Ticonderoga looks ready to roll in Palm Beach
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Do yourself a favor and watch the replay of the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf won by Oscar Performance for trainer Brian Lynch.
But it’s a Chad Brown-trained horse, Ticonderoga, who comes rolling past Oscar Performance – and the other two colts who beat him under the wire – as the field gallops out on the clubhouse turn. “He showed us a lot that day,” said Brown.
Returning four months to the day from that fourth-place finish, Ticonderoga once again will break from the far-outside post as a solid favorite Saturday in the 31st running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Palm Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Nine 3-year-olds are entered in the Palm Beach, which goes at 1 1/16 miles on turf. Brown said he was inclined to wait for the April 7 Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland to start Ticonderoga on what he hopes will be a huge year, but the Woodford Racing colt was training so well, “I thought we’d just get started here.”
Before the big gallop-out, Ticonderoga had a difficult journey in the Breeders’ Cup. Breaking from post 14, he spotted the leaders eight to 10 lengths within a matter of seconds and then eventually was fanned extremely wide for the drive. It’s the type of trip that surely will convince Gulfstream bettors to pound him and jockey Joel Rosario at the windows Saturday.
His opposition includes Kitten’s Cat, a two-time stakes winner for owners and breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey and trainer Joe Sharp; Cowboy Culture, a Brad Cox shipper who ran his unbeaten record to three by winning the Keith Gee Memorial at Fair Grounds four weeks ago; and three maiden turf winners at this meet – Snap Decision, Pagliacci, and Adonis Creed.
◗ The sister race to the Palm Beach, the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride, will be the first of the nine stakes run here Saturday. Also set for 1 1/16 miles on turf with a $100,000 purse, the Herecomesthebride marks the first start for Coasted since her runner-up finish at 23-1 behind New Money Honey in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf four months ago. Just seven 3-year-old fillies are entered.
Trained by Leah Gyarmati for Treadway Racing, Coasted shows seven Gulfstream works since mid-January toward this comeback, with the final one coming over turf.
“She’s doing very well,” said Gyarmati. “She had about a month off after the Breeders’ Cup and was turned out. She seems happy and ready to start her 3-year-old campaign.”
Dream Dancing, the sharp winner of a turf allowance on the Jan. 28 Pegasus World Cup card, looms the main spoiler among the six fillies who will oppose Coasted. Also, the speedy India Mantuana will be making her first start since being transferred to Brown following a private acquisition.
“We’re not going to take her out of her game,” said Brown. “Whatever she’s comfortable doing.”
Herecomesthebride, Race 4
KEY CONTENDERS
Coasted, by Tizway
Last 3 Beyers: 84-74-75
◗ Bred by Spendthrift Farm, this late-running bay filly won back-to-back two-turn turf races at Saratoga last summer, ending with the ungraded P.G. Johnson, before running third in the Grade 3 Miss Grillo and second in the Breeders’ Cup.
Dream Dancing, by Tapit
Last 3 Beyers: 79-67-62
◗ After a promising start to her career over grass, trainer Mark Casse gave her a chance to enter the Kentucky Oaks discussion by racing her three times on dirt – with mediocre results – leading to the recent return to turf.
Palm Beach, Race 9
Ticonderoga, by Tapit
Last 3 Beyers: 85-75-72
◗ Following an eye-catching maiden romp in September over the Belmont Park turf, he had an unlucky trip when second as an odds-on favorite in the Grade 3 Bourbon at Keeneland prior to the Breeders’ Cup.
Kitten’s Cat, by Kitten’s Joy
Last 3 Beyers: 86-75-85
◗ His victory on Breeders’ Cup weekend at Santa Anita in the Juvenile Turf Sprint showcased his class, which he reaffirmed here four weeks ago when stretching out to win the race named for his sire, the Kitten’s Joy.
A previous version of this article misstated the trainer of Oscar Performance. It was Brian Lynch, not Chad Brown.