Michael Trombetta was disappointed when he lost Sky’s Not Falling in a $35,000 claiming race at Gulfstream Park in December, ending a working relationship that went all the way back to July 2020. But when the 8-year-old gelding reappeared at the same level on March 1, the trainer was quick to make things right. “I had him a long time,” Trombetta said. “This was one that Larry Johnson bred, and I bought into half of him as a weanling and he’d been very good to both of us. When I lost him down there it was one of those deals that he went down and he did a job. When he came back for the same price I figured I would take him back.” In his first start back with Trombetta on Friday at Gulfstream, Sky’s Not Falling won’t be changing hands again. A winner in both recent claiming starts, the Maryland-bred will step up as a strong contender in the fourth race, a starter allowance at a mile on turf. Trombetta plans to bring him back to the Mid-Atlantic region this spring. Though he has run for a $35,000 tag in two of his last three starts, Sky’s Not Falling has run in highly competitive company the past year. In September, he finished 3 3/4 lengths behind Wolfie’s Dynaghost in the $100,000 Bert Allen Handicap at Colonial Downs. In his first start off the claim in January for trainer Jose D’Angelo, he switched to synthetic and struggled in the $100,000 Carousel Club Handicap. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “He’s very solid and is one of those horses that doesn’t do as well on the synthetic track,” Trombetta said. “They tried running him on the synthetic and he just doesn’t seem to do quite as good. He certainly likes the turf much more.” On the grass, Sky’s Not Falling has not finished worse than second since last July, when he ran ninth in the Grade 2 Connaught Cup at Woodbine. He will meet a familiar rival on Friday as Mythical Man has finished second behind him in his two recent victories. Mythical Man also switched to synthetic in January but stayed at the $35,000 claiming level, taking advantage of his arch rival’s absence in a 2 3/4-length victory. He will make his first start Friday for trainer Beau Chapman, who claimed the 4-year-old gelding from Danny Gargan out of his runner-up finish in March. Three runners in the field of seven will switch from synthetic to turf, including Classic Mo Town and Palazzi, who finished third and fourth in the $100,000 San Cristobal Handicap on Feb. 28. The pair coincidentally won the 2024 and 2025 editions of the Grade 2 Eclipse at Woodbine. Palazzi, an 8-year-old trained by Mark Casse, only ran twice in 2025 and has not won since taking the Eclipse in June 2024. Classic Mo Town, a 6-year-old trained by Martin Drexler, is also winless since his Eclipse victory in May 2025. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.