Mon, 01/13/2025 - 15:35

Familiar field in Florida-bred allowance dash

Leslie Martin/Coglianese Photos
The Antonio Sano-trained Improptu faces older horses for the first time after a long layoff.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Florida-breds will be in the spotlight Wednesday with the main event a modest $54,000 Florida-bred allowance dash going seven furlongs on the main track. The race lures a relatively familiar field of eight, headed by Beastly Speed and Belts ’n Brooks, who finished second and third, respectively, under similar conditions behind the red-hot Awesome Train nearly five weeks ago.

Beastly Speed set the pace before proving no match for the winner, who was registering his second straight one-sided victory, and might relish the turnback from a mile to seven furlongs on Wednesday. Belts ’n Brooks, who won under similar conditions here in September, flattened out in the final furlong to finish third.

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Wednesday’s headliner draws several intriguing new faces, including Improptude, W W Candy, and Call the Cavalry. Improptude drops into the category for the first time but is a big question mark. The Antonio Sano trainee comes up tagged off a 7 1/2-month hiatus while also facing older horses for the first time.

The 8-year-old veteran W W Candy likewise gets some class relief. Remarkably, he’s taking on statebreds for the first time in his 43-race career. Call the Cavalry, who also makes his Florida-bred debut, has been away since April while preparing for his return with no less a workmate than Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan.

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