Honor Code Jogs at Gulfstream Park

As Groupie Doll and River Seven were on the track Sunday morning for workouts in preparation for scheduled starts in next Sunday’s Hurricane Bertie (G3) and Donn Handicap (G1), respectively, Remsen Stakes winner Honor Code jogged at Gulfstream Park for the second straight morning.            

The highly regarded 3-year-old colt was transferred from trainer Shug McGaughey’s division at Payson Park in Indiantown, FL to the Hall of Fame trainer’s barn at Gulfstream Park Thursday.            

“I wanted to get him off the deeper track and I wanted to be around him, too,” McGaughey said.             

Honor Code recently sustained bruising in his back ankles while training for a scheduled 2014 debut in the $400,000 Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream on Feb. 22.             

The McGaughey-trained Top Billing, who captured an allowance race at Gulfstream in spectacular last-to-first fashion last weekend, is now scheduled to make his stakes debut in the Fountain of Youth, a key prep for the $1 million Besilu Stables Florida Derby (G1) on March 29.            

“He came out of his race really good. It looks like a good spot,” McGaughey said.            

As Honor Code was jogging, River Seven breezed an easy five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 before galloping out six-furlongs in 1:14 1/5.             

“He had fun. It was a nice tuner-upper for the big guy,” said trainer Nick Gonzalez, who is scheduled to saddle River Seven for a clash against Eclipse champion Will Take Charge in the Donn. “He finished up a little bit and galloped out strong. Everything is good.”            

River Seven followed up a victory in the Commonwealth Stakes (G3) over the Churchill Downs turf course with a dominating four-length victory in the $100,000 Harlan’s Holiday over Gulfstream’s main track on Dec. 22