Speed Shopper storms to the front to take the Christophe Clement, Coglianese Photo
Gulfstream Park Press
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Gary Barber, Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Speed Shopper, under a heady ride from Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, surged to the lead in mid-stretch and went on to register her first graded-stakes victory in Saturday’s $175,000 Christophe Clement (G3) presented by Don Julio Tequila at Gulfstream Park.
The 1 ½-mile Clement for older fillies and mares on the turf was the second of 10 stakes, seven graded, worth $5.675 million in purses on a blockbuster Pegasus World Cup Day program anchored by the 10th anniversary of the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1).
Known as the La Prevoyante since its inception in 1974, this marked the first running of the race since it was renamed for the late trainer of 2,576 wins that passed away last May from a rare form of eye cancer at the age of 59. Clement won the La Prevoyante a record six times.
Velazquez settled Speed Shopper ($16.60) in third along the rail as 15-1 longshot Arya Stark took the early initiative and led through a half-mile in 50.20 seconds flanked to her outside by Weighted Average with Venencia racing in fourth.
Favored No Show Sammy Jo moved up on the far outside after trailing the field to loom a threat in third midway around the far turn, with Speed Shopper staying patient inside. Velazquez tipped off the rail once straightened for home and split horses to set his sights on the leaders, edging clear by 1 ¾ lengths in 2:26.76 over a turf course rated firm.
Arya Stark stubbornly held second by a neck over Weighted Average, followed by Venencia, Ramsey Pond, Fionn, No Show Sammy Jo, Alluring Angel and Gallant Greta.
Speed Shopper improved her record to 3-2-1 from nine starts. She was making her 5-year-old debut after ending 2025 running second by a head in the Rodeo Drive (G2) and winning the Florence Dec. 20 at Turfway Park, both going 1 ¼ miles.
$175,000 Christophe Clement presented by Don Julio Tequila (G3) Quotes
Winning trainer Will Walden (Speed Shopper): “It’s kind of usually where she travels. The plan was to kind of get out of there, which Johnny did, and stick her to the rail. We drew there so we might as well stay there, and the rest was textbook.
“Christophe was an important in many people’s lives, but he was especially important in mine. I grew up with his son, Miguel, our dads both trained at Payson Park [and] spent a lot of nights over at his house. Moreso when I started training, Christophe always looked out for the next generation. He wanted to see this sport continue and grow and he knew that the next generation was going to be the one to carry the backpack. He put a lot into us and into me, personally, so to win this race in recognition of him it means the world.”
Winning jockey John Velazquez (Speed Shopper): “Pretty easy, simple. Got behind the speed, which was pretty much what we wanted to do. Sat there, wanted to be careful how much I used her down the lane. It worked out perfect.”
