Prospect Watch: Letruska's half-sibling will debut at Gulfstream
Another action-packed week of racing is on the horizon. Three Road to the Kentucky Derby prep races are the feature attractions, but an exciting slate of maiden special weights for 3-year-olds may prove just as productive.
A bevy of promising first-time starters are slated to debut this week, including a half-brother to the mighty mare Letruska.
Let’s highlight five new names to know at Aqueduct and Gulfstream Park:
Thursday, Feb. 3
Aqueduct Race 4: Maiden Special Weight (six furlongs, 2:18 p.m.)
No. 3 Capone
Age: 3
Pedigree: Classic Empire–Hit the Limit, by Uncle Mo
Purchase price: $400,000
Trainer: Jimmy Jerkens
Out of the spotlight at Aqueduct’s chilly winter meet is where Capone will make his first start under colors. You’re advised to sit up and take notice, because this $400,000 juvenile acquisition has the appearance of a talented prospect.
A son of champion Classic Empire (who sires a respectable 13 percent winners from first-time starters), Capone has turned in some quick workouts for trainer Jimmy Jerkens. On Jan. 26, he blazed four furlongs in a bullet 47 seconds flat from the starting gate at the Belmont Park training track, a sharp workout suggesting Capone has the talent to factor right out of the gate.
Saturday, Feb. 5
Gulfstream Park Race 3: Maiden Special Weight (six furlongs, 12:58 p.m.)
No. 1 Palm Island
Age: 3
Pedigree: Uncle Mo–Afleet Maggi, by Afleet Alex
Purchase price: $1.3 million
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
You might be asking yourself, why did Palm Island sell for $1.3 million as a 2-year-old in training? Well, there are a few reasons. For one, the son of Uncle Mo is a full brother to Grade 1 Starlet winner Dream Tree. For another, he breezed a blazing furlong in 10 seconds flat prior to selling at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.
Palm Island has put together a lengthy work tab in preparation for his debut, capped off by a bullet five furlongs in 1:01 seconds at Palm Beach Downs. High-percentage trainer Todd Pletcher (a 38 percent winner at Gulfstream) has named hot jockey Luis Saez to ride, so all signs point toward Palm Island producing a competitive effort on Saturday.
No. 4 Stay Restless
Age: 3
Pedigree: Empire Maker–Saltendipity, by Salt Lake
Purchase price: $190,000
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
The second Pletcher trainee in Saturday’s field is Stay Restless, a son of Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker. Dam Saltendipity has yet to foal a stakes winner, though all six of her starters to date have won, so it’s safe to say Stay Restless hails from a productive family.
Stay Restless hasn’t posted quite as flashy a work tab as Palm Island, though he did clock a quick five furlongs in 1:00.2 seconds at Palm Beach Downs last month. Three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz (a 56 percent winner teaming up with Pletcher over the last two months) will take the mount, stamping Stay Restless as a prospect worth watching.
No. 6 Nitrous Channel
Age: 3
Pedigree: Nyquist–Laurenmychanelgirl, by Afleet Alex
Purchase price: $625,000
Trainer: George Weaver
Palm Island wasn’t the only juvenile to breeze a furlong in 10 seconds prior to the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. Nitrous Channel matched the feat and subsequently sold for $625,000.
A son of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, Nitrous Channel hasn’t show much speed in the mornings, with a half mile in 50.8 seconds from the Palm Beach Downs starting gate ranking as his quickest breeze this year. But even if he’s not cranked for a peak performance on debut, Nitrous Channel is worth following in the long run.
No. 7 Ocotzingo
Age: 3
Pedigree: Hard Spun–Magic Appeal, by Successful Appeal
Purchase price: N/A
Trainer: Fausto Gutierrez
Fausto Gutierrez enjoyed a stellar year in 2021, winning at a 24 percent rate while guiding standout mare Letruska to a quartet of Grade 1 wins. Now Gutierrez is set to unveil Letruska’s half-brother Ocotzingo.
Ocotzingo hasn’t put together the flashiest work tab, and Gutierrez has gone 0-for-25 so far saddling first-time starters in the United States. But Letruska didn’t peak until age 5, so we won’t be too disappointed if Ocotzingo loses on Saturday. He’s more of a long-term prospect with the potential to develop over time, and if Ocotzingo winds up having half as much talent as Letruska, he’ll win more than his fair share of races.