Wolfson loads up for Paseana

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There are 20 fillies and mares nominated to the $75,000 Paseana Stakes here July 5. Seven of those 20, more than a third of the list, live under the same roof in the barn of trainer Marty Wolfson.

Wolfson’s magnificent seven are led by Heart Stealer, who has not run since winning the Grade 2 Inside Information Stakes here March 22. She was shipped to Churchill Downs to compete in the Grade 1 Humana Distaff but was unable to start due to a foot abscess.

“I could run as many as four in the Paseana – Kipling’s Joy, Centrique, and Euphrosyne for sure,” said Wolfson. “I might run Heart Stealer against the boys the same day, but I’ll wait and see how the race comes up.”

Wolfson was referring to the $75,000 Housebuster Stakes, which, like the Paseana, will be decided at 6 1/2 furlongs July 5.

“I want to get this filly [Heart Stealer] ready for the Ballerina at Saratoga, and I have no place else to go with her right now,” said Wolfson. “She’s doing great.”

The Paseana was carded at Gulfstream Park as a replacement for the Grade 2 Princess Rooney Handicap at Calder, which was carded the same day but canceled earlier this month due to the ongoing dates negotiations between the two neighboring tracks. Wolfson has won the Princess Rooney four times, including last summer with Starship Truffles.

“It’s a big blow for our stable that the Princess Rooney won’t be run this summer,” said Wolfson. “We’ve had a lot of success in the race, and being a Grade 1 all these years and now a Grade 2 made it an important race for all of us stabled down here.”

Aside from his talented contingent of older filly and mare sprinters, Wolfson’s barn is loaded in other categories as well. Last week, he sent Gamay Noir to Delaware to register a half-length triumph in the Grade 3 Obeah Stakes. The daughter of Harlan’s Holiday, who was haltered for $100,000 here this winter, also defeated heavy favorites Unlimited Budget and her own stablemate, Devil’s Cave, at odds of 49-1 to capture the Grade 3 Rampart Handicap here in March.

“I love that filly,” Wolfson said of Gamay Noir. “We’ve already received a big offer to sell her off that last race. She’ll go back up north to make her next start in the Delaware Handicap.”

Wolfson also trains the exciting 2-year-old prospect Curlin’s Princess and the unraced 3-year-old Atreides, both of whom were on the work tab here Wednesday. Curlin’s Princess, a homebred daughter of Curlin owned by Happy Alter, won her maiden at second asking by nearly five widening lengths and is being pointed for the $75,000 Cassidy Stakes on July 12. She breezed an easy half-mile in 48.57 seconds, coming home a final quarter in 23.33, then galloped out a huge five furlongs in 1:00.41.

Atreides, a son of Medaglia d’Oro, is the younger brother of Grade 1 winner Dreaming of Julia. He just cruised three furlongs from the gate in 35.95 before galloping out a half-mile in 48.13 on Wednesday.

“He is very talented and looks just like his big sister,” said Wolfson. “I’m very excited to have him.”

Curlin’s Princess might have to go out of town for future assignments if she runs well in the Cassidy, as she is not eligible for the rich Florida Sire Stakes series, which dominates the 2-year-old schedule here later this summer. The Florida Sire Stakes will be run at Gulfstream for the first time this season after being a tradition at Calder since its inception in 1982.

The new partnership already appears to be a successful one, as the FSS has recorded a 19 percent increase in eligibility payments over 2013. The series was moved to Gulfstream in cooperation with the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association and the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.

The rich series kicks off Aug. 9 with the $100,000 Desert Vixen division and the Dr. Fager Stakes. It continues Sept. 6 with the seven-furlong Susan’s Girl and the Affirmed, both of which are valued at $250,000. The traditional finales, the $350,000 My Dear Girl and the In Reality, to be decided at 1 1/16 miles, will be run Oct. 4.

The Florida Sire Stakes has produced six Eclipse Award winners: Awesome Feather, Big Drama, Holy Bull, Smile, Brave Raj, and Not Surprising.◗ Jose Valdivia Jr. made a triumphant return to Gulfstream last weekend when guiding Dreamlicious to an easy victory in Saturday’s second race. Valdivia, 39, moved from Lima, Peru, to West Palm Beach in 1989 and first learned to ride locally. The journeyman’s most important wins came in the 2011 Belmont Stakes aboard Ruler On Ice and the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Mile with Val Royal. He also won the 2011 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap with Teaks North.