Miles D May Hit Right Notes in Return in Fred W. Hooper

Before a trio of Pegasus World Cup Invitational-named races grab attention Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park, four other graded stakes precede them during the afternoon at the South Florida racetrack. The graded action begins in the sixth race with the $150,000 La Prevoyante Stakes (G3T) before continuing a couple of races later with the $200,000 Inside Information Stakes (G2). Those two races are for fillies and mares, with the La Prevoyante at 1 1/2 miles on turf and the Inside Information at seven furlongs on the main track. Older males then race in the $200,000 William L. McKnight Stakes (G3T), a 1 1/2-mile test on grass, and in the one-mile, $150,000 Fred W. Hooper Stakes (G3)—the ninth and 10th races on the card, respectively. Favorites in those races include Godolphin's Adventuring (La Prevoyante), Juddmonte's grade 1-winning Obligatory (Inside Information), Channel Maker (William L. McKnight), and Peter Brant and Bob LaPenta's Miles D (Fred W. Hooper). Miles D, named for the jazz legend Mile Davis, makes his first start in 11 months. His campaign was cut short last year, with his lone start being a third-place finish behind eventual grade 1 winner Olympiad in the Feb. 19 Mineshaft Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Earlier in his career, the Chad Brown emerged as a stakes horse in the summer of 2021 at Saratoga Race Course with a second in the ungraded Curlin Stakes, named for his sire, and later by finishing third in the Travers Stakes (G1). He followed that Saratoga success with an allowance win at Belmont Park and a victory in the Discovery Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack. The rail-drawn colt has been recording weekly breezes at Payson Park leading up to this return. Joel Rosario rides. One of his leading rivals is Stonehedge's Dean Delivers, a homebred 4-year-old Cajun Breeze gelding coming off five consecutive top-two finishes. Dean Delivers drew post 11 in the 12-horse lineup and is a 10-1 chance on the morning line in pursuit of his first graded stakes victory. "It looks like a pretty competitive field," trainer Michael Yates said, "but he's training well, and I think he will run very well." His last race was a runner-up finish at seven furlongs in the Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) last month. "He ran second going a mile already and he came out of his last race and has been training very forward," Yates said. "So we decided to run him while he was doing well." Gulfstream's leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will saddle four in the Hooper: Mish, Picking Up Pennies, The Reds, and Twelve Volt Man. At 6-1 odds on the morning line, C2 Racing Stable's Mish is the shortest price on the morning line of those stablemates. The grade 3-placed runner set the pace and settled for third when returning from a layoff in an allowance optional claiming race at Gulfstream in December.