HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The speedy and remarkably consistent R Disaster avenged her narrow setback in the 2025 Hurricane Bertie and did so in style Saturday at Gulfstream Park, leading at every call en route to a popular and convincing 5 1/2-length victory over Sterling Silver in the Grade 3 fixture for fillies and mares.
R Disaster, who has never finished worse than second in 14 lifetime starts, was beaten a neck by Nic’s Style after contesting all the pace here last winter in the 6 1/2-furlong Hurricane Bertie. She spent the rest of her 2025 campaign on the road, earning her first graded stakes win last fall at Aqueduct in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom.
As expected, R Disaster sprinted right to the front while pressed on the lead by the rail-skimming Lynn’s Milky Way. With jockey Micah Husbands aboard, R Disaster readily disposed of her early challenger approaching the quarter pole, settled into the stretch with a comfortable lead and was never seriously menaced thereafter while kept out near the center of the course through the final quarter-mile.
Sterling Silver, who finished third behind R Disaster in the Gallant Bloom and second in her most recent try in the Grade 2 Inside Information, saved ground on the turn, came out for the drive and outfinished Beyond Belief by a neck to be second-best.
R Disaster, a 5-year-old daughter of Awesome Slew, is trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. for the partnership of Averill Racing, Two Eight Racing and ATM Racing. She covered the distance over a fast track in 1:16.28 seconds and paid $3.80.
“She’s off the layoff and was very impressive, since I didn’t think she was fully fit having only four workouts coming into the race,” Joseph said from Barbados, where Public Sector, a horse in which he’s part owner, had just captured the Barbados Gold Cup. “Our goal this year is to get her to the Breeders’ Cup (Filly and Mare Sprint) with the Madison (Grade 1 at Keeneland) likely to be her next start.”
Trainer Brian Lynch’s dominance of the local turf stakes program here this winter continued Saturday after Litigation rallied to a 1 3/4-length victory over even-money favorite Rezasrolex in the $125,000 Silks Run. It was the ninth stakes triumph of the 2025-26 Championship meet for Lynch, all coming on the grass.
Litigation began the meet finishing a troubled sixth behind the multiple Grade 2 winner Reef Runner in the Janus Stakes on December 20. He bounced back five weeks later to capture the Gulfstream Turf Sprint by a neck, rallying down the center of the course to best longshot Full Disclosure after racing near the rear of the field into the stretch.
Litigation was hustled along after the field left the gate in the Silks Run by regular rider Mario Gutierrez, racing a bit closer to the early pace in the run down the backstretch than he had in his previous start. Litigation moved to closer contention while saving ground on the turn, split the leaders to challenge for command at midstretch, then edged clear at the end.
Rezasrolex, whose nine-race winning streak came to an end when finishing second, beaten a neck, in the Turf Dash last month at Tampa Bay Downs, raced well placed from the outset but could not match strides with the winner in the final sixteenth. His stablemate Eamonn, sent postward at odds of 40-1, finished best of the others to win a blanket finish to be third while never menacing the top two.
Litigation, a Stone Farm homebred by Twirling Candy, registered his sixth win in 10 career starts after completing the distance in 53.80 seconds over a firm course. He paid $4.80.
“He’s as honest as they come,” Lynch said. “I was a bit nervous myself today the way the speed has been hanging on and for him to get up like that, cut through and split them like he did, he’s just a game little trooper.”
Lynch praised Gutierrez for his ride. It was his fifth win aboard Litigation in the colt’s last seven starts.
“He (Gutierrez) had to gig him a little bit early, which isn’t really this horse’s running style,” Lynch continued. “Each of his last two starts were phenomenal efforts for him and we look forward to the rest of the spring and summer where we can stretch him out a little bit farther.”
Lynch said Litigation would likely return going 5 1/2 furlongs in the Grade 2 Shakertown at Keeneland on April 4th.
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