Tropical Park Derby, Oaks feature big, evenly matched fields
With purses of $75,000 apiece for Saturday’s Tropical Park Derby and Oaks at Gulfstream Park, the pots are modest, but the quality and depth of the fields are not. Both races drew horses of graded-stakes quality, and barring scratches, the races will be filled to capacity with 12 runners in each.
The Tropical Park Derby drew a competitive group in which 11 entrants have earned black type, led by six stakes winners. And the Oaks drew a race of similar strength, again with six stakes winners among the 12 entrants in the body of the field, along with four others with stakes placings.
Two also-eligibles wait on standby in the overdrawn Oaks, needing a scratch to draw in.
Chad Brown, who leads all trainers in North America with nearly $15 million in turf earnings from his stable this year, is well represented in both stakes, first with Tweet Kitten in the Tropical Park Derby (race 9) and then in the Tropical Park Oaks (race 11), where he has a pair of contenders in Light In Paris and Tammy the Torpedo.
Tweet Kitten “showed his quality in his last start,” Brown said, referring to a 16-1 upset victory Oct. 30 in the Bryan Station, an undercard stakes on Breeders’ Cup Friday at Keeneland that was run on yielding ground.
Matched against some talented turf horses in the Tropical Park Derby, including Team Colors and A Lot, the second- and third-place finishers from the English Channel Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 25, Tweet Kitten needs to perform at least as well on firm ground as he just did on yielding going if he is to repeat.
Brown anticipates improvement from Light In Paris and Tammy the Torpedo in the Tropical Park Oaks.
Light In Paris, a French import who blew the start in her U.S. debut and never got involved in finishing eighth Oct. 12 in the Pebbles at Belmont, races with blinkers for the first time, and Brown has been encouraged by her training with the change in equipment.
Tammy the Torpedo, meanwhile, raced wide and was jostled in traffic during the Mrs. Revere at Churchill on “good” ground and finished sixth.
“Draw a line through it,” Brown said of that race in her past performances.
Tropical Park Derby, Race 9
Key Contenders
Solemn Tribute (Last 3 Beyers: 96-96-86)
◗ Among the fastest from a speed-figure standpoint, though 1 1/16 miles appears to be a bit beyond his best distance.
Tweet Kitten (Last 3 Beyers: 93- 84-84)
◗ Scored a maiden victory before his win in the Bryan Station, and Brown has a 32 percent win mark at Gulfstream in 2014-15 when teaming with jockey Javier Castellano.
A Lot (Last 3 Beyers: 90- 87-92)
◗ Has hit the board in nine of 10 starts on turf, missing only when fourth in last year’s Awad Stakes on yielding turf.
◗ At risk of a wide trip from post 11, particularly with a stalking running style. He lacks the speed to clear and seemingly the ability to take back to avoid ground loss and make a late run.
Team Colors (Last 3 Beyers: 96-92-89)
◗ He has gotten progressively faster in four starts in the U.S. with Lasix after running respectably in France to begin the year.
◗ Drew the outside post in the field of 12, but knowing that his mount has a powerful closing kick, jockey Joel Rosario might be able to drop back and tuck in, offsetting the draw to some extent.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 12 Team Colors. Trainer Jimmy Jerkens is 34-2-6-7 with a $0.70 ROI over the past five years in turf races at Gulfstream Park. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 10 Conquest Typhoon. Trainer Mark Casse is 10-3-1-3 with a $3.00 ROI over the past five years in turf routes at Gulfstream Park following a layoff of 180 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Tropical Park Oaks, Race 11
Key Contenders
Osaila (Last Beyer: 90)
◗ A four-time stakes winner in Britain, she twice started in the U.S., running third behind Lady Eli and Sunset Glow in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and then fifth in the Grade 2 Sands Point at Belmont in her last start Sept. 12.
◗ Adds Lasix while making her first start for trainer Todd Pletcher.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Osaila. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 16-1-1-2 with a $0.51 ROI over the past five years on turf with horses making their first start following a trainer switch and receiving Lasix for the first time. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Celestine (Last 3 Beyers: 75-89-91)
◗ Chased a hot pace in the Mrs. Revere on Nov. 14 at Churchill Downs and weakened to 10th over tiring, “good” ground. Before that race, she had won three stakes in a row.
◗ Has shown a liking for the Gulfstream Park turf course, with two victories and a second from three local starts.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Celestine. Trainer Bill Mott is 32-6-8-5 with a $2.66 ROI over the past two years in turf routes at Gulfstream Park in the second start following a layoff. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Tammy the Torpedo (Last 3 Beyers: 85-93-81)
◗ Prior to her troubled run in the Mrs. Revere, she was a flashy allowance winner at Belmont on Oct. 18, posting a 93 Beyer, the highest speed figure by any horse in the race.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Light In Paris. Trainer Chad Brown is 21-5-6-3 with a $3.30 ROI over the past two years when adding blinkers in turf routes. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Red Sashay. Trainer Jane Cibelli is 81-20-12-7 with a $3.99 ROI over the past two years in turf routes at Gulfstream Park. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 12 Susie Bee. Trainer Mike Maker is 28-10-3-5 with a $3.49 ROI over the past two years in two-turn turf races at Gulfstream Park. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan