Lots to Like About Power Alert in Silks Run

Power Alert will have a lot going for him when he seeks to defend his title in the $75,000 Silks Run Stakes Saturday at Gulfstream Park – an affinity for the turf course, sharp recent form, and a jockey riding a hot streak.

The defending champion of the five-furlong turf stakes is scheduled to face a field of eight rivals while attempting to run his record over the Gulfstream course to 4-0 under Julien Leparoux, who has been on a tear of late. The 6-year-old gelding enters the Silks Run off a victory in the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint on Feb. 6.

“He’s doing great. We’ve had this race as a target for him, and he’s coming into it in good order,” said trainer Brian Lynch, who owns the son of Alert in a partnership with AJ Suited Racing Stable. “He’s still undefeated here, so I’m happy.”

Power Alert won 4 of 13 starts in Australia before being purchased and brought to the U.S. by Lynch, who pursued the gelding upon the recommendation of his brother in Australia. The gelding had bled for the first time in his final start Down Under, where a horse is banned from racing for good upon a second bleeding episode.

Treated with Lasix, Power Alert captured his U.S. debut at Gulfstream in December 2014, capturing a five-furlong turf allowance by 1 ¾ lengths. He returned three months later to win the Silks Run by three-quarters of a length. After faltering on a ‘good’ turf at Keeneland in the Shakertown (G3), the gray gelding posted a front-running score in the Turf Sprint (G3) at Churchill Downs on May 1. He went on to finish fourth in both the Jaipur (G3) at Belmont in June and Parx Dash Handicap (G3) in July before heading to the sidelines.

“I don’t race him too much in the summer. I give him the heat of the summer off,” Lynch said. “We’re gearing him up for a spring campaign, and he’s doing very, very good.”

Power Alert finished second in his 2016 debut in the Tampa Bay Downs Turf Dash Jan. 9 before returning to his favored turf in the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint, in which he withstood race-long pressure to prevail by a neck in the five-furlong event while being reunited with Leparoux.

The resurgent Eclipse Award-winning jockey, who had ridden the gelding in his first four U.S. starts while producing three wins, has retained the mount for the Silks Run.

Silver Trail Stables’ Amelia’s Wild Ride, who finished a neck behind Power Alert in the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint, is slated to challenge Lynch’s gelding in the Silks Run. Trained by Ramon Preciado, the 5-year-old turf sprint specialist has finished behind Power Alert in five meetings, finishing second three times.

The son of D’wildcat, who has also shown a fondness for the Gulfstream turf with two wins and two seconds in six starts, had captured the Sunshine Millions Turf Sprint prior to his near miss to Power Alert last time out. The Florida-bred is a multiple-stakes winner who captured the off-the-turf Woodford (G3) over a muddy Keeneland track last season.

Mi Amore Stable’s Hothersal, who captured an off-the-turf optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream Jan. 28, has also done his best running over the Hallandale Beach track’s turf course, winning three of seven races and finishing off the board only once. The Jason Servis-trained 8-year-old son of Smart Strike, who was claimed for $30,000 at Gulfstream out of a February 2014 win, finished second behind Lynch-trained turf star Heart to Heart in the Oceanport (G3) at Monmouth last summer.

There’s a Chance Stable’s Simon Bar Sinister, a recent optional claiming allowance winner over the Gulfstream turf;  Andrew Sulley’s Bold Thunder , a veteran turf sprint specialist who finished sixth in last year’s Silks Run; and Grand Bili, the 2015 Carry Back (G3) winner who has never started on turf; bring strong resumes into Saturday’s race.