Horses to Watch: 2 exciting fillies win at Gulfstream Park
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Pretty Liam
One of the most impressive debuts I’ve ever seen over the Gulfstream Park Tapeta track came from New York Thunder, who wired a five-furlong maiden special weight in 55.77 seconds off splits of 21.49 and 44.06 seconds. It foreshadowed his subsequent impressive stakes wins in the Amsterdam (G2) and Woodstock.
Pretty Liam wasn’t quite as visually stunning as New York Thunder, but she ran faster while debuting in a five-furlong Tapeta maiden special weight for 3-year-old fillies on Thursday at Gulfstream. After settling two lengths behind fast fractions of 21.77 and 44.04 seconds, Pretty Liam kicked away in the homestretch to prevail by 3 3/4 lengths in 55.37 seconds. She ran her final furlong in approximately 11 seconds, and her winning time missed the track record by only 0.32 seconds.
Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, Pretty Liam is a daughter of Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Liam’s Map out of a mare by champion and Breeders’ Cup Classic hero Blame, so her pedigree suggests switching from Tapeta to dirt won’t be an issue. A bright future beckons.
Recent watch list winners
Leslie’s Rose
Leslie’s Rose had to work harder than expected in a seven-furlong $75,000 allowance optional claimer on Thursday at Gulfstream Park, but the beautifully bred daughter of Into Mischief out of Wildwood Rose (by Galileo) nevertheless delivered victory as the 1-5 favorite.
Racing for the first time since obliterating her Nov. 19 debut against maiden special weight competition at Aqueduct, Leslie’s Rose faced five rivals at Gulfstream and was always prominent while pressing pacesetter Gun Song through fractions of 23.61 and 47.14 seconds. Gun Song proved resilient in the drive, but a fast third quarter-mile in about 23.77 seconds carried Leslie’s Rose to the lead in midstretch, and a final furlong in 12.43 seconds allowed the favorite to edge clear and prevail by one length in 1:23.36.
Gun Song pulled 7 3/4 lengths clear of the third-place runner, so it’s safe to say the top two finishers ran well. With two victories from two starts, Leslie’s Rose looks ready to tackle a Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualifier.
Upcoming entries
Macanga
Macanga showed little when debuting in a six-furlong dirt sprint at Monmouth Park, fading to finish sixth by more than two dozen lengths. But like many runners sired by 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, Macanga has found success on turf.
Indeed, Macanga improved dramatically when switching to grass for a one-mile maiden special weight on Dec. 10 at Gulfstream Park. Setting fractions of 23.92, 47.79 and 1:10.95 did nothing to tire the bay filly, as Macanga dashed her final two furlongs in 11.55 and 11.85 seconds to win by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:34.35.
This flashy performance has established Macanga as the 3-1 morning line favorite to win Friday’s eighth race at Gulfstream Park, a $75,000 allowance optional claimer, post time 3:37 p.m. EST. Racing 1 1/16 miles on turf in a race that isn’t exactly stuffed with speed should allow Macanga to post a second victory and bring her grass record to a perfect 2-for-2.
Which horses do you have your eyes on?
In this biweekly series, racing analyst J. Keeler Johnson shares promising horses from his handicapping watch list, reviewing runners who have recently caught his eye and previewing horses scheduled to run back in the near future.