Thewayiam streaks into Herecomesthebride

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Thewayiam already has won two stakes this year over the Gulfstream Park turf, the Ginger Brew and the Sweetest Chant, and in neither race was she the favorite. Bettors will have a chance to get it right this time when Thewayiam goes for a natural hat trick Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000 Herecomesthebride Stakes.

As the only graded winner in the field, Thewayiam figures to come favored over seven other 3-year-old fillies in the 31st running of the Herecomesthebride, a 1 1/16-mile turf race that directly follows its open counterpart, the Palm Beach Stakes, on a huge 14-race card. The Grade 3, $100,000 Palm Beach goes as race 6, and the Herecomesthebride as race 7.

Thewayiam, a French-bred filly with a steady late kick, will break from post 3 and will be ridden once again by Jose Ortiz, who was aboard in winning the first two races of the meet’s turf series for 3-year-old fillies, which ends March 31 with the Sanibel Island. Trained by Graham Motion for a four-way partnership, the bay filly has won 3 of 4 starts since being imported last summer from her native country. Race conditions call for her to carry 120 pounds, spotting the other fillies as much as six pounds.

“She’s done very well since her last race,” Motion said. “Obviously, she seems to handle the turf at Gulfstream. She has to give away quite a bit of weight, but she’s pretty tough.”

Among the opposition are Malibu Saint (post 8, Luis Saez), a two-back winner of the Wait a While here in December for Mike Maker; and a pair of fillies exiting sharp maiden triumphs over the local course for powerhouse stables – Brattata (post 4, Irad Ortiz Jr.), trained by Chad Brown, and Amertume (post 5, John Velazquez), trained by Todd Pletcher. Of those, perhaps Amertume rates the best chance at a minor upset, considering the way she powered home at first asking in the opening race of the Jan. 27 Pegasus World Cup card.

Rounding out the cast are Princess Warrior, My Favorite Gift, Queen Rose, and She’s Pretty Lucky.

Speed Franco tops Palm Beach

The 32nd running of the 1 1/16-mile Palm Beach could have Speed Franco as the favorite on the strength of his hard-fought victory in the Grade 3 Dania Beach here four weeks ago. Emisael Jaramillo will be back aboard Speed Franco when the Kentucky-bred son of the young sire Declaration of War breaks from post 1 in a field of seven.

Maraud (post 2, Velazquez), trained by Pletcher, is a challenger after having redeemed himself with a Jan. 13 allowance victory over the Gulfstream turf. In his prior start here, the Pulpit on Dec. 9, Maraud was a distant third as an odds-on favorite in a race won by Speed Franco at 13-1.

“He’s coming off a nice allowance win here, so we’ve kind of zeroed in on this spot for quite a while,” Pletcher said.

Other contenders include Therapist (post 6, Irad Ortiz Jr.), who puts an unbeaten three-race record on the line when he makes his first start in more than four months, and Hawkish (post 7, Jose Ortiz), whose blinding rally in his Jan. 6 debut was something to behold.

Therapist, a New York-bred by Freud trained by Christophe Clement, will be getting Lasix for the first time looking to improve off his career-high 76 Beyer Speed Figure. Several of his opponents have cleared that threshold, most notably Speed Franco, who earned a 94 in the Pulpit and an 89 in the Dania Beach.

The rest of the lineup is Renaisance Frolic, Neepawa, and Eye of a Jedi.

The Palm Beach will be followed by the March 31 Cutler Bay in the championship-meet series for 3-year-old turf runners.

Post time for the Palm Beach is set for 2 p.m. Eastern, with the Herecomesthebride going 30 minutes later.