Grande dominates the G3 Ghostzapper, Coglianese Photo
Gulfstream Park Press
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Repole Stable’s Grande, runner-up in last year’s Wood Memorial (G2), remained undefeated at Gulfstream in four races with a gate-to-wire victory in The Ghostzapper (G3) under jockey John Velazquez.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Grande went to the front under Velazquez and set tepid early fractions of :24.57 and :49.42. Entering the stretch Capital Idea drew alongside Grande, but Grande, a son of Curlin, pulled away
Grande covered the 1 1/16-mile in 1:44.26 and returned $2.20 while winning by three-quarters of a length.
“There was no speed in the race. I told Todd, ’I’m coming from Post 1, I’m going to let him run into the first turn and see where he lands.’ Just looking on paper, there was no speed at all,” Velazquez said. “So, I was obligated to come out of there and get a position going into the first turn. Once we got there, he was cruising all the way around and waiting for the competition. He’s not the kind of horse that goes on and opens up on other horses, so he was kind of waiting for the competition to come right next to him and when I asked him he responded nicely.”
After finishing second in the Wood, Grande returned Feb. 14 to win at a mile.
“I thought he ran like he was supposed to,” Pletcher said. “It looked like he was the speed of the race. There wasn’t a lot of pace in there. He had things his way, which we were happy to take. It looked like he was waiting on company a little bit. When the other horse came to him, he found a little bit more. It was another good, solid effort by him.
“I think he’s versatile enough in a scenario where there’s not a lot of speed, he can [set the pace]. But he wouldn’t mind having a target either.”
As for what could be next?
“I don’t know. There are a lot of options,” Pletcher said. “It’s nice to have a good older horse. There are plenty more options. I feel like he can handle more distance.”
Immortalised Saves Ground, Secures Win in $175,000 Cutler Bay
Field Family Racing and Starry Night Racing’s Immortalised received a ground-saving trip from jockey John Velazquez, a strategy that proved decisive in defeating determined pacesetter Ababajoni by a head in the $175,000 Cutler Bay Stakes.
“Obviously the inside trip helped me today,” Velazquez said.
Velazquez shot the 3-year-old gelding and 3/2 favorite through an opening at the top of the stretch before digging in to fend off Ababajoni in the 7 ½ furlong turf stakes. It was a neck further back to late-rallying Bringing It Back in third.
“He’s not a horse that opens up,” Velazquez said. “He gets to the lead and he stops. He was looking at everything and (I said) ‘Come on man, just pay attention. You have a horse next to you.’”
Velazquez said that the close presence of Ababajoni, who had led throughout until being engaged in the turn for home, helped to keep Immortalised focused and competitive all the way to the wire.
Immortalised, a French-bred son of Romanised, was making his fourth career start for trainer Brendan Walsh. The win was the gelding’s third straight and first in a stakes. He completed the trip in 1:27.24.
Woolf Winner Leparoux Guides Quatrocento to Appleton Victory
Under a vintage Julien Leparoux ride, Saint George’s Quatrocento registered a front-running victory in Saturday’s $175,000 Appleton presented by Daily Racing Form at Gulfstream Park.
Sent to post as the even-money favorite for the 74th running of the mile turf stakes for older horses, the Fausto Gutierrez-trained son of War Front took command from the start and showed the way past half-mile fractions of 24.68 and 47.61 with Leparoux sitting chilly. Pace-stalker Beach Gold made a strong bid on the far turn to pull alongside Quatrocento, but the leader instantly reasserted himself when asked by Leparoux to open up a clear lead in the stretch and hold on to prevail over 60-1 longshot Westside Tide by three-quarters of a length.
“My horse always breaks pretty sharp, and I was able to get to the first turn in front of [Prevent]. The other speed that scratched [Tomasello], that was a big help, too. From there we controlled the race.,” Leparoux said. “He traveled very nicely the whole backside. He wanted to go today. He finished up very nicely and I still had some horse at the end, so that was good. When he felt the horses coming to him he responded again and came on strong at the end.”
Quatrocento, who was coming off a front-running score in the Tampa Bay (G3), ran a mile over a firm turf in 1:32.92. Late rallying Westside Time finished three-quarters of a length clear of Beach Gold.
Leparoux earlier in the week had been named the 2026 George Woolf Award winner in recognition of his career achievements and strong character.
“It’s special. Any award is a special thing to receive, but this one, the fact that jockeys around the country voted, it’s an honor to be part of the long list of jockeys that have received it before,” the 42-year-old jockey with more than 3000 wins said. “It’s a proud moment, and I’m very excited to receive it.”
Pentathlon in the Army Mule
Pentathlon took the lead from Concrete Glory inside the eighth to win the $175,000 Army Mule by a half length, covering seven furlongs in 1:23.11 under jockey Dylan Davis.
Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, Pentathlon closed along the rail down the backstretch while Concrete Glory posted fractions of :22.71 and :45.14. After swinging two-wide entering the stretch, Pentathlon rallied past the pacesetter while holding off Playmea Tune.
Pentathlon, a Phipps Stable homebred, ended his 4-year-old season with a fifth-place finish in the Cigar Mile (G2) before starting his 2026 season with a victory against allowance company at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 15.
He’s kind of a funny horse,” McGaughey said. “Sometimes when we thought he would run big he didn’t. But he trained good at Payson [Park], and his race at Tampa was really good. The horse finished second to him there [Capital Idea] finished second [today] in The Ghostzapper. I thought Dylan rode a good race on him. He had him where he needed to be.”
Tam Tam Runs Down Laigina Late To Win $175,000 Sanibel Island Stakes
Rigney Racing LLC’s Tam Tam wore down frontrunning Laigina in deep stretch to win the $175,000 Sanibel Island Stakes.
Laigina, sent off as the 2-1 favorite in the 7 ½ furlong turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies, led most of the way before succumbing to Tam Tam in deep stretch. Connect the Stars rallied late to take second, a neck behind Tam Tam, with Laigina settling for third, another length behind.
Tam Tam, who was ridden by Junior Alvarado for trainer Philip Bauer, lost her first three career races – all on dirt – before switching to turf last month and breaking her maiden her first try on grass.
Saturday’s Sanibel Island was her first stakes test, and she passed with authority, finishing in a time of 1:27.42.
