Mr. Jordan takes win streak into Hal’s Hope
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Photo:
Lauren King
David Melin, Leon Ellman and Laurie Plesa’s Mr. Jordan, whose multiple stakes wins include the 2015 Pegasus (G3), enters Saturday’s $150,000 Hal’s Hope (G3) off back-to-back victories as he seeks his first career triumph at Gulfstream Park.
The Florida-bred gelding opens his 5-year-old campaign in the one-mile Hal’s Hope, a race where he ran fifth last year. Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. had also considered the Sunshine Millions Classic Jan. 21 for Mr. Jordan, but will instead run stablemate Awesome Slew in that spot.
“He’s doing excellent,” Plesa said. “He’s just waiting to run.”
Mr. Jordan closed his 4-year-old season with consecutive wins by a combined 13 lengths capped by the Sunshine Millions Classic Preview, where he ran 1 1/16 miles in a Gulfstream Park West track-record time of 1:42.52.
He remains winless in five tries at Gulfstream, with three seconds and one third. In three starts during last winter’s Championship Meet, he finished third in the Harlan’s Holiday and second in the Sunshine Millions Classic in addition to the Hal’s Hope.
“He’s finished second a few times but just hasn’t gotten the job done [at Gulfstream],” Plesa said. “This is a bigger, stronger Mr. Jordan. This is the best he’s been. He doesn’t have any issues in any way.
“His running style, at one time he used to like to drift and that’s not the case anymore,” he added. “He’s much more manageable and he’s just a different horse. He’s gotten older and matured in a positive way.”
Mr. Jordan’s best efforts have come on or near the lead, and he drew Post 8 in a nine-horse field for the Hal’s Hope. He will carry topweight of 121 pounds including jockey Joe Bravo, aboard for each of his Gulfstream starts last winter.
“I don’t think [the post] have any effect at all. I’d rather be on the outside than buried on the inside,” Plesa said. “He’s got the speed to go to the lead or stalk. It seems like the race seems to have some speed in there so I would anticipate that he’ll be just off the pace.”
For his career, Mr. Jordan has a record of 6-4-5 with $513,735 in purse earnings from 17 starts including the 2014 Juvenile Sprint and Smooth Air Stakes at Gulfstream Park West.
Sunshine Millions Day Program Attracts 73 Nominations
A total of 73 horses were nominated to five stakes that help comprise the Sunshine Millions Day program for Florida-breds Saturday, Jan. 21 at Gulfstream Park.
Entering its 15th year, the Sunshine Millions serves as a fitting prelude to the 46th annual Eclipse Awards dinner and ceremony being hosted for the fifth consecutive year at Gulfstream’s Sport of Kings Theater.
Grade 2 winner Awesome Banner and Grade 3 winners Awesome Slew and Uncle Vinny are among 12 horses nominated to the 1 1/8-mile Classic for 4-year-olds and up. Awesome Banner has won six of nine lifetime starts at Gulfstream, five in stakes, including the Hutcheson (G3) and Swale (G2) last winter.
Awesome Slew won the Smarty Jones (G3) last fall at Parx and most recently finished third in the Harlan’s Holiday (G3) Dec. 17 in his Gulfstream debut. Uncle Vinny is seeking his first victory since being promoted from second to first in the 2015 Sanford (G3) at Saratoga.
Jorge Navarro-trained stablemates X Y Jet and Delta Bluesman top 15 nominees in the six-furlong Sprint. Defending champion X Y Jet has finished worse than third only once in nine lifetime races at Gulfstream with three wins including the 2015 Mr. Prospector (G3) and 2016 Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3). Third in the Mr. Prospector to open 2017, Delta Bluesman counts last summer’s Smile Sprint (G2) among his multiple stakes wins.
Multiple stakes winner Yourdreamsormine, fifth in the Mr. Prospector; and stakes winners Early Entry, Sheikh of Sheikhs and Wildcat Wish are also nominated to the Sprint.
The most popular race with 19 nominations was the 1 1/16-mile Turf for 4-year-olds and up, led by two-time defending champion Manchurian High, 2016 United Nations (G1) winner World Approval and 2016 Appleton (G3) winner Reporting Star. They are joined by Enterprising, who captured the Turf Preview Nov. 12 at Gulfstream Park West, and stakes winners Go Around, Little Nick V., My Point Exactly, Our Way and Two Step Time.
Multiple stakes winner Flutterby, unraced since finishing off the board in the Inside Information (G2) last March, is nominated for a possible return in the six-furlong Distaff for fillies and mares 4 and older. Trained by 95-year-old Jerry Bozzo, the 6-year-old mare owns Gulfstream stakes wins in the Sea Lily, Gold Mover and Added Elegance, all in 2015.
Also nominated to the Distaff are Moment of Delight, whose multiple stakes wins include the Distaff Preview Nov. 12 at Gulfstream Park West; and stakes winners My Miss Venezuela and You Bought Her, second in the Distaff Preview and last year’s Distaff by a head to Mom’z Laugh.
Grade 3 winner Family Meeting, multiple stakes winner Josdesanimaux, and stakes-placed Amaluna, bonita, E B Ryder, Mom’s On Strike and Rontos Lily are among 15 horses nominated to the Filly & Mare Turf for females 4 and up at 1 1/16 miles. E B Ryder finished second by a half-length to Lori’s Store in last year’s race.
Source: Gulfstream Park
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