Sunna drops in class, returns to turf
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The second week of the Royal Palm meeting at Gulfstream Park will close Sunday with a 10-race program highlighted by a $70,000 optional-claiming and allowance dash for fillies and mares scheduled to be run at five furlongs on turf.
The race drew a field of eight led by Sunna, who returns to a more suitable spot off a seventh-place finish in the Captiva Island Stakes over the Tapeta course March 14. In her previous start, Sunna dominated mid-level conditioned-claiming opposition while showing a real affinity for the grass, drawing off by 6 3/4 widening lengths while earning a career-best 87 Beyer Speed Figure for trainer Kent Sweezey.
The biggest question mark in the lineup is the well-traveled Irish-bred River Seine, whose previous four starts have come at Colonial Downs, Penn National, Pimlico, and Newmarket, where she closed out her 2-year-old campaign with an eighth-place finish in the Group 3 Cornwallis Stakes during the fall of 2024.
Trained by Edward Maher and currently based at Tampa Bay Downs, River Seine appeared to have won this same condition last summer at Penn National only to be disqualified and placed second following a game performance going five furlongs on the turf.