Walder has top contenders in two allowances

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Sunday program before the Fountain of Youth Stakes next Saturday at Gulfstream Park calls for 13 races, because of course it does. Not surprisingly, the best of those baker’s dozen are carded for the turf, meaning track officials surely are hoping the 48-hour forecast for rain will be nullified by the region’s unpredictable weather patterns.

Indeed, any heavy stuff would play havoc with the two allowances (races 9 and 11) that anchor a program scheduled to begin at noon Eastern. Carded with just seven horses each, a forced transfer to the main track likely would result in unwanted dilution (no pun intended) of those races, so fingers will be crossed that no such switch is necessary.

Trainer Peter Walder has a top contender in each of the co-features in Who’s Your Drama and Bitacora, with both stretch-runners having posted the highest last-out Beyer Speed Figures in their respective races. Who’s Your Drama earned an 86 Beyer in winning a $60,000 starter allowance last month over the local turf and will be one of the favorites when Javier Castellano climbs aboard in the ninth, while Bitacora, with Miguel Vasquez riding, got an 85 Beyer as the runner-up in the Jan. 19 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf ahead of race 11.

Race 9, a $52,000, second-level allowance for older horses at 1 1/16 miles, actually looks rather wide open, with any or all of Another, Machtree, Uncle Mojo, and Shakhimat likely to be regarded by bettors as viable challengers to Who’s Your Drama.

Likewise, the outlook for Race 11, a $51,000, first-level allowance for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles, is similarly competitive, with 4-year-olds from powerhouse barns – Picara for Todd Pletcher and Giant Zinger for Bill Mott – likely to draw considerable tote action as well.

The co-features are part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6, which spans races 8-13. In fact, all but one of the Rainbow 6 races are scheduled for turf, with a $50,000 maiden special (race 8) and a $44,000 Florida-bred allowance (race 12) also being part of the sequence. The race-13 finale, for maiden claimers on the turf, is scheduled to mesh neatly with sunset at about 5:58.

After Sunday, Gulfstream goes dark for two days before another five-day week resumes Wednesday. The Fountain of Youth, one of the most important events of the four-month championship meet, is the highlight of a huge card next Saturday.