Tribalist finally gets shot at stakes in Green Flash Handicap
DEL MAR, Calif. – Tribalist races so sparingly that his three-race winning streak dates to July 2014.
Persistent tendon issues have prevented the 6-year-old gelding from having a full career. When he starts in Friday’s $75,000 Green Flash Handicap at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar, Tribalist will have his sixth race and his stakes debut.
Trainer Blake Heap sought to run the gelding in an allowance race, but when a suitable race failed to draw sufficient entries, he entered Tribalist for what has turned out to be a competitive running of the Green Flash.
Questions surround several contenders. Guns Loaded won two sprint stakes at Santa Anita last year but has not raced since September. Richard’s Boy and St. Joe Bay had troubled trips in graded stakes in their last start.
K Thirty Eight was second in the Thor’s Echo Handicap for California-bred sprinters at Santa Anita on June 11.
KEY CONTENDERS
Tribalist, by Tribal Rule
Last 3 Beyers: 90-87-78
◗ Tribalist is unbeaten in two starts in five-furlong turf races here.
◗ Owned by Robert Abrams, Mitchell Dutko, and Michael Paran, Tribalist has worked steadily since late May for his comeback.
◗ Heap said Tribalist bowed both tendons when severely bumped in his career debut in 2013, and that the situation is manageable. What is unclear is how Tribalist will perform in a stakes compared to the preferred allowance race.
“If he shows anything, I stop on him and let him wait,” Heap said.
“We have to jump up a few conditions. He’s doing good right now.”
Guns Loaded, by D’wildcat
Last 3 Beyers: 99-63-89
◗ Guns Loaded was third in a division of the Grade 3 Eddie D Stakes on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita last September, his only start in the last year. Trained by Doug O’Neill, Guns Loaded won two sprint stakes on the hillside turf course in early 2016.
◗ The Green Flash will be the first start on turf at Del Mar for Guns Loaded, who was fifth in the Twin Spires Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs at five furlongs in May 2016.
Richard’s Boy, by Idiot Proof
Last 3 Beyers: 87-96-98
◗ Richard’s Boy was a troubled sixth in the Grade 3 Parx Dash at five furlongs on turf on July 8, finishing 6 1/2 lengths behind Pure Sensation, who won by 5 3/4 lengths.
◗ Trained by Peter Miller, Richard’s Boy was second in the 2016 Green Flash, his only loss in three starts on this turf course. Last November, Richard’s Boy won an optional claimer at five furlongs on turf here.
◗ A 5-year-old gelding, Richard’s Boy is quick and likely will dispute the pace.