HorseracingFLA Staff Report
Gulfstream Park has an eight-race card on Thursday with first post of 1:15 p.m.
Conditions are fast and firm, and five races are scheduled for turf. The Weather Channel Forecast has a zero percent chance of rain in Hallandale Beach where Gulfstream is located.
The co-feature fourth and seventh races are allowance/optional claimers, with $43,000 purses, for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.
The fourth race is 1 1/16 miles on turf and has a $25,000 optional tag. The seventh race is 6 ½ furlongs on dirt, with a $16,000 optional tag.
We will have coverage on our blog.
Wednesday Results
Bode’s Dream ran 4 1/2 furlongs in 51.26 seconds in winning the second race, a $47,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies.
Bode’s Dream, in her debut, took an early lead and went on to beat Faith ‘n Works by 3 3/4 lengths.
The Gulfstream track record for 4 1/2 furlongs is 51:07 seconds, set by the then 2-year-old colt Awesome Banner on June 5, 2015.
Edgard Zayas rode Bode’s Dream for trainer Todd Pletcher and owner St. Elias Stable.
Based largely on her breeding, Bode’s Dream was the 1-5 favorite in the five-horse field.
Her sire is Bodemeister, the horse that finished a close second to I’ll Have Another in 2012 in the Kentucky Derby and then in the Preakness.
Her dam Frolic’s Dream won three stakes races, including the seven-furlong Forward Gal (Grade 2) at Gulfstream in 2009. Frolic’s Dream was bred and owned by the family of Rob Murphy, the former major league pitcher.
Grand Isle beat Persuasive by a length in the feature eighth race at 1 1/16 miles on turf. It was a $25,000 allowance/optional claimer with a $43,000 purse for 3-year-olds.
Grand Isle rallied from seventh place after three-quarters of mile and won in the fast time of 1:39.59 on the course listed as firm. Luca Panici rode Grand Isle for trainer Leo Gabriel Jr.
Upcoming Races
First post is 1:15 p.m. each day.
On Friday, Gulfstream will have the $75,000 Bull Gator Stakes at seven furlongs on dirt for Florida-breds 3-years-old and up.
Jacks or Better Farm’s Grande Shores, a three-time stakes winner, heads the five-horse field. Edgard Zayas has the mount.
It will be Grande Shores’s first race for trainer Mark Casse.
Through early last month Jacks or Better used Stan Gold as its exclusive trainer in Florida, with considerable success especially in 2-YO races. Last month, for reasons not fully disclosed publicly, Jacks or Better owner Fred Brei moved all of his approximately 20 horses to Casse.
Since then Gold has taken on horses from several other owners, including former partners of the recently retired trainer Bill Kaplan.
For Saturday, the Condition Book showed the $75,000 Cedar Key at 1 1/16 miles on turf for Florida-breds 3-years-old and up.
However, the race did not fill.
Instead, the 11-race card will be topped by two allowance/optional claiming races. There 108 entrants, including Also Eligibles. That would make average field sizes one of the largest for Gulfstream’s spring meet.
For Sunday, the Condition Book shows the $75,000 Hibiscus at 1 1/16 miles on turf for Florida-bred fillies and mares 3-years-old and up. Entries for Sunday will be out late Thursday afternoon.
