Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. is giving handicappers quite the puzzle in the fourth race Sunday at Gulfstream Park, a $70,000 maiden special weight for juvenile fillies. The trainer has entered two first-time starters – Mystical Belle and Rileytole – in an inexperienced field of eight and said he expects strong performances from both. Joseph’s fillies have not had much time to interact ahead of their first starts, as Mystical Belle has trained at Gulfstream while Rileytole has been prepared at the Palm Meadows training center. At a glance, Rileytole seems to be working slightly better ahead of her debut, having completed four furlongs in 47.20 seconds on July 11, the best time at the distance at Palm Meadows that morning. Joseph said that she “is well fit enough to be ready first out.” That being said, the trainer also noted that he gave jockey Edgard Zayas his choice of mounts after he worked with both fillies. He has elected to ride Mystical Belle, leaving Reylu Gutierrez to ride Rileytole. The two stablemates were sold at auction more than a year apart. Rileytole was purchased as a yearling by William and Corinne Heiligbrodt for $50,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s winter mixed sale in January 2024. Mystical Belle was purchased by Joseph and MyRacehorse for $270,000 at the OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training earlier this year. MyRacehorse now shares ownership with P T Racing LLC, Clay R. Sides, and John Reinhardt, who have all worked with Joseph in the past. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Rileytole has the more seasoned pedigree of the pair through her sire, 2019 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Mitole, who has produced six graded stakes winners in his first two crops. All five of her siblings, out of the mare Picolata, have won. Mystical Belle is by freshman sire Basin, who has produced one winner in his first crop so far. Her dam, Magic Belle, has produced seven winners, including New York-bred runner Syndergaard, who won on debut in 2016 before taking the statebred Funny Cide and finishing second by a nose in the Grade 1 Champagne. Even if both of Joseph’s fillies meet expectations Sunday, several others in the field could pose a threat. Ta’very Much, a debuting filly trained by Michael Yates, is bred and owned by St. Elias Stable, which has been making hay with sire Battalion Runner in Florida in recent years. The stallion has only produced 24 starters since 2022, but six of them have won on debut. Last year, Yates worked with St. Elias training Rated By Merit, an undefeated Battalion Runner colt who won three restricted juvenile stakes at Gulfstream. Soda is the only filly in the race with experience and will move to open company for trainer Tareq Moubarek. She finished second in both of her starts in statebred maiden special weights, improving on a sloppy track last time out to finish 2 1/4 lengths behind front-running winner Chucky’s Ride. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.