Gulfstream wrap: The Queens M G, Mindframe are among winners

The Queens M G pulled off a mild upset in Saturday’s Grade 2, $215,000 Davona Dale at Gulfstream Park, establishing herself as a Kentucky Oaks candidate under a rail-skimming ride by Irad Ortiz Jr.

The 38th running of the mile stakes for 3-year-old fillies offered qualifying points for the May 2 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale. The Queens M G had earned six Kentucky Oaks qualifying points in a third-place finish in the Feb. 1 Forward Gal.

The Queens M G, the 9-5 second betting choice behind even-money favorite La Cara, scored by 2 3/4 lengths while stretching out from seven-furlongs in the Forward Gal to a mile around one turn.

“I didn’t want (her) to take dirt but Irad is a master at securing a spot,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “That was a top-class ride. Not many riders could produce that kind of ride. Tactically, at every spot he made every right decision.”

Owned by C2 Racing Stable and Mathis Stable, The Queens M G broke from the rail post position cleanly and was rated along the rail behind Madeline’s Promise, a 40-1 long shot ridden by Corey Lanerie, and La Cara, the even-money favorite with Dylan Davis aboard.

Madeline’s Promise set fractions of 24.24 and 47.38 seconds for the first half mile before being joined by La Cara on her outside and The Queens M G to her inside approaching the turn into the stretch. La Cara and The Queens M G entered the stretch on even terms but the Joseph-trained daughter of Thousand Words kicked in powerfully in the stretch to score a decisive victory in 1:37.85.

The Queens M G is likely to return in the Grade 2, $265,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks on March 29 on the Florida Derby (G1) undercard.

“Obviously (C2 Racing’s) Mark (Cornett) will have the final say but it’s home, why change anything?” Joseph said. “We’re going to have another nice filly in there, Paradise City, but let them run on their own merit and see what’s best.”

The Davona Dale win was the third stakes victory for The Queens M G, who captured the Schuylerville and Adirondack (G3) at Saratoga last summer.

“Her last race was very, very good. I thought she would move forward huge. I didn’t know she’d move forward enough to win it, but I thought how she ran last time gave me confidence she’d moved forward from 2 to 3,” Joseph said. “She’s not a big filly. The obvious question is: was she early and precocious? But after the last race, I was very happy with her run.”

La Cara was looking to score back-to-back stakes victories to start the 2025 season, having followed up a fifth-place finish in the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar with an open-lengths front-running score in the Jan. 30 Suncoast at Tampa Bay Downs. The Mark Casse trainee broke her maiden at Saratoga in her third career start and won the Pocahontas (G3) at Churchill Downs heading into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

"When she came across that chute, she scared me a little bit because she kind of took a little stumble. But he (Dylan Davis) said he was in good shape,” La Cara’s Hall of Fame trainer said. “He said she was much quieter today. She ran hard. I expected her to regress, and we saw it."

La Cara held off Ballerina d’Oro by a nose to hold onto second.

Chad Brown-trained Ballerina d’Oro was making her first start of 2025 after concluding her 2-year-old season with a runner-up finish in the Dec. 7 Demoiselle (G2) at Aqueduct. She won once in her first four starts of her career, breaking her maiden at Kentucky Downs in her second start.

Mindframe returns to capture Gulfstream Park Mile

Mindframe, one of 2024’s darlings whose season was cut short by bone bruising, made his return a winning one, charging to victory as the prohibitive 1-9 favorite in the Grade 2, $215,000 Gulfstream Park Mile.

Off since July, the 4-year-old Maryland-bred son of Constitution made his 2025 bow with a 1 1/4-length victory over Steal Sunshine. Lightning Tones was third, another three-quarter lengths further back.

Owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, Mindframe was led into the winner’s circle by Mike Repole, Tom Brady and others.

Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Mindframe settled comfortably behind the early pace before pouncing in the turn, taking clear advantage, and holding off late-closing Steal Sunshine in a time of 1:36.25.

“I had a very good trip,” Ortiz said. “I was sitting third and he was in the clear. I decided to go for it. I had the best horse, so I tried to give him the best trip and not have any excuse, and he did the rest. He was very, very good today.”

The win was the fourth on the card for Ortiz, with three of those coming in stakes, and more mounts remaining.

As a 3-year-old in 2024, Mindframe won his first two races by wide margins before running a close second behind Dornoch in the Belmont Stakes. Another second-place finish followed in the Haskell (G1) before the colt landed on the shelf and missed the remainder of the year.

“He’s been training really well,” said winning trainer Todd Pletcher. “You’re always concerned when you’re coming off a layoff and drawing the 1-hole at a one-turn mile. It’s demanding. But Irad was able to maneuver himself into a good spot. I thought he might have got a little tired the last sixteenth.”

Capture the Flag ekes out Mac Diarmida victory

Capture the Flag led throughout and held on for a narrow win in the Grade 2, $215,000 Mac Diarmida at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.

The victory for jockey John Velazquez was his 114th all-time stakes win at Gulfstream, tying Jerry Bailey for the track record.

Owned by Joseph Allen, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, et al, Capture the Flag (16-1) controlled the pace in the 1 3/8-mile turf stakes and barely held off late-closing stablemate Grand Sonata for a head victory, with third place going to Cash Equity.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, the victory for the 5-year-old horse was his third (first in a stakes) in 11 lifetime races. Pletcher also trains the runner-up, Grand Sonata. Winning time was 2:12.90.

Pletcher said he urged Velazquez to try to put Capture the Flag on the lead if possible.

“(The instructions were) go and make the lead if he can the right way and if not take it from there," he said. "He was in a super gallop, he was moving really well and I could tell he was really happy and he kept going and going and going and showed some courage from there. When they all ganged on him and the top of the stretch and kicked on again, I knew it was going to be close. I knew I was going to feel bad for one of them.”

Special Wan overtakes favorite to win Honey Fox

Ireland-bred Special Wan, making her third North American start and first in 148 days, collared favored pacesetter In Our Time in midstretch and edged clear by 1 1/4 lengths in the Grade 3, $165,000 Honey Fox at Gulfstream Park.

Speed-loving In Our Time, exiting a third in the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G2) on Jan. 25 at Gulfstream, was quickly in front in the one-mile race for fillies and mares 4 and up on the grass and opened up daylight on her 10 rivals through an opening quarter-mile in 23.54 seconds as jockey Luis Saez settled Special Wan in second.

The gap began to close following a half in 46.37 and Saez tipped Special Wan off the inside on the far turn to get into a challenging position. In Our Time straightened for home in front but Special Wan wrested the lead after going in 1:09.47 and finished up in 1:32.77 over a firm turf course.

In Our Time held second, two lengths ahead of Poolside With Slim, followed by Tax Implications, See You Around, Ozara, Ready for Shirl, Pounce, Life’s an Audible, Sister Lou Ann and Cairo Consort. Infinite Diamond was scratched.

Special Wan made her first five starts in Ireland, winning one and placing in the Ballycorus Stakes (G3) and EBF Brownstown Stakes (G3) before coming to the U.S. last summer. She won an open allowance at Kentucky Downs in debut before finishing fifth in the First Lady (G1) at Keeneland on Oct. 5.

Winning trainer Brendan Walsh said he was expecting good things from the 5-year-old mare.

“She was a nice filly in Europe last year," he said. "We got a bit of time after (the First Lady) and she'd been working very well since then, and I think she showed that here today. Luis had her in a great spot. He had her in the perfect spot to take it. But I never was too concerned. She seems like she can do anything. It was great to get the time with her down here and do what she did today.”

South Africa import Beach Bomb takes Very One

Beach Bomb, a two-time Group 1 winner in her native South Africa, led every step of the way to register her first North American victory in the Grade 3, $165,000 The Very One at Gulfstream Park.

Making her 5-year-old debut in her first start since running eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf on Nov. 2, Beach Bomb ($9.40) gave jockey Luis Saez his first win in the three-turn The Very One. It was the second for trainer Graham Motion following Inimitable Romanee in 2014.

Beach Bomb, with Saez aboard for the first time, broke alertly from Post 5 in a field of nine and settled on the front end through splits of 24.17 and 50.48 seconds and 1:16.05 for six furlongs, with 12-1 longshot Whatlovelookslike in closest chase. Saez had plenty of horse left on the second turn for home and outsprinted Immensitude and late-running La Mehana to the wire to win by a length.

The winning time was 2:14.03 over a firm turf course.

Queen Regent, Forever After All, Whatloveslooklike, Be My Sunshine, Youknownothing and Blush completed the order of finish.

Motion said he wasn't necessarily expecting Beach Bomb to take the lead immediately, but Saez seized the opportunity.

“I kind of told (Luis) to go forward, so I’m not surprised. Luis helped him away from there. It looked like nobody wanted to go.”

            “I think Grade 1 may be a stretch for her, but she didn’t run badly in the Breeders’ Cup. She didn’t get beat that badly. We liked her. Everything had to go perfectly to get to the Breeders' Cup. We gave her a little break after that to let her catch up with herself and settle in. Things went well for this race.”

In 2023 the Cayton Park Stud-owned Beach Bomb won the Cape Fillies Guineas (G1) and Cartier Paddock Stakes (G1) in South Africa in back-to-back starts. She made her U.S. debut last summer running second in the Violet at Monmouth Park and was third in the Rodeo Drive (G2) in her Breeders’ Cup prep.

Fort Washington gets up in Canadian Turf

Magic Cap Stable’s Fort Washington rallied from off the pace under jockey Junior Alvarado to win the Grade 3, $165,000 Canadian Turf by a nose Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Trained by Shug McGaughey, Fort Washington, a 6-year-old by War Front beaten less than three lengths in the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) on Jan. 25, covered the 1 1/16-mile turf course in 1:39.31.

Stanley House, a 35-1 longshot, was hustled to the lead past even-money favorite Silent Heart going into the first turn and posted fractions of :23.65 and :46:80 while Silent Heart raced second, Major Dude third along the rail and Fort Washington last.

Approaching the final turn, Alvarado saved ground with Fort Washington, moving into contention along the rail while Major Dude and Silent Heart battled for the lead entering the stretch. Alvarado moved Fort Washington onto the four-path down the stretch and just got up in the final stride over Major Dude. Silent Heart was a neck behind in third and Irish Aces fourth.

It was McGaughey’s fourth victory in the Canadian. He won back-to-back stakes in 2014 with Reload and 2013 with Data Link and in 1986 with Vanlandingham.

"I was just hoping he could grind it out and they'd come back to him a little bit," McGaughey said. "With this course, short stretch -- and when he didn't break that good, which he's got a tendency to do -- so I was a little bit worried. That short stretch makes it a little harder for him to catch up. But Junior rode a great race. He saved ground. I thought he had him in a pretty good position if he had a chance. He always shows up. He ran a really good race in the Pegasus. He didn't get beat that far. I'm optimistic when I bring him over here because I know he's going to run his race, win or lose."

Vixen wins Herecomesthebride as chalk

Favored Vixen, a 3-year-old daughter of Vekoma ridden by John Velazquez, held off long shots Mrs Worldwide and Daisy Flyer to win Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Herecomesthebride by a neck at Gulfstream Park.

The one-mile Herecomesthebride on the turf was the first of nine stakes on the Saturday program.

Owned by D J Stable LLC and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Vixen made here 3-year-old debut here Feb. 1 with a victory in the Sweetest Chant after concluding her 2-year-old year with a sixth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Vixen broke sharply in the Herecomesthebride and raced third around the first turn and down the backstretch while Grade A set fractions of 22.97 and 46.51 seconds. Around the turn, Vixen moved three-wide outside Grade A and Mrs. Worldwide before taking the lead inside the final eighth. She finished a neck in front of Mrs Worldwide, with another head back to Daisy Flyer. Classic Q, another Casse-trained filly, closed with a rush and finished a nose behind Daisy Flyer.

Vixen, a winner of three of five starts, covered the mile over firm turf in 1:33.57.

This was the fourth Herecomesthebride victory for Casse, having won the stakes last year with Pounce, in 2017 with Dream Dancing and in 2016 with Catch a Glimpse.

Vixen returned $3.60, $2.60 and $2.20. Mrs Worldwide, 31-1 in the win pool, paid $12,20 and $8.20, while Daisy Flyer (87-1) paid $17.60 to show.

“She ran good,” Casse said of Vixen. “Maybe she bounced a little off her first performance but today was good. Hopefully, she moves on from there. She’s tough; she’s a good horse. Like I said, maybe she kind of regressed from her first start. She’ll have some time and she’ll be off to Kentucky.

“I thought Classic Q was going to be on the lead, but she got away bad. She ran a helluva race to be fourth.”

“I had an easy trip, to tell you the truth,” Velazquez said of Vixen. “They went a little faster than I expected. I had to take a really good hold of her the first part of the race. We got to the second turn and I let her go, and she was a little hesitant to go by the horse on the lead. We were laying second and we started getting closer. It was a good effort.

“She came back first time off the layoff and ran really great and she came back today to a little tougher group and ran a good race. She’s more mature, for sure. She’s doing things a lot easier from a 2-year-old to a 3-year-old. I think she has a little more in the bottom of her. I just hope she can (reach that) and move forward a little more.”