Saturday’s Best Bet: Aunt Shirley tries turf in Sanibel Island
Saturday’s 11th race at Gulfstream Park is the $100,000 Sanibel Island Stakes for 3-year-old fillies traveling 7 1/2 furlongs on the turf course. The scheduled post time is 4:38 p.m. EDT.
Click here for Gulfstream Park entries and results.
No. 9 Aunt Shirley (6-1) moves to the Todd Pletcher barn and is interesting on the surface switch. She stalked and scored in her five-panel debut in the mud, and the clear runner-up was a next-out winner. She broke slow, raced wide and was up the track in the Spinaway second time out. This is her first start in half a year, and Justify is a decent first turf sire. Irad Ortiz Jr. hopping aboard signals intent.
No. 2 Love Appeals (3-1) stalked slow fractions and prevailed by a neck in her course-distance bow Feb. 16. Christophe Clément is strong with his second grass starters, and Joel Rosario stays put.
No. 1 Mrs. Astor (7-2) improved her speed ratings in all three starts. She added Lasix and got the job done from off the pace in her local 1 1/16-mile, turf maiden win Jan. 29. She should save ground before launching her rally under Luis Sáez.
No. 5 Breath Away (7-2) stalked and scored in her turf bow, missed by a nose in a race originally scheduled for turf and moved to the synthetic track last time. She is back at her winning course and distance for Clément, and her new rider is José Ortiz.
Get Jarrod’s Santa Anita analysis.
Wagers
No. 9 to win
Exacta box 2-9
Trifecta key 9/1-2-5
Recent Best Bet winners
March 8 – James Aloysius ($4.80), trifecta ($88)
March 12 – Ballet Dancing ($11.40)
March 13 – Baton ($3.80)
March 17 – Alice Marble ($2.80)
March 18 – Princess Bettina/Comanche Country exacta ($18.80), trifecta ($81.40)
March 20 – Candy for Carmel/Good Culture exacta ($72), trifecta ($143.60)
Last Saturday – West Will Power ($7.20), exacta ($15.60)
Monday – Tiergarten/Precocious Times/Cheekiest trifecta ($89.80)