BY GULFSTREAM PARK PRESS OFFICE
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Heavy rain and high winds and a forecast calling for worsening conditions caused Gulfstream Park to cancel its final three races Saturday out of an abundance of caution for horses, horsemen and fans.
The $100,00 H. Allen Jerkens for 3-year-olds and older, which had been rained off the grass to the all-weather course, has been rescheduled for Sunday, Dec. 24 and will be re-drawn. Also on the Christmas Eve program is the $125,000 Via Borghese for fillies and mares, also scheduled for the turf.
Live racing is scheduled to resume at Gulfstream Sunday. Post time for the first of 10 races is 12:10 p.m.
Maiden Special Weight Highlights Sunday Gulfstream Program
Gandharvi LLC’s Urgence, a $575,000 daughter of Into Mischief, and Whisper Hill Farm LLC’s homebred Tapit’s Starlet make their debuts while leading a field of nine 2-year-old fillies in Sunday’s eighth race, a $70,000 maiden special weight event at six furlongs on the main track.
Urgence, trained by Brendan Walsh and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, is out of Divine Elegance, a winner of three of 18 starts with a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Matron at Churchill Downs in 2017.
Tapit’s Starlet, trained by Ralph Nicks, is by Tapit out of Silvery Starlet, who sold for $1 million as a yearling and won in her debut at Gulfstream in 2014.
Vandella, a daughter of Mo Town, will also make her debut after a bullet work here Dec. 6 for trainer Jena Antonucci.
Sun Azteca returns to the races after a fourth-place finish here April 20.
Maiden 2-year-olds go to post under special weight conditions in the sixth race at seven furlongs on the main track.
Change of Command enters off a second-place finish at Aqueduct Nov. 4 for trainer Shug McGaughey. Bill Mott has entered two in Resilience, who has a second and third in three stars, and Princetown, a son of Speightstown who makes his debut.
Florida-bred Last Run, by Ocala Stud stallion Battalion Runner, will make his career debut for owner and trainer James Gerald. Last Run was bred by James T. Sawyer and Gus Gray.
Sunday’s Race 10, scheduled over at mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf for fillies and mares, drew a full field plus AMO Racing USA’s maiden Maman Joon (Ire), who is on the also eligible list.
Florida-breds Milieu and The Contessa have drawn the two outside posts
Milieu is 8-1 in the program and has drawn post 11 for trainer Willaim Mott; and The Contessa is 15-1 in the program for trainer Keri Brion and has post 12.
Maman Joon, who sold for $570,000 as a yearling, would make her U.S. debut should she draw in. The daughter of Sea The Stars (Ire) ran second to Gather Ye Rosebuds (GB) in her debut at Newbury in the United Kingdom before finishing fourth in the Group 1 Epsom Oaks won by Soul Sister (Ire) in June. She last raced in July at Newbury and finished third in the Darley Fillies Novice Weight for Age Stakes.
Who’s Hot: Irad Ortiz, the defending Championship Meet titlist who rode three winners Friday, came back Saturday to win three more races, scoring aboard Heals the Soul ($4) in Race 2, Thethrillofvictory ($3.80) in Race 5 and Lucy’s Cookies ($3) in Race 6.
