Mystic Lake wins the Miss Preakness (G3) May 17 at Pimlico (Anika Miskar/Past The Wire)
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Graded-stakes winning stablemates Mystic Lake and R Harper Rose, each coming off layoffs, will have the field surrounded when they make their return to the races in Saturday’s $140,000 Sugar Swirl at Gulfstream Park.
The 42nd running of the Sugar Swirl for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting six furlongs on the main track is the first of five stakes, three graded, worth $825,000 in purses on an 11-race Pegasus Preview Day program that begins at 12:20 p.m.
Headlining the card are the $215,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2), a prep for the $1 million Pegasus Turf (G1); $165,000 Harlan’s Holiday (G3), a prep for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1); and $140,000 Suwannee River (G3), a prep for the $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G2). Pegasus Day 2025 is Jan. 25.
C2 Racing Stable and Stefania Farms’ Mystic Lake is the 2-1 program favorite for the Sugar Swirl, having drawn the far outside post for Championship Meet leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.
Mystic Lake has been first or second in six of eight starts this year with four wins including the seven-furlong Charles Town Oaks (G2) Aug. 23 and six-furlong Miss Preakness (G3) May 17, in-between finishing second in the 6 ½-furlong Victory Ride (G3).
In her most recent trip, Mystic Lake stretched out to two turns for just the second time and first time on dirt when she set the pace in the 1 1/16-mile Cotillion (G1) Sept. 21 at Parx and wound up fourth behind Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) winner and expected 3-year-old filly champion Thorpedo Anna, also a candidate for Horse of the Year.
“She’s very talented and she’s been very good sprinting. The last time we tried two turns because it was a 3-year-old race and we were trying to get maybe Grade 1 placing, but she ran credible,” Joseph said. “We didn’t get what we wanted but overall she never stopped trying. She was beaten by a champion, so the form worked out really well. We were proud of that effort. We were being a little ambitious but we were trying something different. Now we’re here in this race and hopefully it can set her up for next year.”
Averill Racing and Two Eight Racing’s R Harper Rose has not raced since finishing fifth in the seven-furlong Azalea July 13 at Gulfstream. First or second in each of her first six starts, all at Gulfstream, topped by victories in the 2023 FSS Susan’s Girl at 2 and Feb. 3 Forward Gal (G3) in her 3-year-old debut, she was last in the May 3 Eight Belles (G3) over a sloppy track.
“She lost her form there and we didn’t entirely come up with a reason, so we gave her some time off because it was so uncharacteristic how she had run. She’s come back and trained well since so I expect her to get back to her best form, hopefully,” Joseph said. “It’s a tough race to bring her back in but she’s doing well so we feel like she should come back to her best form. She’s got a lot of talent and when they lose form like that you always wonder if it catches up to them and that was a concern, but since the time off I feel like that’s not a concern.”
Edgard Zayas is named aboard R Harper Rose from the rail.
Joseph has a third Sugar Swirl starter in Miller Racing’s Intrepid Daydream, a three-time stakes winner in Maryland before being purchased privately and running second as the favorite in last December’s Sugar Swirl (G3) racing first time for the new connections. The 5-year-old mare has run just twice since, finishing fourth in the Jan. 27 Inside Information (G2) on the Pegasus undercard and most recently fifth in the six-furlong Regret July 26 at Monmouth.
“She’s one that we gave some time and brought her back at Monmouth. She needed that race badly,” Joseph said. “We’ve kind of waited to go in an allowance with her but the way they’re writing the allowances this meet she’s not eligible, so our hand is kind of forced into the stake. It’s not the ideal spot to bring her back, but we need to get the race into her.”
Hall of Famer John Velazquez will be aboard from Post 2.
Joseph entered two other horses – Haulin Ice and Grade 2 winner Spirit Wind – but they will run instead this weekend at Oaklawn Park.
“It shows you the horses that we have and the owners that give the kind of confidence to have these kinds of horses. You don’t always want to run them together like that if you can separate them,” he said. “If it’s the same ownership you can plan differently, but with different owners the horses have to run on their own merit. They have to basically find their spot. Each jock is supposed to know them. We kind of ride jocks that we’re familiar with so it’s a matter of putting them in the best spot and the best horse wins. Hopefully one of ours wins, but that’s all you can do.”
AMO Racing USA’s 3-year-old filly Launch was second in the Jan. 7 Glitter Woman and a 1 ¾-length winner of the March 17 Any Limit, both sprinting six furlongs at Gulfstream, and will be making her first start since running ninth in the Miss Preakness. Nine Thirty Racing’s 4-year-old filly Socially Selective hasn’t been out since taking back-to-back starts over the winter at Gulfstream for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, each 6 ½ furlongs, the most recent Feb. 21.
