By Jim Freer
Gulfstream Park will resume live racing on Thursday, starting a Thursday through Sunday schedule that is standard for its summer meet.
Here are some things to expect:
*Thursday Aug. 9—first post is 2:00 p.m. for a ten-race card.
The Rainbow 6 carryover, now in its third day, is $36,964. The 20-cent per combination only bet is on races five through ten.
The feature seventh race is an allowance/optional claimer for 3-year-olds and up, with a $49,000 purse and a $25,000 optional price.
Todd Pletcher will send out Songeur and Elk Camp for different owners.
Songeur, with Emisael Jaramillo riding, has four wins in eight starts on Gulfstream turf. Elk Camp, to be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, has three wins in five starts on the Gulfstream turf.
The Pletcher horses likely will be among favorites along with Sahara Storm, trained by Bobby Dibona and ridden by Samy Camacho, and Salute the Colonel, trained by Joe Orseno and ridden by Nik Juarez.
*Friday, Aug. 10 – The multiple graded stakes winner Gunnevera is entered in the fourth race, and his trainer Antonio Sano is using it as a prep for a late summer/fall campaign of major stakes races.
Sano told the Gulfstream press office that he next plans to run Gunnevera on Sept. 1 in the 1 1/8 mile Woodward Stakes (Grade 1) at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
He added that he also hopes to run Gunnevera in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (Grade 1) on Nov.1 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
Friday’s fourth race is 1 1/16 miles on dirt, and is a $62,500 optional claimer with a $48,500 purse. None of the five entrants is in for a tag.
Edgard Zayas will ride Gunnevera.
The Friday card has ten races with a first post of 2:00 p.m.
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The race will be the first for Gunnevera, a 4-year-old son of Dialed In, since he finished eighth in the Dubai World Cup on March 31.
He suffered a hoof injury in that race, and was given two months to recover.
Since returning to training, Gunnevera has had seven fast workouts at Gulfstream Park West (formerly known as Calder).
In his prior start, Gunnevera came in third in the Pegasus World Cup (Grade 1) at Gulfstream on Jan. 27.
Gunnevera’s biggest win was in the 2017 Fountain of Youth Stakes (Grade 2) at Gulfstream.
Gunnevera is owned by Magolith, whose principal Solomon Del Valle is a long-time friend of fellow Venezuelan native Sano.
Friday’s race also has Leitone, Asterisk, Unbridled Holiday and Millionaire Runner.
Leitone, a multiple Grade 1 winner in Chile, was purchased privately by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and R. A. Hill Stable following his triumph in the El Derby (G1) at Valparaiso Feb. 4.
The 4-year-old Chilean-bred son of Dunkirk hasn’t been worse than third in eight starts. Trainer Kathy Ritvo named Luca Panici to ri
*Saturday, Aug. 11 —First post will be 12:45 p.m. for a 12-race card.
The feature ninth race is the $75,000 Panama City Stakes at one mile on turf for Florida-bred fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.
*Sunday, Aug. 12—Entries will be out on Thursday afternoon.
