HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Lael Stables’ Arrest Me Red, who concluded his 3-year-old campaign with three straight stakes victories, is set for his 2022 debut in Saturday’s $100,000 Silks Run at Gulfstream Park.
“He’s training great. We never really gave him any time off after his last win at Aqueduct,” trainer Wesley Ward said. “We took him back to Kentucky, where he didn’t have any fast works. We just kept him jogging and galloping. We took him to Payson and he’s been working each and every week.”
The Silks Run, a five-furlong turf stakes for 4-year-olds and up, will be featured in Saturday’s program with the $100,000 Hutcheson, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds, and the $100,000 Any Limit, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies.
Arrest Me Red is coming off a front-running victory in the Nov. 27 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship. The 4-year-old son of Pioneer of the Nile and a Medaglia d’Oro mare had previously won the Oct. 2 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational (G3). Both turf sprints were run at six furlongs. The homebred colt won the 5 ½-furlong Mahoney Stakes at Saratoga in August.
Arrest Me Red has won five of seven career starts, including four wins from five turf races, but has yet to run a distance shorter than 5 ½ furlongs.
“He should love it. I’d say he’d be better. He’s a very fast horse,” Ward said. “He looks like a quarter horse. He’s a beautiful horse too.”
Arrest Me Red has won coming off the pace, but his last two wins were achieved in front-running fashion.
“When you got speed, you go to the lead, right?” Ward said. “We’ll leave it up to Irad.”
Irad Ortiz Jr., who was aboard for Arrest Me Red’s victory in the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational, has the mount Saturday.
Golden Kernel Racing Stable’s Yes I Am Free is scheduled to seek his second straight graded-stakes victory in the Silks Run after scoring by 3 ¼ lengths in the Feb. 12 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3). The 6-year-old gelded son of Uncaptured, who also won an overnight handicap during Gulfstream’s Fall Meet, is 8-for-15 lifetime at five-furlongs on turf.
Emisael Jaramillo has the return call aboard the Lara Cazares-trained gelding.
Peace Sign Stables’ Belgrano, who finished third behind Yes I Am Free in the Gulfstream Turf Sprint, will seek his third-straight graded-stakes placing in the Silks Run. The Frank Russo-trained 8-year-old gelding vied for the early lead before weakening to finish third in the mile Tropical Turf (G3) in his prior start.
Jose Ortiz has the call aboard Belgrano, a son of War Front who has won eight of 31 career turf starts.
Chess Master, who is owned and trained by Kerri Raven, is slated to seek his fifth victory in his last six starts in the Silks Run. The 6-year-old Overdriven gelding’s only loss in his last five starts came in a third-place finish in a six-furlong dirt sprint two starts back at Tampa Bay Downs. Chess Master is coming off a 2 ½-length victory in the five-furlong Turf Dash Feb. 19 at Tampa.
Hall of Famer Javier Castellano is scheduled to ride Chess Master for the first time Saturday.
Silverton Hill LLC’s High Crime, Just For Fun Stable’s Warrior’s Pride and Live Oak Plantation’s Old Chestnut, are among other notable entrants in the Silks Run. High Crime came within a neck of winning last season’s Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint; Warrior’s Pride won the five-furlong Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint during the Summer Meet; and Old Chestnut is making his first start since finishing seventh in the Highlander (G1) at Woodbine last September.
Susan and Jim Hill’s Cool Quest, George Sharp’s Hello Hot Rod, and trainer Mohammed Jehaludi and Bibi Jehaludi’s Omaha City round out the field.
Gulfstream Press Release
Photo: Arrest Me Red (NYRA Photo)
