HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Will the third time finally prove the charm when it comes to Valiant Force’s eagerly anticipated main-track debut, which is now slated to come Saturday at Gulfstream Park in the $100,000 Hutcheson Stakes? Valiant Force first gained international notoriety by winning the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at odds of 150-1 last summer at Royal Ascot. He was back in the limelight again 4 1/2 months later, also on an international stage, when finishing a fast-closing second, beaten a half-length by Big Evs, in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Valiant Force was transferred by his owner, AMO Racing USA, from his European trainer Adrian Murray to Jorge Delgado when the decision was made after the Breeders’ Cup to leave him in the United States for his 3-year-old campaign. The main goal was to see if he could transfer his outstanding grass form to dirt. Valiant Force came within minutes of making his main-track debut here Jan. 6 as the prohibitive favorite in the Limehouse Stakes, but was scratched after rearing up and injuring himself in the starting gate. The Swale was expected to be next up one month later, but Delgado called a late audible and switched those plans because he was not comfortable stretching him out to seven furlongs for the first time at that point in the season. “The Limehouse was the right race for him, but it did not work out,” Delgado said. “And unfortunately, the Swale wasn’t the distance we wanted for the way he’d been training at the time.” :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Delgado opted instead for a five-furlong allowance race back on grass, familiar ground for Valiant Force, for his 3-year-old debut. Unfortunately, the son of Malibu Moon suffered through an eventful trip, ultimately falling three-quarters of a length shy of catching race winner Reef Runner as the 3-5 favorite. However, he did receive an 87 Beyer Speed Figure in defeat, a career best and three points higher than the number he earned in the Breeders’ Cup. Valiant Force has trained extremely well since that outing in preparation for the six-furlong Hutcheson, most of those works coming with jockey David Egan, who has the mount Saturday, including a bullet half-mile in 46.20 seconds last week. A field of just seven signed on for the headliner, which goes as the third race on Saturday’s 12-race program. The field includes Ship to Shore, who benefited from Valiant Force’s absence to register a one-sided eight-length victory in the Limehouse. He has not started since, but has kept a relatively steady work schedule. Valiant Force’s biggest challenge, however, may come from Beeline, a sensational 3 3/4-length debut winner here Feb. 10 for trainer Riley Mott. Beeline received an 87 Beyer Figure for that race, which has since produced a trio of next-out winners, including fifth-place finisher Proprietary Trade, who shipped to Aqueduct to defeat maidens by 4 3/4 lengths on March 7. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “He’s come back and worked several times without issue and seems to be doing just fine, good enough to enter him back in a stake,” Mott said. “I wasn’t looking necessarily for a stake. It was just the timing of the race was ideal for us. We thought we’d nominate and enter him. It looks like he’d be in there with a shot.” Patriot Spirit, the popular winner of the six-furlong Inaugural Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in his 2-year-old finale, will turn back to that distance again Saturday for trainer Michael Campbell. Patriot Spirit is coming off a ninth-place finish in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes and will put blinkers back on for the first time in his last three starts in the Hutcheson. The remainder of the lineup includes Improptude, a winner of his last two starts, Starship Mocha, and Sir Flash. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.