Yates has contenders in both Dr. Fager and Desert Vixen as Florida Sire Stakes get underway

Michael Yates will have a top contender in each division of the Florida Sire Stakes when the first legs of the annual series for 2-year-olds are run Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Yates will saddle Cajun Hope for the $100,000 Dr. Fager and Go Lil Lady for the $100,000 Desert Vixen in twin six-furlong races that lead off the series restricted to the offspring of accredited sires standing in Florida. The Dr. Fager is for 2-year-olds and the Desert Vixen for 2-year-old fillies.

Cajun Hope, with four starts, “probably has more racing experience than any of the rest,” Yates said this week by phone. Go Lil Lady easily won a June maiden dash in her only start.

“So hopefully we’re going in with two good chances,” Yates said.

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Fields of seven or eight were expected for both stakes, which are being drawn Wednesday. It now has been 40 years since the Sire Stakes series was inaugurated as the Florida Stallion Stakes at the old Calder in 1982. Yates, a 52-year-old third-generation horseman from Ocala, Fla., has three wins in the series, all since 2018. The most recent came last year with Cajun’s Magic in the Dr. Fager.

The former Yates trainee Girl Buy is expected for the Desert Vixen. She now is trained by Luis Ramirez following a private purchase. The Cajun Breeze filly won on debut at Gulfstream in April before finishing third in the June 9 Astoria at Belmont Park in her lone subsequent start.

The Dr. Fager and Desert Vixen lead into longer and richer races as summer melds into early fall. Subsequent races in the series are the $200,000 Affirmed and $200,000 Susan’s Girl, both at seven furlongs on Sept. 3, and the $400,000 In Reality and $400,000 My Dear Girl, both at 1 1/16 miles on Oct. 1.

The Saturday program, which starts at 12:25 p.m. Eastern, coincides with the first “Taste of the Track” of the summer. On Saturday, the track will serve burgers, beer, and desserts. Tickets are available online.

Gulfstream currently is racing only on dirt and Tapeta because the turf course is undergoing an extensive renovation. Turf racing was last held June 11.