Garrett To Gulfstream On Thursday
rayphil
Senior Member
Gomez Is Flying In To Gulfstream On Thursday To Pick Up The Mount On The 3.7 Million Dollar Colt Dunkirk For Pletcher.....interesting????????
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Thursday allowance at Gulfstream brims with potential
Several highly regarded three-year-olds are set to clash in Thursday's 8TH race at Gulfstream Park. Contested at nine furlongs, the allowance feature has the look of a prep for the Florida Derby (G1) at this track and trip on March 28. Ten have been entered, with seven of them nominated to the Triple Crown.
Trainer Rick Dutrow looked over the field, raised his eyebrows, and gave a little whistle.
"That is one interesting race," said the trainer, who will send out smart maiden winner ALMA D'ORO (Medaglia d'Oro). "I still feel really good about what my horse is going to do in there."
Alma d'Oro worked five furlongs in 1:01 Sunday morning at Gulfstream under jockey/exercise rider Mario Madrid. The colt exits an impressive five-length maiden score going the one-turn mile here on January 15.
"He's doing so good. His work was perfect and I love the way he did it," Dutrow said. "He's got a really smooth, fluid stride, and he's so laid back. I'm trying to get my mind around him because he's just so easy going we can't get a really good read on him yet, other than the fact that nothing gets to him and he can run all day."
Alma d'Oro won his last race in front-running fashion, but Dutrow and jockey Edgar Prado don't think the colt is a committed speedster.
"He was so sharp in his last race -- he kind of found himself on the lead," Dutrow said. "But then he let two others go off from him and that's when Edgar said he started to really like him because he relaxed. He dusted off the two horses and seemed to be looking for more. I think he can sit back and look for that competition, and he doesn't have to go out there and run away from them."
Like last year's Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness S. (G1) champion Big Brown, Alma d'Oro joined Dutrow's barn after one start for someone else, in this case trainer Joe Deegan, who is based at the Highpoint Farm and Training Center in La Grange, Kentucky. The colt finished fourth last November at Churchill Downs in his career debut.
"He came to us in great shape and he had excuses in his first start for 'Jockey Joe'," said Dutrow, referring to former jockey Deegan. "He drew the rail and was coming off a training center. Joe wanted us to have him and it's been all good since he got here. He's been so cool and we're just not going to get in his way."
Garrett Gomez flies in from California to pick up the mount on the Todd Pletcher-trained DUNKIRK (Unbridled's Song), who could go off as the favorite. A $3.7 million yearling purchase at Keeneland September, the gray is out of 2000 Kentucky Oaks (G1) heroine Secret Status (A.P. Indy). Making his career debut here on January 24, Dunkirk broke slowly in a full field of 12 going seven furlongs, but easily ran by the field in the stretch to score by 5 3/4 lengths.
Pletcher has another contender in AMERICAN DANCE (A.P. Indy), who was last seen finishing third in the November 29 Remsen S. (G2) at Aqueduct, beaten 9 3/4 lengths by leading Kentucky Derby prospect Old Fashioned (Unbridled's Song). Jockey Jose Lezcano gets the call.
Also coming off a graded stakes attempt is STATELY CHARACTER (Pleasant Tap), a slow-starting fifth in the January 31 Holy Bull S. (G3).
Nick Zito will saddle THEY'RE LATE (Mineshaft), most recently third to Danger to Society (Harlan's Holiday) in a January 8 allowance. MORE THAN WILLING (More Than Ready) exits a maiden victory at this track and distance for Ken McPeek on January 25, while the Ian Wilkes-trained WARRIOR'S REWARD (Medaglia d'Oro) scored at first asking going a mile on January 31. Warrior's Reward's race attracted national attention in that it marked the racing debut of Barbaro's brother Nicanor (Dynaformer), who finished 10th.
On the Florida worktab
Three-year-old WARRIOR'S REWARD (Medaglia d'Oro), a good-looking debut winner on the Holy Bull S. (G3) undercard, recorded four furlongs in :52 1/5 over the fast track at Palm Meadows on Monday. The Ian Wilkes-trained colt will make his first start against winners in Thursday's 8TH race, a strong 1 1/8-mile allowance event, at Gulfstream.
Multiple Grade 3 queen COMMUNIQUE (Smart Strike), sixth in the La Prevoyante H. (G2) last out, breezed in :49 4/5.
Grade 3 winner ATONED (Repent), eighth in the Sunshine Millions Classic, worked five furlongs in a bullet :59 2/5.
At Payson Park, Irish stakes victress DRESS REHEARSAL (Ire) (Galileo [Ire]), an odds-on allowance/optional claiming winner when making her U.S. debut at Tampa Bay Downs on January 18, completed five furlongs in 1:03 over the fast track.
Stakes winner NERGAL (Fr) (Simon Du Desert), third in the grassy Four Bases S. at Aqueduct last out, breezed a half-mile in :51 2/5.
On the New York worktab
HAYNESFIELD (Speightstown), a convincing 6 1/4-length winner of the Whirlaway S., breezed four furlongs in an easy :53 2/5 over Belmont's fast training track on Monday. The Steve Asmussen-trained colt currently a four-race winning streak, the last three stakes, and will make his graded debut in the Gotham S. (G3) on March 7.
Busanda S. victress PUMPKIN SHELL (Lion Heart) logged a half-mile in :50 2/5.
Multiple Canadian champion JUDITHS WILD RUSH (Wild Rush), last seen finishing fourth in the Evening Attire S., got six furlongs in 1:14 2/5.
I was impressed to say the least. I was always a doubter of this horse as I thought the last race set up perfectly for him. He was carried about 7w into the first turn and then settled back around fifth. Fractions were average and when horses from the back started to close, Gomez moved on
Dunkirk. Moved by everyone and drew away by about five lengths.
What are you talking about? This thread is 3 days old...
By Mike Welsch
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - In a performance that catapulted him into the Kentucky Derby picture, Dunkirk overcame an adventurous trip to thoroughly dominate a very talented field of 3-year-old allowance rivals going 1 1/8 miles in Thursday's featured eighth race.
Dunkirk, a $3.7 million juvenile purchase at the 2007 Keeneland sale, was fanned about six wide on the clubhouse turn and remained wide in the run down the backstretch and around the second turn. Dunkirk wore down pacesetter Alma d'Oro leaving the quarter pole before edging away to a 4 3/4-length victory over Warrior's Reward. The win was the second in as many starts for the son of Unbridled's Song, who overcame a slow start to capture his debut going seven furlongs less than four weeks earlier. Garrett Gomez flew in from California to ride Dunkirk for trainer Todd Pletcher.
"That was a beautiful performance. I couldn't be more pleased," Pletcher said in the winner's circle after the race. "It was asking an awful lot of this horse to stretch out to a mile and one-eighth off a seven-furlong maiden win against a stakes-quality field like this. And the way he overcame all that adversity on the first turn with no problem proved he is a special horse."
Pletcher said that Dunkirk would likely follow 2008 Derby winner Big Brown's lead from last winter and go directly from his first-level allowance victory into the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 28.
"He's here, he's 2 for 2 over the track, and the spacing is good between races, so at the moment I'd say the Florida Derby would be my first choice," Pletcher said.