HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – At first glance, Thursday’s $86,000 feature at Gulfstream Park for 3-year-old fillies looks pretty cut and dried. Ifyousaidso and Catalonia are the logical ones to beat after finishing first and second under similar allowance and optional-claiming conditions going five furlongs on the turf here four weeks earlier.
But when examining the past performances a little closer, the race appears to offer several alternatives to the favorites. The group includes a pair of new faces to the category, Pillar of Beauty and My Sweetheart, along with Spinelli, who encountered traffic issues through the stretch when finishing fifth behind Ifyousaidso and Catalonia in the trio’s first encounter.
Ifyousaidso withstood an early pace duel before turning back a late rally from Catalonia to prevail by a half-length while sent postward at a surprisingly generous 37-1 in her 3-year-old debut. The bettors overlooked the daughter of Cajun Breeze, a full sister to stakes winner Cajun Cassanova, despite the fact she had finished second against the same kind when making her turf debut in her 2-year-old finale.
Ifyousaidso drew the rail Thursday and will have regular rider Miguel Vasquez back up. She is still eligible for the condition by virtue of the fact trainer Michael Yates ran her under a $75,000 claiming tag in her previous start.
Catalonia was the tepid 5-2 favorite in her last race after having faced stakes opposition in her two previous outings. Sitting a perfect trip just in behind the embattled leaders, she ranged up inside Ifyousaidso to loom boldly through midstretch, only to hang in the closing yards.
Although ridden in that race by the meet’s leading jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., Catalonia will be reunited with Javier Castallano in this rematch.
Ortiz has taken the call aboard My Sweetheart for trainer Mark Casse. My Sweetheart, third in a key race over the main track at Churchill Downs in her most recent start on Oct. 31, will be returning to grass, a surface over which she won her maiden in her career debut last spring at Churchill and finished third in the Bolton Landing Stakes this summer at Saratoga.
The Bill Mott-trained Pillar of Beauty is the least experienced member of the field but perhaps talented enough to overcome that factor after having captured her only previous start in promising fashion going five furlongs over the turf here on Dec. 20. She slipped up the rail under jockey Junior Alvarado to score a 1 1/2-length decision for which she received a 76 Beyer Speed Figure, a number that makes her competitive in this spot.
Trip players are likely to give Spinelli a closer look at what figures to be an honest price after the daughter of Upstart was checked back to last following the break, then was steadied sharply inside Catalonia when launching a solid-looking bid in her 3-year-old bow. She ultimately finished less than three lengths behind Ifyousaidso despite her traffic issues in a promising performance.
The well-traveled Bramble Blast, last-out maiden winner Tosca, and the Irish-bred Sapphire Beach complete the lineup.
Alvarado expected to ride
Junior Alvarado was expected to return to action Thursday after sitting out Sunday’s card to recuperate from a nasty spill that took place during Saturday’s ninth race. Alvarado fell heavily after his mount Multiverse clipped heels entering the clubhouse turn.
According to his agent, Mike Sellitto, Alvarado was body sore and received some stitches in his knee but fortunately was otherwise unharmed in the mishap. Multiverse escaped the incident without injury.
Aside from riding Pillar of Beauty in the feature, Alvarado has another important mount on the card for the Mott barn – the first-time starter Spirit of Hope, a 4-year-old Godolphin homebred by Street Sense who is a half-sister to 2023 Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish.
Alvarado is in the midst of another outstanding meet and has already won four graded stakes, including the Grade 2 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf aboard Destino d’Oro and the Grade 2 Inside Information with Grand Job, two of his four winners on the Pegasus World Cup program here.
◗ Irad Ortiz continues to pile up the wins and widen his lead atop the jockey standings in quest of his sixth Gulfstream Championship meet riding title over the last seven years.
Ortiz enters Thursday’s card with 61 victories and is riding at a near 30 percent success rate over the first two months of the session. Fifteen of his wins have come over the last five programs, dating back to Jan. 25. He won four races on both Thursday and Saturday last week, highlighted by stakes wins astride On Time Girl in the Grade 3 Forward Gal and the undefeated Solitude Dude in the Swale.
Tyler Gaffalione is a distant second in the standings with 35 winners, followed by Edgard Zayas (28) and Alvarado (26).
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