Street Sailing begins anew in Friday allowance
Team Valor International thought enough of Street Sailing to buy a controlling interest in the filly prior to the 2013 Breeders’ Cup. Things haven’t quite panned out yet, but after being given plenty of time to get her act together, Street Sailing can now start returning dividends.
With Edgar Prado named to ride, Street Sailing is part of the field of 12 fillies and mares in the Friday feature at Gulfstream Park, a $38,000 second-level allowance at 7 1/2 furlongs on turf. A 13th-place finish in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf last year was followed by just one subsequent start, a sixth-place finish in an ungraded turf stakes at Gulfstream in January.
“She’s grown up a lot and isn’t quite as nervous as she was last year, although she does still have a little hot streak,” said trainer Ralph Nicks, who has gotten to know the 3-year-old filly during a layoff of nearly a year. “I think she’ll run well if she keeps her mind together.”
Street Sailing figures among the fringe contenders in a deep lineup that could have Hillhouse High, trained by Chad Brown for Martin Schwartz, as the favorite. Hillhouse High has finished no worse than third in six of her seven 2014 starts and has breezed six times at the Palm Meadows training center since her last start, which came in mid-October.
First post Friday is 12:35 p.m. Eastern, with the feature set for 4:27. Three optional starters (races 3, 8, 10) are on the card.
KEY CONTENDERS
Hillhouse High (Last 3 Beyers: 70-83-83)
◗ Exchange Rate filly with powerhouse connections should be favored here, but she’ll have to overcome a tough outside post while returning from a two-month layoff.
◗ Brown shows outstanding numbers in all the applicable categories.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 12 Hillhouse High. Trainer Chad Brown is 24-8-2-4 with a $2.62 ROI over the past five years going synthetic to turf following a layoff of 45 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Street Sailing (Last 3 Beyers: 78-51-78)
◗ Lengthy layoff makes this a very demanding test, but some of her efforts at 2 clearly suggest the potential is there. An allowance romp over the Keeneland turf last October is what prompted the Team Valor interest, and something similar would do here.
Indian Starlight (Last 3 Beyers: 74-76-82)
◗ Florida-bred mare comes well-drawn on the hedge and is liable to get a nice stalking trip under Irad Ortiz Jr.
◗ Her three-back $50,000-claiming victory at Saratoga is the kind of effort that makes her dangerous here.
Kiama (Last 3 Beyers: 69-85-85)
◗ She goes two turns off a long series of sprints, but her top Beyers say she clearly belongs, and the presence of John Velazquez is sure to garner her further support.
Diva Meg (Last 3 Beyers: 83-78-76)
◗ Another 3-year-old filly by Exchange Rate, she’s likely to be part of a solid pace while exiting one of those tough turf allowances run at the end of the Churchill Downs fall meet.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 9 Diva Meg. Trainer Eddie Kenneally is 48-3-8-6 with a $0.94 ROI over the past two years in turf starts with Corey Lanerie aboard. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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