Two fillies stand out in sprint

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - A couple of fillies who posted impressive victories shortly before going on layoffs appear to be the ones to beat in the Thursday feature at Gulfstream Park.

Sparkle n Gold and Myfavoritepassion, both winners two starts back, are the primary contenders among a field of seven entered in the Thursday feature, a $35,000 allowance sprint that goes as the eighth of 10 races.

Sparkle n Gold, trained by Mike Gorham, will try to return to the form that carried her to a 6 1/2-length victory in June at Delaware Park.

"She's a nice filly, but she got a little body-sore on me last summer when I took her to Saratoga," said Gorham. "I turned her out and gave her the time off she needed, and since we've gotten down here to Gulfstream, she's trained really well over this racetrack."

Gorham was glad to see draw the outside post in the six-furlong race, especially after watching one of his horses, Magnitude of One, be defeated after breaking poorly from post 1 in the second race Monday.

"You usually prefer the outside versus the inside in a one-turn race, because if you don't get away perfectly there are easier ways to overcome it," he said.

, trained by Vickie Foley, owns the high lifetime Beyer Speed Figure among the seven starters in the feature, having earned an 85 when she upset a tough field at Keeneland in October.

"That was at seven furlongs, and then I ran her back at Churchill at a mile," said Foley. "She didn't want any part of it, but she's trained well since then, and here we are."

This is just the second year at Gulfstream for Foley, a Louisville, Ky., resident who for many years stayed home to campaign at Turfway Park. Last year she won four races at Gulfstream.

"We had eight horses here last year, and I have 15 this year," she said. "Hopefully we can at least double our output."

Other contenders include Platinum Perfect, unbeaten in two starts, and Aesculus, who makes her Stateside debut for Christophe Clement after 10 starts in England.