Pomeroys Pistol Seeks Redemption
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Whew! Just looking at the entries for this weekend’s racing makes me exhausted. On tab for the weekend is the Sunshine Millions series featuring races on dirt and turf, sprints and routes, for both the ladies and the males. Boys At Tosconova and Groupie Doll start things off on Friday with a showdown in a one mile allowance optional claiming race. At the top of Saturday’s Sunshine Millions card is a mile and seven-sixteenths allowance optional claiming race on the grass featuring Uptowncharlybrown. The G3 Holy Bull Stakes for three-year old males going one mile and the G2 Forward Gal Stakes for three-year old fillies going 7 furlongs wrap up the weekend. The Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Sprint Stakes is easily one of the more anticipated races in the series.
The race drew a field of seven and will feature a showdown between Musical Romance, the reigning Eclipse winner for Champion Female Sprinter, and Pomeroys Pistol, winner of the G3 Sugar Swirl Stakes last out. In their last match-up, Musical Romance came out on top while taking home year-end honors, as well. Pomeroys Pistol will be seeking redemption, while Musical Romance looks to prove that she is not a one hit wonder. In 33 career starts, the five-year old Concorde’s Tune mare has nine wins, and her victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint back in November was her biggest win to date. She has not raced since her upset victory in the Breeders’ Cup, so she will also be looking to avoid the Breeders’ Cup bounce. In six starts at Gulfstream Park, the mare has won once. Her biggest advantage will be her versatility. She can run near the pace, or she can close. Unless she gets trapped on the rail or stumbles, a bad trip should not be a problem. Last year, she ran fourth in this race as the second longest choice in the field of ten. Musical Romance will break from post six with Juan Leyva aboard and carries the high weight of 123 lbs.
Pomeroys Pistol will break from just inside her rival, and Javier Castellano has the call. In 4 starts at Gulfstream, the filly has never finished off the board, and she has only missed the board once in six tries at 6 furlongs. The Pomeroy filly likes to be up near the pace and carries the second highest weight with 121 lbs assigned to her. Both Pomeroys Pistol and Musical Romance are Grade 2 winners and Grade 1 placed. Pomeroys Pistol ran fourth in the BC F&M Sprint beaten by just less than four lengths by Musical Romance after bobbling at the start and making a big run to be placed near the lead early. Despite the effort she put out in the Breeders’ Cup, she rebounded nicely to post a two length victory in the Sugar Swirl as the heavy favorite a month later. She has been training nicely at Palm Meadows for the last month and is poised to run a big race and prove that she is the better horse.
It’s Me Mom, Honey Chile, Indulgence, Derwin’s Star, and Beat the Blues comprise the rest of the field. If anyone has a shot at upsetting the top two in this race, it is It’s Me Mom. The Put It Back filly has only finished off the board twice in 13 starts and was most recently seen winning the 6 furlong Minaret Stakes. She does not have a win at Gulfstream, but she loves the 6 furlong F&M Sprint distance. Look for jockey Willie Martinez to hustle her out of the rail post and straight to the lead where she likes to be. Honey Chile is a speedy filly who will likely follow It’s Me Mom to the front and stay with her. She won her only start at Gulfstream and has Julien Leparoux as her pilot. Indulgence will break from gate 3. She is the only true closer in the race and will trail the field early. There is a 40% chance of rain at Gulfstream on Sunshine Millions day, and if the track ends up labeled as “off,” then keep an eye on this one. Five of her races have been on an off track; of those five, she won one, finished second once, and got up for the show twice. Derwin’s Star breaks from post 4, and has never raced at Gulfstream or won at 6 furlongs. Lastly is Beat the Blues who breaks from the outside post. Like Derwin’s Star, this mare has never raced at Gulfstream, but she relishes the 6 furlong distance. She likes to run on the pace, and her races have come when something prevented her from getting near the lead.
Musical Romance and Pomeroys Pistol will be tough to beat, but It’s Me Mom has the best shot of knocking off the two leading ladies. So far she has spent much of her career racing and winning at Presque Isle Downs, but she has also run well at Tampa Bay Downs. If she gets to the lead and dictates the pace, then she could pull an upset. Indulgence comes into play only if track conditions are less than ideal. I am not looking for any surprises in this race. Pomeroys Pistol and Musical Romance are the class of the race, so something would have to go wrong to prevent these two from running one-two.
The Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Sprint Stakes in the sixth race on the card, and post time is at 3:05 p.m.
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