Zandar sharp for Friday turf sprint

MIAMI – Seven were entered for Friday’s $43,000 feature, a first-level optional claimer at five furlongs on the turf.

Trainer Brendan Walsh is among the early arrivals from Kentucky to have shipped a string to the Palm Meadows training center for the winter, and he’ll send out Zandar as the likely favorite should the race stay on the grass. Zandar won a higher-priced optional claimer going 6 1/2 furlongs over the Kentucky Downs grass course on Sept. 6 for his first win of the season and first since joining Walsh’s stable during the summer.

Zandar’s chief competition could come from Chief Exchanger, who will race for trainer Elizabeth Dobles for the first time on Friday after shipping from Presque Isle. Chief Exchanger worked a bullet four furlongs over the Palm Meadows turf course last week.

Other key contenders include Small Fortuner, Brio Man, Shoshone Brave, and the red-hot Swagger.

Jockeys visit schoolkids

Gulfstream Park West jockeys Tyler Gaffalione and Edgard Zayas, along with Gulfstream Park television hosts Acacia Courtney and Jason Blewitt spent their only day off this week visiting students at the Ben Gamla Charter School on Monday.

“It was a really beautiful experience,” Zayas said. “There are some amazing kids here and I really enjoyed it. I was able to explain what jockeys do each day. A lot of the students didn’t know who or what jockeys are, so it was a really nice experience answering all of their questions and teaching them more about what we do. We talked about the importance of reading and how much studying and reading we have to do for our job. It was great and I really hope we can do it again.”

Gaffalione said: “I described my daily routine with them and gave them an insider’s look at what a jockey’s life is really like. I read a story to them and we took pictures and handed out some fun items to each student afterwards. I’m so thankful we were able to get involved. It was a great experience.”