Super Chow. (Ryan Thompson)
Skate Away Graduates in Style in Saturday Maiden Race
Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $400,000 Sunday
Gulfstream Today
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Lea Farms’ multiple Grade 3 winner Super Chow, in a change of tactics, came with a steady run down the middle of the racetrack to run down 8-5 favorite Concrete Glory and edge clear to a three-quarter-length victory in Saturday’s 47th running of the $140,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint.
Ridden by Jorge Ruiz for trainer Jorge Delgado, Super Chow ($8.40) earned his 10th career win, eighth in a stakes, and first since the Maryland Sprint (G3) last spring at Pimlico. The winning time was 1:09.67 for six furlongs over a fast main track.
“The horse is mature [and] he’s very healthy,” Delgado said. “He’s been really good to us. He’s just shy of a million dollars in earnings and it’s [the eighth] stakes that he’s won so it’s good. We are very happy.”
Super Chow had been cross-entered in a stakes Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs that would have marked his grass debut, but was pulled from consideration after drawing the rail. He instead stayed at his hometown track, where he now has a record of 4-2-1 from eight career starts.
“We were deciding between the Tampa race and actually the post position was the thing that made us stay in this race. Lucky for us we stayed here, and the horse is back. That’s a good race for the horse,” Delgado said. “It was something that worked out, because the plan the whole time was to run on grass and then he ran on dirt, and he won.”
Concrete Glory, one of four Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained horses in the race, took the early initiative and sped through the first quarter-mile in 22.87 seconds with stablemate Swirvin along the rail in second and Super Chow in the clear two wide in third. The half went in 45.59 with Super Chow moving up to second leaving the far turn and wandering out to the middle of the track, using the length of the stretch to reel in 15-time career winner Concrete Glory.
“We ran a little bit against our strategy because he likes to go to the lead. If he goes with the other horse most likely he’s going to stop and some other horse is going to come from behind, at least that’s how it looked on paper,” Delgado. “The jockey did a really good job.”
It was 4 ¾ lengths back to multiple stakes winner Gordian Knot in third, followed by Comedy Town, Swirvin and Okiro. Grade 1-winning millionaire and 6-5 program favorite Nakatomi was scratched.
The 5-year-old Super Chow set the pace before fading to sixth in the seven-furlong Mr. Prospector (G3) Dec. 28 at Gulfstream. Finishing ahead of him that day were millionaire White Abarrio, next out winner of the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1); Little Vic, who returned to win the Fred Hooper (G3) on the Pegasus undercard; and Playmea Tune, subsequent winner of the Feb. 1 Forego at Turfway Park.
“The competition was really tough last time,” Delgado said. “This was a good win for us.”
With the result Saturday, Super Chow’s grass debut remains on hold.
“After this we’re going to stay on the dirt probably for a while,” Delgado said.
Skate Away Graduates in Style in Saturday Maiden Race
Spendthrift Farm’s Skate Away, fourth behind undefeated stablemate River Thames in his debut last month, shook off early pressure from Trip Aces and turned away a late bid from Love’m Or Liam to graduate Saturday’s Race 9 at Gulfstream Park.
Skate Away ($10.40), trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:51.20 over a fast main track to win the maiden special weight for 3-year-olds by 2 ¾ lengths as the 4-1 fourth choice in a field of eight.
Jockey Edgard Zayas hustled Skate Away to the lead from Post 2 and was in front through splits of 23.83 and 48.46 seconds with Trip Aces on his right hip. Triple Crown-nominated Bob Mo made a bold move to get into contention on the far turn but Skate Away straightened for home in front and was never threatened. Bob Mo gave way to Love’m Or Liam late for second.
Pletcher and Zayas teamed up again to see WinStar Farm and Rock Ridge Racing’s Tucson score a popular neck victory over Dear Dad in Race 11, a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming allowance for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles on the all-weather Tapeta. The winning time was a track-record 1:47.33, surpassing the previous mark of 1:47.53 set Jan. 11, 2024.
Other maiden special weights for 3-year-olds Saturday saw Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Steven Bouchey and Steven Rocco’s Pivotal Moment ($5.80) sweep to the lead on the far turn and pull away through the stretch to capture Race 5 in 54.74 seconds for five furlongs on a firm turf course; and Will Stroud, Smart Choice Stable and Ocean Reef Racing’s After Taxes ($) hold off a bevy of closer to win the Race 12 finale in 1:27.92 for 7 ½ furlongs on the turf.
Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $400,000 Sunday
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 will have an estimated pool of $400,000 when racing resumes Sunday at Gulfstream Park.
Post time for the first of 10 races is 12:50 p.m.
Sunday’s Rainbow 6 sequence spans Races 5-10, led off by a 5 ½-furlong claimer for 4-year-olds and up sprinting 5 ½ furlongs on the all-weather Tapeta course. Ready for a Fight, an 8-year-old gelding, goes after his second straight win since joining trainer Marty Drexler and 10th overall. Neophyte and Warlord Cruzan also both come in off wins.
Race 7 is an optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares 4 and up scheduled for five furlongs on the grass. An overflow field of 12 was entered including Miss Bodacious, set to make her North American debut for trainer Brian Lynch after winning three of eight starts in England. Ultimate Ready will be making her second career start and first for Hall of Famer Bill Mott nearly 12 months after breaking her maiden on the all-weather surface at Turfway Park.
The co-feature comes in Race 9, an open allowance for Florida-bred 3-year-olds sprinting seven furlongs on the main track. Triple Crown-nominated Cut the Dust returns to action for the first time since capturing his unveiling last July at Woodbine for trainer Josie Carroll. Trainer Danny Gargan counters with Rookie Card, a maiden winner last fall at Aqueduct looking to bounce back from a troubled effort in the seven-furlong Pasco Jan. 11 at Tampa where he was promoted from fifth to fourth.
Sunday’s Race 10 finale is a maiden special weight for 4-year-olds and up scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the grass. Irish-bred 5-year-old and new gelding Right to Win will be racing for the first time in 604 days since finishing third against elders in a July 2023 maiden special weight at Belmont Park. Richly Deserved, a 4-year-old son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, is entered to make his debut from outermost Post 10 for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.
In the Rainbow 6, the jackpot pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
The Rainbow 6 has not been solved in five racing days since a mandatory payout of $164,292.76 to multiple ticketholders Feb. 15.
Who’s Hot ~ ~ ~
Jockey Edwin Gonzalez and trainer Rohan Crichton teamed up for a pair of winners Saturday, Fortuna Belle ($6.40) in Race 3 and Test Factor ($6.40) in Race 8 …
The jockey-trainer combination of Edgard Zayas and Todd Pletcher also won twice together, with Skate Away ($10.40) in Race 9 and Tucson ($3.60) in Race 11 …
Jockey Junior Alvarado registered a hat trick on Serene Seraph ($26.60) in Race 2, Amazin Queen ($3.60) in Race 6 and After Taxes ($5.40) in Race 12.
