BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Florida-breds looks to keep alive a tradition of winning Gulfstream Park’s first race of the year for 2-year-olds Thursday in Race 2, a four-and-a-half-furlong maiden special weight for fillies. Florida-breds have won the last five initial races of the meet for 2-year-olds at Gulfstream including Gatsby in 2020, Laki Lio (2021), Luna West (2022), She Has Class (2023), Mensa (2024) and Mythical (2025). All but Mensa are by Florida sires.
This year’s field has five Florida-breds among the seven entries of which four (Dorothy, Celtic Dispute, Silver Magic and Boots) are eligible to earn the $25,000 Florida Sire Racing Incentive bonus with a victory. Paid directly by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association to eligible 2-year-old winners of maiden special weight, allowance, allowance optional claiming and stakes races at Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs in 2026, the incentive is split $20,000 to the owner and $5,000 to the breeder.
Arindel homebred Dorothy is the 5-2 morning line favorite for trainer Carlos David, who also saddles Richard P. Arnold’s homebred Silver Magic, the 3-1 third choice in the program.
Dorothy is by Arindel’s stallion Brethren out of the stakes-placed Florida-bred mare Sweet Khaleesi, by Maimonides, and is a half-sister to stakes-placed Florida-breds Mist and Evolution and Florida-bred Olga, a winner of eight races in 40 starts while banking $315,610. Her last morning work came April 11 at Palm Meadows Training Center where she breezed four furlongs in :50 flat, the 54th fastest of 70 moves at the distance that morning.
Dorothy will break from post one with jockey Paco Lopez.
Silver Magic is the first starter for Pleasant Acres Stallions’ Magic On Tap and is out of the Florida-bred mare Magical Madam, by Put It Back. Magical Madam has produced two winners from three previous starters including stakes-winning Florida-bred Magical Warrior.
Among the recent works for Silver Magic is a three-furlong move at Palm Meadows on April 4 when clocked in :36.40, the ninth fastest of 71 works that morning. More recently she worked four furlongs in :49.40 at Palm Meadows on April 11, the 39th fastest of 70.
David will give the leg up on Silver Magic to Nik Juarez and they have post four.
The 2-1 second choice on the morning line is Boots, another homebred for Arindel by Brethren but trained by Jorge Delgado.
Boots is the second foal out of the unraced Ghostzapper mare Medusa and her second dam is the multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire and 2006 champion 3-year-old filly Wait a While.
Her last work came April 4 when she breezed four furlongs in :48.80 at Gulfstream, the thirteenth fastest of 48 at the distance that morning.
Samy Camacho has the call on Boots from post six.
Patrick Biancone trains Celtic Dispute, a bay daughter of Leinster who enters off a bullet three furlongs at Palm Meadows on April 10. That morning she stopped the clock n :35.60 on a wet fast track, the fastest of 11 works at the distance.
Bred in Florida by K. Sheehan, M.F. Nicholson, M. Gauchat, McN Thoroughbreds and Dr. J. Speis, Celtic Dispute is out of Bert’s Altarcation, by Bertrando and is a half-sister to stakes-placed Vulcan.
Celtic Dispute is 7-2 in the program and will break from post two with Jose Gomez riding.
Also set to line up are Satira with jockey Miguel Vasquez, Just a Chance Yadi, a Florida-bred not registered with the FTBOA, will have rider Yolber Torres; and Dama Du Sucre will have Edgar Perez in the irons.
Return to the April 15 issue of Wire to Wire
