Tik Tok Famous should get likes in Biscayne Park

Tik Tok Famous is among the top contenders among a field of eight fillies and mares Sunday at Gulfstream in the $55,000 Biscayne Park, a 5 1/2-furlong Tapeta race that anchors a 10-race card.

Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. for eFive Racing Thoroughbreds, Tik Tok Famous has raced only once since late December, but her 2021 form suggests she’ll be competitive in what shapes up as a well-matched feature. Although Tik Tok Famous has competed mostly at longer distances, this shorter trip might well prove suitable to the 4-year-old English-bred, given how fresh she’ll be following a three-month layoff and with five local workouts honing her to a fine edge. Edgard Zayas will be aboard from post 7.

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Miss Auramet, second as the favorite in each of her last three starts, figures as the one to catch with Kevin Krigger riding from post 4. A winner of the $100,000 Ladies Turf Sprint in February during the championship meet, the 6-year-old Uncaptured mare has been thwarted in those recent tries, coming up just shy.

Other contenders include Alizee (post 2, Romero Maragh), already a four-time winner this year, and Nikee Can (post 6, Miguel Vasquez), a handy Kantharos mare in peak recent form.

First post is 12:25 p.m. Eastern, with the Biscayne Park going at 4:42 as race 9. It’s part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 5-10), which can be expected to offer a pool guarantee approaching $200,000, assuming the jackpot wasn’t swept Friday or Saturday.

Leon moves tack

Sonny Leon is switching circuits, at least for the time being. The Kentucky Derby-winning jockey was named to ride eight races this weekend at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., in a marked departure from his usual routine.

“Sonny wants to take a shot and see how it goes,” said Eric Reed, the Kentucky-based trainer who teamed with Leon to win the Derby with longshot Rich Strike.

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Leon has been a leading jockey at Belterra Park in Cincinnati in recent years, but the 32-year-old Venezuela native is trying to capitalize on his newfound success and looking to expand his horizons. He was named on six mounts Saturday and two more Sunday at Gulfstream, where racing is currently being conducted three days a week (Fridays through Sundays).

Reed said Leon is hoping to ride at Gulfstream until Keeneland begins its fall meet in October, then remain in Kentucky through the winter months at Turfway Park.

“This is a good time of year for him to try Gulfstream,” Reed said. “All the big-name jocks are riding elsewhere right now. He deserves a shot.”

Leon has ridden regularly at Gulfstream before, having posted four wins from a combined 71 mounts at Gulfstream and the old Gulfstream West in 2015, his first year of riding in the United States. His return to South Florida comes shortly after his fellow Venezuelan Emisael Jaramillo suffered several cracked ribs when he fell from a 2-year-old filly named Ripley shortly after the start of the sixth race on July 8.

Into this week, Jaramillo trailed only Miguel Vasquez atop the rider standings at the current spring-summer meet by a 69-53 count. Jaramillo’s agent, Bryce Soth, said Jaramillo is expected to be sidelined about three to four weeks.