Zofelle rallies past Sweet Bye and Bye in Marshua's River victory

Zofelle capped a pretty strong 40-minute stretch for trainer Brendan Walsh at Gulfstream Park on Saturday as she rallied from seventh to zip past Sweet Bye and Bye inside the eighth pole to win the Grade 3, $125,000 Marshua’s River Stakes by two lengths.

The victory came one race after Walsh debuted the impressive-looking 3-year-old colt Prevalence, who won a seven-furlong maiden race by 8 1/2 lengths in hand.

Zofelle, a 5-year-old daughter of Zoffany, was making her first start since she finished fifth in the Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes last June 27 at Belmont Park. Walsh said he gave Zofelle a break after that race and she had a solid worktab leading up to her return.

In the Marshua’s River, Zofelle, under Tyler Gaffalione, settled into seventh position, about five lengths off the pace set by Our Bay B Ruth, with Vigilante’s Way and Sweet Bye and Bye chasing from second and third through a half-mile in 46.12 seconds.

Around the turn, Gaffalione asked Zofelle to go and she advanced into third by the time the field straightened out in the lane. By that point, Vigilante’s Way had made the lead, but was soon overtaken by Sweet Bye and Bye, who then gave way to Zofelle.

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Sweet Bye and Bye, who finished fourth as the favorite in last year’s Marshua’s River, finished second by three-quarters of a length over Belle Laura.
Zofelle, owned by the Heider Family Stables, covered the mile in 1:32.43 and returned $7.60 as the favorite. She earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure.

“It seems like it’s been tough to close on the outer course today, so we didn’t want to be too far away,” Walsh said in a post-race interview with Gulfstream’s Acacia Courtney. “She traveled around there really nice, he said when he asked her she picked up instantly, and we can’t ask for more than that.”

Walsh certainly couldn’t have asked for any more than what Prevalence gave him in Saturday’s sixth race. A Godolphin Racing homebred son of Medaglia d’Oro, Prevalence was a dominant debut winner while covering seven furlongs in 1:23.00 while in hand under Gaffalione.

“I thought he was nice, of course you’re always looking for confirmation, it was nice to get that,” Walsh said. “He looks like he’s a pretty nice horse moving forward.”