Tiffany Gold needs Blue Sparkler to stay on turf

Tiffany Gold sharply won her first two races, including a turf-sprint allowance romp second time out, but her intended stakes debut could fall victim to a wet weekend at Monmouth Park.

Tiffany Gold was among 10 3-year-old fillies entered in the Blue Sparkler Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong grass race that could easily wind up on dirt if a rainy forecast Friday into Saturday holds.

Tiffany Gold won her debut on Gulfstream Park’s synthetic surface by 1 1/2 lengths and ran even better in the turf allowance, scoring a front-running 5 1/2-length victory. But trainer Victor Barboza Jr. told Monmouth publicity that the filly, by Speightster, won’t start if the Blue Sparkler gets moved to dirt.

“She needs turf. If it rains and the race comes off, I won’t run her,” Barboza said.

Tiffany Gold, if she runs, would be one of several pace players in a race that threatens to melt down if some of these fillies don’t alter their style. Tiger Belle, Super Freaky Girl, El Terreno, and Shuangxi, along with Tiffany Gold, have TimeformUS early pace numbers of 107 or higher.

Super Freaky Girl also comes to the Blue Sparkler a winner in her two starts, with both races on the Gulfstream synthetic for trainer Carlos David. Super Freaky Girl is by Bucchero, a crack turf sprinter in his racing days and now a Florida-based stallion whose progeny have shown spark, particularly on grass.

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El Terreno set the pace in the Stormy Blues, a turf sprint last month at Laurel Park, before fading through the final furlong and finishing fifth. Passing her by a nose at the wire was Blue Sparkler entrant Discreet Ops, who could draw some attention as a proven closer in a pace-packed field. Discreet Ops did battle moderate traffic trouble through the Stormy Blues stretch run but didn’t display a noteworthy turn of foot when belatedly clear.

Discreet Ops, by Army Mule, does show decent dirt form, a mild third-place finish in the Miss Preakness at Pimlico, and could fit this spot if the Blue Sparkler is rained onto dirt. But it’s Pacific Rose, drawn on the rail, who has the best chance on the main track.

Trained by Jorge Delgado, who has a 30 percent strike rate this meet, Pacific Rose returned from a 3 1/2-month layoff making her first start for Delgado on June 28, closing steadily to best older rivals in a first-level Monmouth allowance race. She’s never started on turf and appears to have been entered with an eye toward a rain-off.

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