Lure Him In wins the Sunshine Classic Jan. 20 at Gulfstream Park (Coglianese)
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Multiple-stakes winner Lure Him In breezed Thursday at Gulfstream Park for the first time following his comeback race and return to the barn of trainer Sam Wilensky, who is pointing the 7-year-old gelding to a title defense in next month’s Sunshine Classic.
“That is the game plan, ideally,” Wilensky said. “I hope that we can have an opportunity to win that race again.”
C2 Racing, Double B Racing Stables, Paul Braverman, Timothy Pinch and Mach 1 Stables’ Lure Him In worked an easy half mile in 50.38 seconds over Gulfstream’s main track, 20 days after finishing third to Steal Sunshine in a second-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up going one mile.
“The horse is doing phenomenal. It’s been a pleasure to get him back in our barn. I thought he ran a great race the other day off the layoff. He was maybe a breeze or two short, but Steal Sunshine is obviously a very good horse,” Wilensky said. “We just entered today for the exact same spot. He had a good breeze today. They had it in 50 [seconds] but I got it a little quicker than that. He came out of it perfect. He should be ready to go.”
Lure Him In won the 1 1/16-mile Sunshine Classic for Florida-bred 4-year-olds and up Jan. 20 in his season debut, two years after taking the Sunshine Turf, which in 2022 was contested at 1 1/8 miles over the all-weather Tapeta course. He raced four times for trainer Saffie Joesph Jr. over the spring and summer – including fourths in Gulfstream’s Ghostzapper (G3) and the Steve Sexton Mile (G3) at Lone Star Park – and was sent back to Wilensky after running fifth on the turf Aug. 1 at Delaware Park.
In addition to Lure Him In’s next start, planned for Dec. 19, Wilensky is keeping an eye on the Florida-bred competition such as Saturday’s FSS Marion County sprinting seven furlongs at Tampa Bay Downs led by the top two finishers from Gulfstream’s Gil Campbell Memorial Oct. 19, Loco Abarrio and Big Martini.
“From the group I saw just entered at Tampa, there was nobody overly overwhelming in that group. I really don’t expect it to be that much different down here,” Wilensky said. “I really don’t know a Florida-bred to be too worried about.”
