Street of Gold tries get her groove back
Trainer Eric Reed has been “shopping around” for the right spot to get Street of Gold back on the winning track. It looks like he’s found it in Friday’s $60,000 Amelia Island Handicap at Gulfstream Park, a 1 1/16-mile overnight stakes that drew a modest field of nine filly and mare turf specialists.
Street of Gold has lost 16 consecutive starts since a victory against allowance company at Ellis Park in July 2013. A dozen of those 16 tries came against stakes company, including in the Grade 1 Beverly D. last summer at Arlington Park, where she was beaten just 3 1/4 lengths, and in the Grade 3 Modesty Handicap five weeks earlier, when she finished third, a neck behind the winner, I’m Already Sexy.
“I’m just trying to get some confidence in her,” said Reed, who shipped Street of Gold from Kentucky to Florida this week. “I put some blinkers on her, and they seem to really help, and if that’s the case, hopefully we can knock one of these races off and go back to the stakes schedule we set for her last year. She’s already graded stakes-placed; now we just want to get her a stakes win.”
The local contingent is led by the 3-year-old Miss Margaret, beaten a neck when second in an overnight stakes here this month, and Will to Shine who figures to set the pace in the Amelia Island.
Key contenders
Street of Gold (Last 3 Beyers: 82-78-60)
◗ She’ll be reunited with jockey Edgar Prado, who rode her four times last year, including in her strong efforts in the Modesty and Beverly D.
“The fact Edgar is down there is a big reason we’re shipping for this race,” said Reed. “He’s gotten some run out of her in the past, and I think he will be the difference.”
◗ Reed has had success with blinker changes, winning with 20 percent of his starters getting shades for the first time over the past five years, according to DRF Formulator.
Miss Margaret (Last 3 Beyers: 76-75-75)
◗ She’ll face older females for the first time Friday and is the only 3-year-old in the field.
◗ A model of consistency, she’s finished in the money in her last nine starts and in her three previous stakes outings.
Will to Shine (Last 3 Beyers: 76-78-77)
◗ Another very consistent sort, she’s posted Beyer Speed Figures from 76 to 78 in her last four starts.
◗ Trainer David Braddy has been on a roll, greeting three of his last four starters in the winner’s circle, with the lone setback a second-place finish by Remembering Richie on May 21.