Gulfstream Park: Squire has experience edge in Royal Ascot qualifier
Trainer Patrick Biancone and Amy Dunne’s Squire will hold the distinction of being the only graduate in Saturday’s $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile, which drew a field of 12 and two also-eligibles — a majority of whom will be making their debuts in the stakes for 2-year-olds at Gulfstream Park.
The Royal Palm Juvenile will co-headline Saturday’s 10-race program with the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies. Both five-furlong turf stakes for 2-year-olds are Royal Ascot qualifiers, each offering its winner an automatic berth in one of six stakes during the Royal Ascot meeting (June 17-21) and a $25,000 equine travel stipend.
Squire showed grit and determination in his April 18 debut in a 4 1/2-furlong dash at Gulfstream, overcoming early bumping and a wide trip to prevail by a head.
“He was bumped a little bit at the start and from there he found himself a little bit behind. But he did do it well at the end,” Biancone said. “He started to understand racing by the three-eighths or between the three-eighths and the top of the stretch, and he made a very good move at that time. We are happy with him. He came back from the race very, very well, so we’ll take a shot.”
Although Squire is the only entrant to win a race, the son of Leinster, like his rivals, will be trying turf for the first time Saturday. He has had an opportunity to test his footing on the turf at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, where he breezed five furlongs in 1:02, the fastest clocking of four recorded at the distance on April 30.
If he’s anything like his sire, Squire should have no problem negotiating five furlongs on turf. Leinster, a multiple graded-stakes winner on turf for trainer Rusty Arnold, captured the 2021 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3) in his last career start. Leinster campaigned for Dunne and partners before heading off to stud.
Dunne and Biancone’s Tully Road, a daughter of Leinster, was entered in the Royal Palm Juvenile but will not start.
Luis Saez has the mount on Squire.
Trainer George Weaver, who will be represented by first-time starter Sandal’s Song in the Royal Palm Juvenile and Royal Testament in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, knows how it feels to win both Royal Ascot qualifiers, as well as the thrill of victory at Royal Ascot.
Weaver swept the two Royal Palm features in 2023, saddling No Nay Mets for a victory in the Royal Palm Juvenile and Crimson Advocate for a triumph in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies. Crimson Advocate went on to capture the Queen Mary (G2) at Royal Ascot.
“It was a lot of fun. Royal Ascot is a cool place to go to the races. It’s a difficult place to win. The fields are big and it’s a long way to go,” Weaver said. “It was gratifying and fun for all of us. We were grateful to Crimson Advocate to get it done for us.”
Sandal’s Song, a son of Mendelssohn, will break from the rail post position under Luca Panici.
Trainer Wesley Ward, who has a strong reputation for early success with 2-year-olds, will debut his homebred, Fuzzy Stare, in the Royal Palm Juvenile. The gelded son of Hootenanny sports a solid string of workouts at Keeneland in preparation for his debut.
“He’s a high-quality horse, a homebred that has certainly shown some ability in the mornings. He has to travel from Kentucky where it’s 50 degrees down to a hot climate, which is always a little bit of a concern, but (he’s) doing well,” Ward said. “He can run; whether that means he can win a $100,000 stake at first asking, I don’t know. On paper, anyway, it seems like the easier of the two stakes.
“It’s five-eighths, so he’ll certainly need some speed in there, but he’s an intelligent guy,” Ward added. “We broke him from the gate the other day and he let the others kind of go and he just stayed behind, stayed on the outside and then closed down the lane, which was nice. It gives the rider some sort of idea if he wants to go or let them go or whatever he wants to do.”
Emisael Jaramillo has the call aboard Fuzzy Stare.
Trainer Jose D’Angelo entered four in the Royal Palm Juvenile with hopes of returning to Royal Ascot. The 35-year-old Gulfstream-based trainer saddled Gabaldon for a debut victory in the Royal Palm Juvenile last year. The Florida-bred son of Gone Astray went on to finish second in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot.
D’Angelo is represented by Arindel’s Fear, who finished third over Keeneland’s main track in his April 18 debut, and Leon King Stable’s Ciborio, a debuting son of Raging Bull, as well as Joker Racing and New Horizon Bloodstock’s Skipping Stars, the first also-eligible, and Chester Bishop’s Hotter Than Dem, the second also-eligible.
Ty Leatherman’s Beers On Me, who finished second behind Squire in his April 18 debut at Gulfstream, and Harrell Ventures’ Arkadelphia, a debuting son of Halliday, were entered in the Royal Palm Juvenile by trainer Luis Mendez, who also entered Chad Calvert’s Rumpus in Paradise, an unraced daughter of Rumpus Cat, and Chris Coleman’s Just a Little Bit, an unraced daughter of Stanford, in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies.
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and Repole Stable will be represented by I Think I Can, a debuting Irish-bred son of Lope de Vega.
Daugherty Racing’s Win N Juice, a son of Win Win Win, sports a series of strong workouts in preparation for his debut for trainer Nolan Ramsey Saturday.
Champion Equine’s Chasing My Dream, a son of Win Win Win trained by David Braddy, and Gabe Grossberg’s Cadenced, a son of Complexity trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, round out the field.