Three Rules, Cajun Delta Dawn tune up for Sire Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Three Rules and Cajun Delta Dawn, who will attempt to sweep their respective divisions of the Florida Sire Series for 2-year-olds, the $500,000 In Reality and My Dear Girl stakes, here next Saturday, tuned up by working five furlongs each Saturday morning at Gulfstream Park.

Three Rules was the first of the pair to go shortly before dawn, zipping five panels in 59.53 seconds for trainer Jose Pinchin. Three Rules, a three-time stakes winner who is unchallenged in four starts, went his opening three-eighths in 34.68 before tiring a bit on the gallop-out, pulling up six furlongs in 1:14.21.

Cajun Delta Dawn, who is also perfect in four starts, with three stakes wins, breezed shortly after the renovation break in company with regular rider Juan Leyva aboard.

Cajun Delta Dawn broke off about a length in front of Surprise Wedding, another undefeated 2-year-old filly trained by David Fawkes, at the five-furlong pole. The pair went a leisurely opening quarter in 26.34 before picking up the pace steadily thereafter, completing the distance on even terms in 1:01.59, with Surprise Wedding going easiest of the two at the wire. The team galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.31.

“She worked great,” Fawkes said of Cajun Delta Dawn. “She’s coming into the race really well, the same as the last one. Juan said she’s not the greatest work horse, so it was good she had some company this morning. She got plenty out of it, and Juan said he couldn’t be happier with her.”

Fawkes said Surprise Wedding was so impressive in winning her maiden and working Saturday that he will enter her in the My Dear Girl as well.

“She’s giving away a lot in experience to the other filly, but she’s very professional, and the way she ran and worked today, she deserves a chance to run for a $500,000 purse,” said Fawkes.

Among the other Sire Series workers on Saturday was Three Rules’s stablemate Front Loaded, who was also lightning-fast, going five furlongs in 35.02 and 59.60 before easing up quickly on the gallop-out. Front Loaded finished a distant second behind Three Rules in the seven-furlong Affirmed and is also slated to run in the 1 1/16-mile In Reality.