During a Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park in which the spotlight will often be on younger horses, the opening-day emphasis is aptly on juveniles when the South Florida track stages the $75,000 Pulpit Stakes and $75,000 Wait a While Stakes Dec. 3.
Both races are at a mile on turf for 2-year-olds and kick off a $14.26 million, 76-race stakes schedule for the Championship Meet that continues through April 3. Season highlights are the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) and $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1T), both Jan. 29, and a 3-year-old program in 2022 headed by the $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) March 5 and the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) April 2.
Friday's Pulpit is an open 2-year-old contest, while the Wait a While is for fillies.
Silverton Hill's Red Danger, who brings stakes experience on both turf and dirt into the Pulpit, is the likely favorite. The son of Orb captured the Global Tote Juvenile Sprint Stakes at Kentucky Downs Sept. 9. After finishing fourth in the Castle & Key Bourbon Stakes (G2T) on turf at Keeneland, the Brian Lynch-trained colt finished second behind Howling Time in the Oct. 31 Street Sense Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on dirt at Churchill Downs.
Julien Leparoux, who was aboard in the Street Sense, has been awarded the return call.
Gentry Farms' Eldon's Prince, a son of Cairo Prince , goes for his third straight stakes victory in the Pulpit, where he faces 11 rivals. The Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee has shown versatility in his three-race career, having won the Proud Man Stakes at a mile on turf and the off-the-turf Armed Forces while sprinting on dirt.
"He finds a way to win," Joseph said. "He's a horse, as the distances get longer, he'll want to go further. I think he's going to be a horse that will go a mile and an eighth, a mile and a quarter, a mile and a half on the grass, but this is a good race to get him started. Hopefully, he'll run as well as he's run before."
A $280,000 purchase by his owner from the Eddie Woods consignment to the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, Eldon's Prince debuted on turf at Gulfstream Aug. 1, rallying from off the pace to finish second in a 7 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race. He came right back to graduate in the Proud Man, overcoming a rough start and drawing away to a six-length victory. Cutting back to seven furlongs on the main track, the Ontario-bred colt rallied from seventh to prevail by a head in the Armed Forces.
"He's not super flashy as far as speed in the morning, but he's super steady. He'll gallop out super strong in all of his works," Joseph said. "On the dirt, you can see that (he runs) even. I think his preferred surface is going to be turf. I know he won on dirt, but I think he just won on ability. He's a horse that can overcome things."
Edgard Zayas has the return mount aboard Eldon's Prince.
Also likely to garner support is My Racehorse's Duke of Love, a first-out winner at Woodbine on Tapeta for trainer Josie Carroll.
Other contenders include Barone Cesco, C My Meister, Biz Biz Buzz, Speaking Scout, and Always Gambling.
The Mark Casse-trained duo of Lemieux and Palmach, both coming off convincing victories over the Tapeta course, will clash with seven other juvenile fillies in the Wait a While.
Gulfstream Park, Friday, December 3, 2021, Race 10Entries: Pulpit S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Biz Biz Buzz (FL) Mychel J. Sanchez 118 Michael J. Trombetta 5/1 2 2Eldon's Prince (ON) Edgard J. Zayas 122 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 6/1 3 3C My Meister (FL) Edwin Gonzalez 118 Kelsey Danner 8/1 4 4Kitodan (KY) Chantal Sutherland 118 Jorge Delgado 20/1 5 5Red Danger (KY) Julien R. Leparoux 122 Brian A. Lynch 5/2 6 6Fast N Steady (KY) Leonel Reyes 118 Javier E. Gonzalez 50/1 7 7Duke of Love (ON) Junior Alvarado 118 Josie Carroll 9/2 8 8Sport Pepper (KY) Corey J. Lanerie 120 Kerry Zavash 15/1 9 9Always Gambling (KY) Hector Isaac Berrios 118 Juan Carlos Avila 12/1 10 10Barone Cesco (KY) Emisael Jaramillo 118 Antonio Sano 15/1 11 11Concrete Glory (PA) Miguel Angel Vasquez 120 Gerald E. Brooks 20/1 12 12Speaking Scout (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 118 H. Graham Motion 10/1
Gulfstream Park, Friday, December 3, 2021, Race 6Entries: Wait a While S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Gun Boat (KY) Julien R. Leparoux 118 Claude R. McGaughey III 4/1 2 2Sunstrike (IRE) Paco Lopez 118 Brendan P. Walsh 8/1 3 3Last Leaf (KY) Miguel Angel Vasquez 122 Ronald B. Spatz 12/1 4 4Lemieux (FL) Edwin Gonzalez 120 Mark E. Casse 5/2 5 5Myfavoritedaughter (KY) Romero Ramsay Maragh 118 Jeff Engler 15/1 6 6High Arabian (KY) Jesus M. Rios 118 Alison Escobar 30/1 7 7Palmach (KY) Emisael Jaramillo 118 Mark E. Casse 10/1 8 8Lia Marina (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 118 Christophe Clement 7/2 9 9Sister Lou Ann (KY) Edgard J. Zayas 118 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 9/2
