale.

Starship Aurora has been freshened a bit since finishing third in an allowance race restricted to 3-year-olds on Aug. 19. She rallied from the rear of the field to finish just a head behind the red-hot Flag Woman, who was registering her third consecutive victory.

Starship Aurora, who was absent from the work tab for three weeks earlier this fall before returning with a couple of solid breezes prepping for Friday’s outing, is a late-running sort who should benefit from all the pace signed on

American of Course will likely prove the one to catch as one of the favorites, despite the fact she has not started since finishing second under similar conditions here on March 24 and shows only a single published work, a reportedly very slow three-eighths on the farm a month earlier.

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Other members of the field who figure prominently placed include Rastani, a game third after setting a pressured pace in her last start; California invader Anybody’s Choice off a pace-pressing effort of her own against $50,000 selling rivals last out at Del Mar; and She’s Outta Here, who ran the race of her life when second best after chasing the speedy Poiema gate to wire in an overnight handicap on Sept. 12.

The Michael Yates-trained pair of Minxy and last-out conditioned-claiming winner Go Lil Lady have also been prominent in all their previous outings but have shown the ability to rate and finish strong in recent works, indicating the possibility each might try new tactics on Friday.

Starship Agenda will have the opportunity to avenge a second-place finish as the even-money favorite when beaten a half-length by Demogorgon on Sept. 23, falling just short with her final bid behind the pacesetting winner. Starship Agenda had turned in a career-best performance five weeks earlier when outgamed by a neck by Time Passage, who flattered the effort by returning to dominate the Miss Gracie in similar wire-to-wire fashion in her next start.

Demogorgon will return on short rest for her rematch with Starship Agenda, having finished second after futilely chasing wire-to-wire winner Swoonatra as a tepid favorite under allowance conditions just six days earlier.

Tamarindo is likely to go postward the public’s choice while returning locally for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. off a strong second-place finishing against tougher and tougher competition over the turf last month at Kentucky Downs. She will be getting back on arguably her preferred surface, with both of her career victories and a pair of seconds in six previous tries over the Tapeta.

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