HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – George Weaver is traditionally among the last of the northern-based trainers who race regularly at Gulfstream Park each winter to pull out the final remnants of their stable during the spring. It’s a strategy that paid big dividends with Sandal’s Song’s victory in the Royal Palm Juvenile here last weekend and one that could reap a final reward for the barn when Weaver sends out top contenders Ortley Avenue and Turbulent Force in Saturday’s $75,000 Roar Stakes.
The Weaver duo is part of the seven-horse lineup of 3-year-olds entered to go five furlongs on turf in the Roar. The group also includes stakes winners Most Handsome and Rolando, along with Relator, Mr. Binks, and Mati Gol.
The Roar shares top billing on the 11-race program with the $75,000 Mr. Steele for 3-year-olds and up, in which half of the eight-horse field (excluding also-eligible runners) comes from the barn of trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.
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Ortley Avenue won his only previous start in impressive, wire-to-wire fashion six weeks ago. That victory came over the Tapeta track with jockey Emisael Jaramillo aboard. Ortley Avenue’s second start will come over a new surface, the turf, and without Jaramillo who opted to take the call for trainer Ron Spatz aboard Most Handsome instead.
Ortley Avenue does have a pedigree that suggests he should handle turf, being a half-brother to Group 3 European winner Winter Power and by sire Bungle Inthejungle whose progeny have a 31 percent win rate in turf sprints.
“We knew he had some speed going into his first race, he ran a decent figure, and this is a nice spot to try to get some black type against straight 3-year-olds,” Weaver said. “I think he’ll like the turf. We trained him on it some last summer at Saratoga. I’m not sure if he needs the lead, although there’s not much strategy going five furlongs. If he ends up in front, great. If not, he’ll just have to show he can run somebody down.”
Turbulent Force began his career with a pair of victories – one on turf, a second over the synthetic track – during the opening month of the 2024-25 Championship meet. He was not as successful in two subsequent stakes outings, finishing fourth when returning to the grass in the Texas Glitter and a distant fifth in the off-turf Palisades decided over a sloppy track last month at Keeneland.
“He ran well in the first stakes on grass but didn’t handle the wet track the next time,” Weaver said. “We put blinkers on him for that race, so I like the fact he’ll be racing with blinkers for the first time on the grass on Saturday.”
Jaramillo, who also has been the regular rider of Relator, guided Most Handsome to a game, gate-to-wire, three-quarter-length allowance triumph in his last start for which he earned a career-best 81 Beyer Speed Figure. The victory was the first for the versatile son of Neolithic since registering a neck decision in the Hollywood Beach Stakes here while making just his second career start last fall.
Rolando was prominent throughout before registering a neck win of his own in the six-furlong Hutcheson over the main track March 15. Like Ortley Avenue, Rolando’s ability to handle grass is among the keys to the race. He is by the above-average grass sire Vekoma and out of Mixteca, who won the only time she tried turf during her racing career.
Mr. Steele Stakes
Leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has entered the quartet of Cash Equity, Abrumar, Lorenz, and Saratoga Flash in the Mr. Steele, the first two of whom are owned by Ken Ramsey. Although winless in his last 17 starts dating to June 2023, Cash Equity is the class of the field having been Grade 2-placed once and Grade 3-placed twice over the past eight months. His most notable performances were a second-place finish, beaten a nose by Dashman, in the Grade 3 William L. McKnight and a third-place effort in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida during the 2024-25 Championship meeting.
Interestingly, jockey Edgard Zayas, who was aboard three of the four Joseph entrants – including Cash Equity – in their previous starts, will not ride any of those horses Saturday. He instead has taken the call for trainer Mark Casse aboard stakes winner Boppy O off a very disappointing effort in the Turf Classic for Florida-breds on March 30 at Tampa Bay Downs.
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