HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Amy Dunne, Pat Harlow, Brenda Miley and Jean Wilkinson’s Artos, unraced since making her stakes debut last summer at Royal Ascot, is set to launch her comeback in Saturday’s $75,000 Melody of Colors at Gulfstream Park.
An Irish-bred daughter of Kodiac, Artos has worked steadily since late January for her return over the turf course at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.
“We’ve been pointing for this race for a month and a half. It’s 3-year-old fillies, you don’t have to run against the older fillies [and] it’s a sprint, so it was the obvious place to bring her back,” trainer Rusty Arnold said. “We think she’s good enough to make a good account of herself off a layoff, and she’s ready to go. Hopefully we’re right.”
Artos found some early trouble in her debut last April at Keeneland but got up to be second behind Ruthin. She then graduated by a nose in a gutsy front-running effort against males in May, both going 5 ½ furlongs. Those efforts convinced the connections to send Artos to Royal Ascot, where she finished fourth by 3 ¼ lengths in the five-furlong Queen Mary (G2).
“She had shown us a lot. Both of her races were good. She got beat by a Wesley Ward horse in her first race and she beat boys in the second race, which we ran to give her enough time to get her to Ascot. She really stood up good and beat colts,” Arnold said. “She went to Europe, had a good trip, trained well and ran well.
“She ran huge in Europe, couldn’t run any better. I think if she’d have got lucky, she’d have been third,” he added. “She came back and had a little issue in training, and I sent her to the farm. The Dunnes gave her quite a bit of time off and she’s come back very good. Everything’s good to go.”
Arnold expects Artos to be in a familiar spot on or near the lead, particularly coming off the layoff, and credits her personality as part of her success.
“She’s a little bitty thing and she’s tough as nails. She’s probably only 15-1 and she thinks she’s 16-1. She’s really a pleasure to be around, but she’s tough. She’s no sissy,” Arnold said. “She’s always been sharp. She didn’t get away from the gate first time. Second time she got away great and broke on the lead, and third time she got away great, and she was on the lead until probably the sixteenth pole with [21] horses in the race. Hopefully she’ll be in the front tier.”
Also coming off a layoff is MeB Racing Stables and Vincent Esopi’s Mystic Eyes, last out winner of the six-furlong Stewart Manor Nov. 6 on the turf at Belmont Park. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the Maclean’s Music filly also ran second in the Ainsworth and third in the Matron (G3) last year.
Golden Kernel Racing Stable’s Chacalosa won the Arlington-Washington Lassie sprinting seven furlongs on the all-weather surface at Arlington Park. She will be making her first start after being claimed for $35,000 out of a Jan. 26 Gulfstream win by trainer Laura Cazares, who has won a pair of stakes during the Championship Meet with Golden Kernel’s Yes I Am Free including the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3).
Monarch Stables, Inc.’s Last Leaf returns to sprinting after finishing fourth in the one-mile Herecomesthebride (G3) March 5. It will be her fifth start at the Championship Meet, all in stakes, including a third in the Forward Gal (G3) sprinting seven furlongs on the main track Feb. 5. Last Leaf won the Hollywood Beach last fall at Gulfstream in her turf debut.
Claws Stable’s American Starlet exits a fifth as the favorite in an optional claiming allowance Feb. 23 after rolling to a front-running two-length maiden special weight triumph over males in her career debut Jan. 7.
“She came out with the colts there her first start and was able to win that. She had the outside post there the last time and when she broke she broke out and spotted the field substantial lengths,” trainer Wesley Ward said. “She wasn’t trained to come from behind, so it was all kind of new to her. She wound up between horses and I think she’ll come back and run a good race.”
Also entered are Blaze Away N Hide, Cardio Princess, Comedic, Creative Girl, Dazzy, Fawning and Poiema.
Gulfstream Park Press Release
Photo of Artos breaking his maiden at Churchill Downs May 21, 2021 by Coady Photography
