Running Bee has won his last two starts impressively, albeit those races were 13 months apart. If he can remain on a consistent racing schedule, Running Bee could be a welcome addition to a North American older male turf division seeking new blood.
Saturday, Running Bee will try to build off his sharp allowance win last month at Aqueduct when he starts in a seemingly competitive 10-horse field assembled for the Grade 2, $200,000 Fort Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
The Fort Lauderdale, at 1 1/8 miles, is considered a prep for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf on Jan. 27 at Gulfstream.
Running Bee, a 4-year-old son of English Channel trained by Chad Brown, came off a 13-month layoff to win a second-level allowance by 3 3/4 lengths on Nov. 17 at Aqueduct. He was hustled to the front by Irad Ortiz Jr. and ran away from his rivals in the stretch.
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That was his first start since he won a first-level allowance at Keeneland by 5 1/4 lengths on Oct. 26, 2022.
Brown, who trains Running Bee for Calumet Farm, said the issues requiring the lengthy layoff were “never anything serious. Just minor inconveniencing things,” he said.
In his victory at Aqueduct, Running Bee ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.12, which translated into a 96 Beyer Speed Figure.
“He’s back in good form now, his last speed figure was very good,” Brown said. “I have a lot of high hopes for the horse.”
The other apparent speed in the race is Main Event, a front-running winner of a high-class allowance race on Nov. 3 at Aqueduct, and potentially the New York-bred Jerry the Nipper.
Brown also sends out Stone Age, the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Turf runner-up. The horse ran disappointingly twice for Brown in Grade 1 stakes going 1 1/2 miles this year. Saturday, he will shorten him up while adding blinkers to the Galileo colt’s equipment.
“He trains pretty good in them, so we’ll see,” Brown said.
John Velazquez has the call.
Trainer Todd Pletcher also sends out two runners, Grand Sonata and Jerry the Nipper.
As a 3-year-old in 2022, Grand Sonata won the Dania Beach and Grade 3 Kitten’s Joy at Gulfstream. He has only one win in 12 starts since, though the horse he beat in a nine-furlong allowance at Saratoga was Easter, a gelding who has won three straight stakes since including Tuesday’s Grade 2 San Gabriel at Santa Anita.
Jerry the Nipper, a New York-bred son of Liam’s Map, is 0 for 8 in stakes, including a fifth-place finish, beaten two lengths, in the one-mile Artie Schiller Stakes on Nov. 12 at Aqueduct.
Suwannee River Stakes
Trainer Chad Brown said expected favorite Saffron Moon will scratch from Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Suwannee River Stakes, leaving that one-mile turf race with a seemingly open field of nine fillies and mares.
Favoritism could fall to Full Count Felicia, who had a three-race win streak ended when she was fourth, beaten three lengths, in the Grade 2 Goldikova on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita.
“It was a long trip, you take everything into consideration. I don’t think it was a bad effort,” trainer Brittany Russell said. “It was a big step up too, don’t forget. I think she’s sitting good right now.”
Russell said Full Count Felicia got turned out briefly at Fair Hill before shipping to South Florida, where she has had two works including a blazing half-mile in 45.20 seconds over the turf course at Palm Meadows.
Tequilera has won two consecutive races for trainer Michael Matz. Those wins have come since Matz had a throat procedure known as a myectomy performed on the filly. Also, both wins have come from off the pace, a running style Tequilera had not previously displayed.
Tequilera won a first-level allowance at Kentucky Downs in September before winning a second-level allowance at Laurel, where she ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.54, just .13 of a second off the course record.
“We’re trying to get some black type for her,” said Matz, who trains the filly for John Behrendt. “She’s a real nice horse, whether she’s good enough I don’t know. But since we did the throat operation, she has two wins.”
Junior Alvarado rides.
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will use the Suwannee River to see if Accomplished Girl can stretch out beyond sprint distances. She is coming off a three-quarter-length victory in the Grade 2 Presque Isle Masters, a 6 1/2-furlong race run over a synthetic surface.
“We’re trying out if she can go two turns,” Joseph said. “It would open up a lot of avenues for her. One good thing about her is she does relax in her races.”
Joseph also runs Sister Lou Ann, who won the Martha Washington at Gulfstream in June 2022.
Poca Mucha, Walkathon, Willakia, Fast as Flight, and Messidor complete the field.
Both the Fort Lauderdale and the Suwannee River are part of a Rainbow 6 wager that has a mandatory payout on Saturday.
--additional reporting by Mike Welsch
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