World of Trouble takes surface change in stride in Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The heavy rain which fell through the night and into the early afternoon put a damper on Saturday’s Pegasus World Cup program at Gulfstream Park in many ways. Not the least of which was preventing the much-anticipated rematch between Eclipse Award winner Stormy Liberal and arch-rival World of Trouble in the $150,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint.

Stormy Liberal, who ran down World of Trouble to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint over a boggy course at Churchill Downs nearly three months earlier, was scratched from the Gulfstream Turf Sprint after the race was switched from the grass to a sloppy main track late Saturday morning. That left World of Trouble as the odds-on favorite against only four rivals, a trio he dispatched with relative ease to register a 2 3/4-length victory over Recruiting Ready while geared down to the wire under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.

World of Trouble disputed the early pace inside the speedy Recruiting Ready while well held and kept well removed from the rail by Ortiz. A 13 3/4-length winner of a Florida-bred stakes over a sloppy track at Tampa Bay Downs in his previous start, readily disposed of his only challenger upon settling into the stretch, quickly opened a commanding advantage, and was under a stout hold through the final sixteenth.

Recruiting Ready was easily second-best, finishing 3 3/4 lengths in front of Belle Tapisserie. Singandcryindubai and Little Chesney rounded out the order of finish.

World of Trouble, a 4-year-old son of Kantharos, is owned by the partnership of Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Bethlehem Stables. Trained by Jason Servis, he completed five furlongs in 56.44 and paid $2.40.

Although World of Trouble’s chances of winning the Turf Sprint obviously improved dramatically following the surface change and ultimate scratch of chief rival Stormy Liberal, Servis said he still had some reservations going into the race.

“This horse is not an easy horse to deal with,” said Servis. “For some reason they put him in a different stall than usual over in the receiving barn today and he was really a handful. We couldn’t get the bandages on him, we had trouble putting the bridle on him, and he already had turf shoes on with no toe grabs so we just ran them in those since I didn’t want to take the chance of getting those shoes off and not being able to get new ones on. I thought he was just doing okay going into the race as it was, so for him to win like that was really gratifying. He’s just a runner.”

Servis said he was uncertain what would be next for World of Trouble, leaving his options open for both turf and dirt as the year progresses and noting the fact he believes the horse can be equally effective at distances up to a mile.

“I’ll let Mike [Dubb] map it all out,” said Servis.