Gulfstream Park: Tumbarumba leads 8 in Harlan's Holiday

Never one to back down from a fight, Tumbarumba will enter Saturday’s Grade 3, $165,000 Harlan’s Holiday battle-tested and ready to rumble at Gulfstream Park.

“He brings it every time, that’s for sure,” trainer Brian Lynch said.

Tumbarumba, who has been installed as the 8-5 morning-line favorite in a field of eight assembled for the Harlan’s Holiday, is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Nov. 3 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Del Mar.

‘It seems like he’s doing good. We’ve given him a little freshening and pointed him towards this race,” Lynch said. “We haven’t missed a beat with him, so hopefully, he’ll get a good clean trip and he runs one of his A-game races.”

Tumbarumba, who has finished first or second in 11 of 17 career starts, engaged in many of his more memorable battles last season at Gulfstream Park. The 4-year-old gelding raced three times during the 2023-24 championship meet, rallying to prevail by a nose in the Fred W. Hooper (G3) before losing by a nose in the Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) and coming up a neck short in the Ghostzapper (G3). The Hooper and Gulfstream Mile were contested at a mile around one turn, and Tumbarumba was asked to negotiate the 1 1/16-mile distance of the Ghostzapper around two turns.

The son of Oscar Performance predominantly has been campaigned around one turn during his career, buy Lynch is confident his favorite will be up to the task of two turns Saturday.

“I thought he handled it well to be beat a little more than a nose (in the Ghostzapper), and I think he’s probably a little more seasoned horse now,” Lynch said.

Tumbarumba followed up his sharp championship meet form with a pair of runner-up finishes at a mile around one turn in the Hanshin and Ack Ack (G3) at Churchill Downs. He was forwardly placed while racing three wide in the Dirt Mile, in which he was bumped in the stretch.

Tumbarumba will be ridden for first time by Tyler Gaffalione.

“It looks like a competitive race, but it certainly looks like if he has one of his A-game races, he’s as good as they are,” Lynch said.

Tuscan Sky enters the Harlan’s Holiday off an encouraging second-place finish in the Nov. 3 Discovery, a 1 1/8-mile stakes at Aqueduct in which he was involved in a race-long heated pace before falling three-quarters of a length short of victory.

The 3-year-old son of Vino Rosso was coming off a three-month layoff after an off-the-board finish in the Haskell Invitational (G1) at Monmouth

“It was a good effort last time, just missed,” Pletcher said. “I thought that kind of put him back in form, so we thought this might be a good steppingstone to hopefully get him to the Pegasus.”

Tuscan Sky has won three of six career starts, including a victory in the 1 1/16-mile Pegasus at Monmouth while prepping for the Haskell.

Hall of Famer John Velazquez has the call aboard Tuscan Sky, rated second on the morning line at 5-2.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. is slated to saddle three starters in the Harlan’s Holiday, Cape Trafalgar (6-1), Digital Ops (10-1) and Super Corinto (15-1).

Cape Trafalgar is scheduled to make his stakes debut Saturday following a 6 1/2-furlong optional claiming allowance victory at Keeneland Oct. 19.

“It’s an unknown distance. We tried two turns once, but he wasn’t right. He had time off after the race, so obviously he didn’t come out of the race right. It wasn’t a fair assessment, so we want to try him this time,” Joseph said. “He acts like a horse that will go two turns. It’s unknown, but we feel optimistic that he could. If he does go two turns, he’ll be very hard to beat.”

Digital Ops, formerly trained by Chad Brown, is scheduled to make his first start for Joseph in the Harlan’s Holiday, in which he will try stakes company for the first time. The 3-year-old son of Nyquist has won two of five starts, including an impressive front-running victory in a 1 3/16-mile optional claiming allowance Oct. 24 at Aqueduct.

“He’s kind of unknown,” Joseph said. “He ran a good number last time, but the form has worked out poorly. So, he’s an unknown horse.”

Joseph said Super Corinto has been a “mystery” since joining his stable before an even fifth-place finish in an optional claiming allowance Nov. 22.

“He’s not the best work horse. I thought last time he ran OK. He broke well then kind of lost a little ground and stayed on steadily,” he said. “It’s not the way his best races in America were, but it was better than the two races before. If he can rate and get himself in a good spot, I think he can surprise”

Super Corinto is a Group 1 winner in Argentina who was far back in the 2022 Dubai World Cup (G1),

Irad Ortiz Jr. has the call on Cape Trafalgar. Dylan Davis has the return mount on Digital Ops, and Edgard Zayas returns on Super Corinto.

Steal Sunshine is slated for a rivalry renewal with Tumbarumba on Saturday. The 5-year-old son of Constitution finished third behind victorious Tumbarumba in last season’s Hooper before coming back to edge Saturday’s morning-line favorite by a nose in the Gulfstream Park Mile. He then finished third, three-quarters of a length behind runner-up Tumbarumba, in the Ghostzapper.

Leonel Reyes has the mount aboard Bobby Dibona-trained Steal Sunshine, who is rated third on the morning line at 4-1.

Rocket Can, who won the 2023 Holy Bull (G3) at Gulfstream, and Vitality, who captured the Prince of Wales at Fort Eries three starts back, round out the field.