Sweet Parang at best distance in allowance sprint

Sweet Parang is set up for success Sunday when she returns to racing over six furlongs in the featured 10th race at Gulfstream Park.

Sweet Parang is part of a field of seven fillies and mares for an optional $25,000 claiming sprint that carries first-level allowance conditions. The card also includes a maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies.

Sweet Parang has registered both of her wins at six furlongs, which trainer Ralph Nicks said is her best distance. She was third at this level while going 6 1/2 furlongs on March 30 at Gulfstream in her most recent start.

“It could be a race to move forward off of,” Nicks said. “She’s had a couple of races. This will be her third race back off the layoff.

“She seems to show up pretty much every time.”

Sweet Parang has won from on and off the pace. She will break from post 2 under Tyler Gaffalione. Sweet Parang is a daughter of First Defence and races for Raroma Stable.

Sweet Parang could go favored over Worth Avenue, who will get good support despite having been idle since August. Worth Avenue owns the field’s best last-race Beyer Speed Figure, a 72 for a runner-up finish in an optional $16,000 claiming sprint at Gulfstream. She also is a three-time winner facing some less experienced rivals, and her trainer, Aubrey Maragh, wins at a respectable 17 percent rate with horses returning from layoffs of 180 days or longer, according to statistics from Daily Racing Form.

The fourth race is a maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies over 4 1/2 furlongs, and only one entrant in the six-horse field, Sweetsweetsweet, has made a start. She broke slowly and rallied for fourth in an April 12 maiden race at Gulfstream. Sweetsweetsweet worked a bullet three-eighths from the gate in 35 seconds on May 5 at Palm Meadows.

Sweetsweetsweet will break from post 3 under Ivaldo Santana. She is a daughter of Concord Point and is owned by Sanford Bacon and Bulldog Racing and trained by Patrick Biancone. Sweetsweetsweet is a half-sister to Concealedwithakiss, a stakes winner at 2 who has earned $275,795.

Also in the field is Makealitlemischief, a daughter of Into Mischief who debuts for StarLadies Racing and trainer Todd Pletcher. She was a $125,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland last September.

Sunday also marks the returns of the promising fillies Juenesse Doree and Ponti Scheme in an optional $25,000 claiming race at a mile on turf. It goes as the fifth race and carries first-level allowance conditions.