BY GULFSTREAM PARK PRESS OFFICE (Edited)

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL — Trainer Patrick Biancone and Amy Dunne’s Florida-bred Squire will hold the distinction of being the only graduate in Saturday’s $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile, which drew a field of 12 and two also-eligibles — a majority of whom will be making their debuts in the stakes for 2-year-olds at Gulfstream Park.

The Royal Palm Juvenile will co-headline Saturday’s 10-race program with the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies. Both five-furlong turf stakes for 2-year-olds are Royal Ascot qualifiers, each offering its winner an automatic berth in one of six stakes during the Royal Ascot meeting held in Great Britain on June 17-21 and a $25,000 equine travel stipend.

Squire showed grit and determination in his April 18 debut in a four-and-a-half-furlong dash at Gulfstream, overcoming early bumping and a wide trip to prevail by a head.

“He was bumped a little bit at the start and from there he found himself a little bit behind. But he did do it well at the end,” Biancone said. “He started to understand racing by the three-eighths or between the three-eighths and the top of the stretch, and he made a very good move at that time. We are happy with him. He came back from the race very, very well, so we’ll take a shot.”

 

Although Squire is the only entrant to win a race, the son of freshman sire Leinster, like his rivals, will be trying turf for the first time Saturday. He has had an opportunity to test his footing on the turf at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach where he breezed five furlongs in 1:02, the fastest clocking of four recorded at the distance, April 30.

If he’s anything like his sire, Squire should have no problem negotiating five furlongs on turf. Leinster, a multiple graded-stakes winner on turf for trainer Rusty Arnold, captured the 2021 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3) in his last career start. Leinster campaigned for Dunne and partners before heading off to stud at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Morriston.

Bred in Florida by Dunne and her husband Ciaran G. Dunne, Squire is out of Saudi Chroma, by Lucky Pulpit.

Dunne and Biancone’s Tully Road, a Florida-bred daughter of Leinster, was entered in the Royal Palm Juvenile but will not start.

Luis Saez has the mount on Squire. They have post four and are 6-1 on the morning line.

Trainer George Weaver, who will be represented by first-time starter Sandal’s Song in the Royal Palm Juvenile and Royal Testament in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, knows how it feels to win both Royal Ascot qualifiers, as well as the thrill of victory at Royal Ascot.

Weaver swept the two Royal Palm features in 2023, saddling No Nay Mets (Ire) for a victory in the Royal Palm Juvenile and Crimson Advocate for a triumph in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies. Crimson Advocate went on to capture the Group 2 Queen Mary at Royal Ascot.

“It was a lot of fun. Royal Ascot is a cool place to go to the races. It’s a difficult place to win. The fields are big and it’s a long way to go,” Weaver said. “It was gratifying and fun for all of us. We were grateful to Crimson Advocate to get it done for us.”

Sandal’s Song, a son of Mendelssohn, will break from the rail post position under Luca Panici and they are 15-1 in the program.

Trainer Wesley Ward, who has a strong reputation for early success with 2-year-olds, will debut his homebred, Fuzzy Stare, in the Royal Palm Juvenile. The gelded son of Hootenanny sports a solid string of workouts at Keeneland in preparation for his debut.

“He’s a high-quality horse, a homebred that has certainly shown some ability in the mornings. He has to travel from Kentucky where it’s 50 degrees down to a hot climate, which is always a little bit of a concern, but [he’s] doing well,” Ward said. “He can run; whether that means he can win a $100,000 stake at first asking, I don’t know. On paper, anyway, it seems like the easier of the two stakes.

“It’s five-eighths, so he’ll certainly need some speed in there, but he’s an intelligent guy,” Ward added. “We broke him from the gate the other day and he let the others kind of go and he just stayed behind, stayed on the outside and then closed down the lane, which was nice. It gives the rider some sort of idea if he wants to go or let them go or whatever he wants to do.”

Emisael Jaramillo has the call aboard Fuzzy Stare from post six and they are listed as the 5-2 morning line favorites.

 

 

Trainer Jose D’Angelo entered four in the Royal Palm Juvenile with hopes of returning to Royal Ascot. Last year, the 35-year-old Gulfstream-based trainer saddled Florida-bred Gabaldon for a debut victory in the Royal Palm Juvenile. The Florida-bred son of Gone Astray went on to finish second in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot.

D’Angelo is represented by Arindel’s Fear, a Florida-bred who finished third over Keeneland’s main track in his April 18 debut.

Fear is by Ocala Stud stallion Win Win Win out of Loxley, by Awesome of Course and was bred in Florida by Randell Mendonsa and Cherie Abner.

Fear is 8-1 on the morning line and will be ridden by Edgard Zayas from post 10.

D’Angelo will also saddle and Leon King Stable Corp.’s Ciborio, a debuting son of Raging Bull. He also entered Joker Racing LLC and New Horizon Bloodstock’s Florida-bred Skipping Stars, the first also-eligible; and Chester Bishop’s Hotter Than Dem, the second also-eligible.

Ty Leatherman’s Beers On Me, who finished second behind Squire in his April 18 debut at Gulfstream, and Harrell Ventures’ Arkadelphia, a debuting son of Halliday, were entered in the Royal Palm Juvenile by trainer Luis Mendez, who also entered Chad Calvert’s Rumpus in Paradise, an unraced daughter of Rumpus Cat, and Chris Coleman’s Just a Little Bit, an unraced daughter of Stanford, in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and Repole Stable will be represented by I Think I Can (Ire), a debuting son of Lope de Vega (Ire).

Daugherty Racing LLC’s Win N Juice, a Florida-bred son of Win Win Win, sports a series of strong workouts in preparation for his debut for trainer Nolan Ramsey Saturday.

Champion Equine LLC’s Chasing My Dream, a Florida-bred son of Win Win Win trained by David Braddy, and Gabe Grossberg’s Cadenced, a Florida-bred son of Complexity trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, round out the field.

Return to the May 9 issue of Wire to Wire