Mr. Jordan Back Quickly in Sunshine Millions Classic

Just days after Mr. Jordan finished a troubled fifth in last Saturday’s $150,000 Hal’s Hope (G3) at Gulfstream Park, trainer Eddie Plesa decided to enter the multiple-stakes winner in Saturday’s $250,000 Sunshine Millions Classic.

Owned by David Melin, Leon Ellman and Laurie Plesa, Mr. Jordan was bumped and squeezed at the start of the one-mile Hal’s Hope and never threatened thereafter.

“He got annihilated coming out of the gate and that was the end of the story. He came back 100 percent or he wouldn’t be in the race,” Plesa said. “It didn’t take anything out of him. I can tell by the way he’s training and going over him physically. He’s 100 percent. I had six boxes I needed to check to put him in this race and he checked out in all of them.”

Plesa, obviously, was disappointed by the unfortunate turn of events in the Hal’s Hope.

“I thought he was coming into that race as good as he came into any race,” said Plesa, whose 4-year-old had returned from a four-month layoff with a third-place finish behind multiple graded-stakes winners Valid and Madefromlucky in the Harlan’s Holiday Dec. 8.

Plesa said he had success in the past bringing horses back from short time between races.