Sunglow comes off the bench for first start with Orseno
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Sunglow, once an up-and-coming turf sprinter on the West Coast, will make her 4-year-old debut in a $71,000 allowance on Monday at Gulfstream Park. The former John Sadler trainee will return off a nearly 11-month layoff for Joe Orseno.
“D J Stable purchased her out of a sale, and we got her back and wanted to give her a little rest and some downtime,” Orseno said. “We just thought that she would be a better older filly for us, so we took our time.”
The five-furlong turf sprint is the seventh race on the Monday card and third-to-last leg of the 20-cent Rainbow 6, which will offer a mandatory payout for the sixth of eight consecutive Monday programs at Gulfstream. Last week, the wager generated a pool of $334,000.
When D J Stable purchased the Irish-bred filly for $170,000 at the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale, there was talk of getting her right on the track for her 2026 campaign. Orseno decided to give her time, however, and she did not re-enter training until June.
“I think the freshening was the key to her,” Orseno said. “I believe the last connections put her in the sale and thought she would go right on, but we didn’t feel she was ready. So we decided to make some changes, and she’s handled the East Coast wonderfully.”
After going winless in her first six starts in Ireland and California, Sunglow won an $82,000 maiden special weight at Del Mar last August and immediately improved to win a first-level allowance at Santa Anita in September. She never trailed and pulled away by 3 1/4 lengths, earning an 81 Beyer Speed Figure.
Sunglow will have to fire fresh against several seasoned rivals in the field of eight fillies and mares, including her stablemate Spinelli. The 3-year-old filly will face older rivals for the second time in her career, having won a first-level allowance on synthetic with a 96 Beyer in June.
Since that dominant outing at Gulfstream, Spinelli has shipped to Monmouth Park and Colonial Downs in search of a listed stakes victory. She failed to make the lead in either race, finishing second in the $100,000 Monmouth County and fifth in the $100,000 Shenandoah.
“At Monmouth, it was a soft track and she missed the break, unfortunately, and hung in there for second,” Orseno said. “I think she had an excuse for her last race and really didn’t get to run her race.”
Spinelli ran in the Shenandoah on Aug. 8 and will return to Gulfstream on nine days’ rest, but Orseno said it did not take much out of her.
Great Venezuela, a 5-year-old mare trained by Victor Barboza Jr., will drop slightly in class after running in stakes or handicap company in her last 12 starts. She most recently finished third in the $70,000 Lady’s Island overnight handicap last month.
“The owner and breeder [Orlyana Farm] accepted my plan for entering the allowance,” Barboza said. “I like the post position on the [far outside]. I think the group is a step down from her last race.”
Despite running at Gulfstream for most of her career, Great Venezuela has only won once on the turf at her home track.
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