Xy Speed finds best form at age 8
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When talking about a horse getting better with age, one might want to begin the conversation with Xy Speed, who posted a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 102 on March 29 at age 8 in his 35th lifetime start.
Xy Speed, a son of First Samurai, rallied from near the rear of the field to a 1 3/4-length victory against allowance opposition in his most recent start at five furlongs on turf. The win was the 11th of his career, 10 of which have come on turf, four of those over the local course, and the last two for his current trainer, Michael Lerman.
“You get your hands on a horse with a lot of back class, take care of them the right way, keep them happy, and good things can happen,” Lerman said. “And with this guy, so far, mission accomplished, although there were some setbacks along the way. And to be honest, I don’t think he’s done yet. He’s going in a steady, upward direction right now and seems ready for another big effort on Saturday.”
Xy Speed figures to be among the favorites in Saturday’s $75,000 Sunny Isles Handicap carded at five furlongs on the Gulfstream turf. He was assigned 121 pounds off his latest performance, two fewer than the 123-pound highweight Yes I Am Free.
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“There should be plenty of pace for him in this race.Seven of the 11 horses in the field seem to want to be on the lead,” Lerman reasoned. “Of course, going five furlongs he’s going to need the right trip and a little racing luck. But he has just enough speed himself to be tactically close, and he’s really been touting himself to me of late. He’s as genuine as they come.”
The Sunny Isles will share top billing on Saturday’s 11-race card with the $75,000 Mo’ Green overnight handicap to be run at a mile for fillies and mares over the main track. The two races are part of a mandatory-payout Rainbow 6 sequence that begins in the afternoon’s sixth race.
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