EDITED GULFSTREAM PARK PRESS RELEASE
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott is scheduled to saddle Cliff Love and Michele Love’s Damon’s Mound, a multiple graded-stakes winner who has been installed as the 7-5 morning-line favorite in a field of eight in Saturday’s $125,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint, a six-furlong stakes for 4-year-olds and up.
Damon’s Mound enters Saturday’s stakes off back-to-back stakes victories, closing out his 2025 campaign with a half-length score in the six-furlong Grade 3 Bold Ruler at Aqueduct and winning his 2026 debut with a successful title defense in the six-furlong Sunshine Sprint at Gulfstream. In 18 starts, the horse has a record of seven wins, two seconds and two thirds for earnings of $924,005.
Junior Alvarado has the return mount on Damon’s Mound, a 6-year-old homebred son of Girvin who won the 2022 Grade 2 Saratoga Special in his second career start. Girvin is the sire of 14 stakes winners, including Grade 1 winners Faiza and John Ropes Florida-bred champion Dorth Vader.
David Bernsen LLC, Mia Familia Racing Stable and Corey La Russo’s Wound Up made a solid showing after being saddled for the first time by Jose D’Angelo for his very first start on the East Coast, finishing third behind highly regarded Knightsbridge in the Dec. 27 Grade 3 Mr. Prospector at Gulfstream Park.
A winner of 10 of 23 starts on the West Coast, the 6-year-old gelding will seek to break into the win column this side of the Mississippi Saturday. Wound Up took it to Knightsbridge in the seven-furlong Mr. Prospector, coming within a head of the pacesetting 1-5 favorite on the far turn before settling for third.
“I think the seven furlongs was a lot for him. Now we’re back to six furlongs, and I’ve had more time with him,” D’Angelo said.
Wound Up’s Mr. Prospector effort looked all the more solid when Knightsbridge, who is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, came right back to win the Grade 3 Fred W. Hooper in his next start.
“He’s a runner,” said D’Angelo, whose Gulfstream Park Sprint contender is rated second at 4-1 on the morning line. “He’s always trying.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. has the return call on Wound Up, who will once again be faced with the challenge of meeting a heavily favored Mott trainee in the Gulfstream Park Sprint.
Vintage Thoroughbreds LLC, Scott Estes and James Mehan’s Beeline has been entered in the sprint by trainer Riley Mott, the Hall of Fame trainer’s son.
Beeline successfully kicked off his career back in 2024 with a debut win at six furlongs, followed by a victory in the six-furlong Hutcheson.
“He does well down here in Florida, particularly racing at Gulfstream. He has some good form on this racetrack,” Mott said. “Hopefully, he has that going for him.”
The 5-year-old son of Bee Jersey, whose career has been sidetracked by a couple of long layoffs, returned to winning form at Keeneland in a six-furlong optional claiming allowance last October. After coming up short in a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance at Churchill Downs a month later, Beeline made a wide stretch drive to come up just a half-length short of victory while finishing third at six-furlongs in a Tampa Bay Downs optional claiming allowance.
“He made up a lot of ground the final sixteenth. I don’t know if it was bad luck or just how the race played out. The two in front of him were pretty accomplished horses,” Mott said. “He ran a good horse. The number came back came back all right, so hopefully, we can get a piece of it.”
Tyler Gaffalione is scheduled to ride Beeline, rated 12-1 on the morning line, for the first time Saturday.
Baron Thoroughbreds LLC’s Jack’s Promise is scheduled to make his stakes debut Saturday after setting a pressured pace in a six-furlong optional claiming allowance and gamely holding on to prevail by a neck. The 4-year-old son of Promises Fulfilled, rated third at 9-2 on the morning line, captured a six-furlong allowance at Churchill Downs three starts back after fading late to finish off the board going a one-turn mile.
Trainer Dale Romans awarded the return mount aboard Jack’s Promise to Rajiv Maragh.
Michael Iavarone and Jule Iavarone’s Con Compania is slated to cut back to six furlongs Saturday after fading to sixth in the stretch run of the 1 1/16-mile Harlan’s Holiday (G3) Dec. 20. The Bobby Dibona-trained 6-year-old gelding, a multiple-stakes winner at six furlongs in Chile, won the one-turn mile Mr. Jordan Handicap at Gulfstream in his previous start.
Con Compania, rated fourth at 5-1 on the morning line, will be ridden back by Miguel Vasquez.
Holly Crest Farm’s Great Navigator, a distant fourth in the Mr. Prospector; St. George Stables’ Rolando, the 2025 Hutcheson winner who finished fourth in the six-furlong Pelican at Tampa Bay Downs last time out; and All Stars Stable Corp.’s Ajaayb round out the field.
Tammy A. Gantt contributed to this story.
Return to the February 20 issue of Wire to Wire
