Prospect Watch: 5 to follow at Turfway, Oaklawn, Gulfstream

A huge weekend of Road to the Kentucky Derby prep races is on the agenda, with lucrative events taking place at Turfway, Oaklawn and Gulfstream.

There are also competitive maiden special weights taking place across all three tracks. Let’s dig into the entries and uncover five of the most promising unraced prospects set to debut.

Saturday

Turfway Park Race 1: Maiden special weight (six furlongs on Tapeta, 12:45 p.m. EDT)

No. 6 Blue Devil

Age: 3

Pedigree: Uncle Mo–Apologize, by Lemon Drop Kid

Purchase price: $300,000

Trainer: Rodolphe Brisset

Turfway Park’s biggest race day of the year kicks off with a maiden special weight for 3-year-olds, in which Blue Devil looms as an intriguing first-time starter. A son of champion and successful sire Uncle Mo, Blue Devil was produced by Apologize, a daughter of champion and Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid.

This is pedigree blending miler speed with classic stamina, so Blue Devil has the potential to develop into a talented two-turn racehorse. Until recently, he was training in California with Bob Baffert, most notably clocking five furlongs from the Santa Anita starting gate in 1:00.4. Now Blue Devil is based at Keeneland with Rodolphe Brisset, and a promising debut could be in the offing.

Oaklawn Race 2: Maiden special weight (six furlongs, 1:42 p.m.)

No. 7 Speed Bias

Age: 3

Pedigree: Uncle Mo–Hot Summer, by Malibu Moon

Purchase price: $220,000

Trainer: Brad Cox

Let’s see. Uncle Mo is the sire of Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist. Malibu Moon is the sire of Kentucky Derby winner Orb. And Hot Summer won graded stakes over distances from six furlongs to one mile and has foaled four winners from four starters. Clearly there’s a lot of class in the pedigree of Speed Bias.

Trained by two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox (a 21 percent winner at Oaklawn this meet), Speed Bias has shown speed aplenty during morning training. Originally based in California (where he posted several bullet workouts), Speed Bias has been training at Oaklawn in recent weeks, most recently clocking six furlongs from the starting gate in a sharp 1:12.8. He looks like a threat to win on debut under jockey Florent Geroux.

No. 8 Spankster

Age: 3

Pedigree: Mastery–Spank, by Blame

Purchase price: $260,000

Trainer: Dallas Stewart

Dallas Stewart hasn’t saddled many starters at Oaklawn this meet, but they’ve won at a solid 20 percent rate, a statistic suggesting Spankster is worth watching on Saturday.

A son of juvenile Grade 1 winner Mastery, Spankster was produced by Spank, a daughter of champion and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame. This is a pedigree with plenty of stamina, so we shouldn’t necessarily expect Spankster to fire a winning shot sprinting six furlongs on debut. But Spankster has put together an encouraging work tab at Oaklawn, and Stewart strikes at a respectable 14 percent rate with first-time starters, so Spankster might show more early spark than his pedigree suggests.

Gulfstream Park Race 8: Maiden special weight (seven furlongs, 3:01 p.m.)

No. 4 Wish You Well

Age: 3

Pedigree: American Freedom–Listen to Libby, by Indian Charlie

Purchase price: $550,000

Trainer: George Weaver

A $550,000 auction acquisition, Wish You Well hails from a productive female family. Her dam is Listen to Libby, whose previous foals include Buffalo Trace Franklin County (G3) winner Chanteline and two-time stakes winner Kell Paso, runner-up in the 2017 Sunland Park Oaks.

Both Chanteline and Kell Paso achieved their signature victories sprinting, and in general there’s a lot of speed in Wish You Well’s pedigree, so dashing seven furlongs on debut should suit the chestnut filly just fine. Trainer George Weaver has been hot at Gulfstream this winter, going 6-for-29 (21 percent), so don’t dismiss Wish You Well from consideration.

No. 11 Easy to Love

Age: 3

Pedigree: Empire Maker–Vaulcluse, by A.P. Indy

Purchase price: N/A

Trainer: Bill Mott

What will be the optimum racing surface for Easy to Love? That’s hard to predict. Sire Empire Maker won the Belmont Stakes on dirt, but his progeny have shown versatility, with many excelling over synthetic surfaces. Dam Vaulcluse also was best on dirt, winning the Suncoast at Tampa Bay Downs in track-record time, but her best foal to date is Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (G1)winner Lukes Alley, a grass star who also won multiple graded stakes on synthetic.

One thing is certain: Easy to Love is bred to thrive running long, since all of her immediate ancestors and relatives scored their signature victories running one mile or farther. Seven furlongs is probably too short for Easy to Love, though on the bright side she has posted three bullet workouts at Payson Park since Feb. 27, suggesting she’ll be fit for a competitive effort on Saturday. Regardless of how she performs, look for Easy to Love to run better when stretching out in distance down the road.