Two-year-olds get call to post

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There are three allowance races carded at Gulfstream Park on Thursday. But the one event on the program that figures to draw the most interest is a 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight dash that represents the first 2-year-old race of the new season.

The fourth race drew a field of eight unraced juveniles, with Animal Quiet likely to go postward as the favorite, not off his breeding or for having shown anything special in the morning but because he’s owned and bred by trainer Wesley Ward. The Ward barn is renowned for its early-season success with 2-year-old maidens, although that factor is reflected on the tote board on a regular basis. According to DRF Formulator, Ward has won with 21 percent of his 2-year-old first-time starters over the past three years, with a return on investment of only $1.22 and a median win payoff of just $4.90.

Animal Quiet shows two average three-furlong works, one from the pole and one from the gate, in preparation for his debut. He is a son of Iqbaal, whose offspring are 2 for 6 in their debuts, and is the first foal to make the races out of an unraced dam.

Trainers Dane Kobiskie and Bobby Persad each entered two youngsters in the race. Kobiskie offers up Da Meister, a son of Bodemeister, and I Shod the Sheriff, by Caleb’s Posse, both owned by his principal client, PTK LLC. The pair worked fast in company, a bullet three-eighths from the gate at Payson Park in 36.60 seconds, on April 2. Both are among the first foals to race out of their accomplished sires and would appear to have the best chance of upsetting Animal Quiet.

Rosebud’s High has worked forwardly for his debut and is by High Cotton and out of a mare, Rosebud’s Ridge, who banked $229,000 during her racing career and won twice as a 2-year-old.

Silent Triumph, by City Zip, and Quality Bella, are the only two fillies in the lineup.

The babies follow the afternoon’s main event, a 1 1/16-mile allowance/optional claimer on turf for a $44,000 purse, the key question being whether Rompin Reid can finally win his way out of this condition in his 13th attempt, a losing streak that dates back to November 2014. Rompin Reid has certainly proven competitive at this level against tougher competition than he’ll encounter Thursday and exits one of his best efforts yet, a second-place finish behind trainer Chad Brown’s Seeking Alpha, who cruised to his third consecutive victory, one that earned him a spot in the Grade 2 Pan American.

The veteran Magna Breeze, an eight-time winner, may prove to be the one to beat after breaking from the rail under Edgar Prado while back with a claiming tag over his head Thursday. He may stand some catching in a field that also includes Black Martino, Semblance of Order, Good and Proper, Battlefront, and Copingaway.