Before 2021 comes to a close, Gulfstream Park wraps up the year with three $100,000 turf stakes, led by the Janus Stakes, which is headed by group 1-winning sprinter Extravagant Kid.
An earner of more than $1.6 million, DARRS' Extravagant Kid was last seen in action in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) at Del Mar, where he finished ninth behind Golden Pal . But the Brendan Walsh trainee ran close to the nation's top grass sprinter a start before, finishing second to him, beaten 2 1/4 lengths, in the Woodford Stakes Presented by TVG (G2T) at Keeneland.
On Friday, he gets class relief in the ungraded Janus, though not so much so that he would be favored. He is the 3-1 second choice on the morning-line behind William Branch's 7-5 favorite Carotari, a fast last-out allowance winner at Keeneland who sports a 3-1-0 record in four starts on the Gulfstream turf course for trainer Brian Lynch.
Extravagant Kid, a gelded 8-year-old son of Kiss the Kid, is 3-3-2 in 11 starts at Gulfstream on turf and 15-17-7 in 54 starts overall. This year he traveled overseas to capture the Al Quoz Sprint Sponsored By Azizi Developments (G1T) at Meydan and ran third in the King's Stand Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot.
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He has won or placed in 27 stakes, beginning in his 3-year-old year.
Tyler Gaffalione is on Extravagant Kid while leading rider Luis Saez is on Carotari (Artie Schiller), winner of a second consecutive Silks Run Stakes at Gulfstream in March.
The field also includes stakes winners Smokin' Jay, Xy Speed, Omaha City, and Yes I Am Free.
The Janus is Friday's first race, followed four races later by the Via Borghese Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 3/8 miles. There, Jordan Wycoff's Candy Flower and Moyglare Stud Farm's Beautiful Lover, both coming off stakes-placings in New York, battle Repole Stable's Always Shopping, the race's defending champion.
A five-time stakes winner, twice at the graded level, Always Shopping is 3-1-0 in five starts on the grass at Gulfstream for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.
Gaffalione rides the 5-year-old Awesome Again mare, who races with blinkers off after wearing them for her last 10 starts.
The sister race to the Janus, the Abundantia Stakes, wraps up the eight-race program Friday with a field of 11 fillies and mares sprinting five furlongs on grass.
Stakes winners Introduced, Miss Auramet, and Miss J McKay are the race favorites. Both Miss Auramet and Miss J McKay come off allowance optional claiming wins, and Introduced was third in the Floral Park Stakes at Belmont Park in her most recent start.
Colts Neck Stables' Introduced, trained by Jorge Duarte Jr., twice beat Miss Auramet in turf sprints this summer at Monmouth Park. Miss Auramet defeated Introduced there in the slop May 30.
Gulfstream Park, Friday, December 31, 2021, Race 1Entries: Janus S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Smokin' Jay (KY) Edwin Gonzalez 123 Kelsey Danner 8/1 2 2Xy Speed (KY) Paco Lopez 125 Gerald S. Bennett 7/2 3 3Omaha City (KY) Emisael Jaramillo 119 Mohamed Jehaludi 20/1 4 4Breakthrough (KY) Inoel Beato 119 Juan Carlos Avila 20/1 5 5Romario (KY) Miguel Angel Vasquez 121 Mark Passley 12/1 6 6Extravagant Kid (FL) Tyler Gaffalione 125 Brendan P. Walsh 3/1 7 7Yes I Am Free (FL) Leonel Reyes 123 Laura Cazares 10/1 8 8Carotari (KY) Luis Saez 125 Brian A. Lynch 7/5
Gulfstream Park, Friday, December 31, 2021, Race 5Entries: Via Borghese S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Sweet Serenade (KY) Emma-Jayne Wilson 118 Roger L. Attfield 8/1 2 2Candy Flower (KY) Emisael Jaramillo 121 Michael J. Maker 5/2 3 3Beautiful Lover (FL) Luis Saez 123 Christophe Clement 7/2 4 4Sorrel (IRE) Paco Lopez 123 Christophe Clement 5/1 5 5Hungry Kitten (KY) Javier Castellano 121 Claude R. McGaughey III 10/1 6 6Onyx (FL) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 121 Juan Alvarado 30/1 7 7Harajuku (IRE) Junior Alvarado 120 H. Graham Motion 10/1 8 8Key Biscayne (FL) Chantal Sutherland 123 Juan Alvarado 20/1 9 9Kelsey's Cross (FL) Romero Ramsay Maragh 123 Patrick L. Biancone 20/1 10 10Always Shopping (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 123 Todd A. Pletcher 9/2
Gulfstream Park, Friday, December 31, 2021, Race 8Entries: Abundantia S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Dana's Beauty (KY) Miguel Angel Vasquez 119 Randall R. Russell 20/1 2 2Introduced (MD) Julien R. Leparoux 125 Jorge Duarte, Jr. 9/2 3 3Cat's Astray (FL) Chantal Sutherland 121 Juan D. Arias 20/1 4 4Strong Odor (KY) Javier Castellano 121 Michael J. Maker 8/1 5 5Miss Auramet (FL) Luis Saez 125 Edward Plesa, Jr. 2/1 6 6Drapes (KY) Edwin Gonzalez 121 Thomas F. Proctor 12/1 7 7Miss J McKay (MD) Tyler Gaffalione 121 Christophe Clement 7/2 8 8Ambassador Luna (FL) Corey J. Lanerie 123 Ben Colebrook 15/1 9 9Morning Molly (KY) Keiber J. Coa 125 Thomas F. Proctor 20/1 10 10Palomita (KY) Emisael Jaramillo 121 David Fawkes 15/1 11 11Beautiful Grace (KY) Paco Lopez 119 Gerald S. Bennett 10/1
