Reporting Star looks to break through in Sunshine Millions Turf
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Photo:
Leslie Martin
Merriebelle Stable’s Reporting Star, runner-up in each of the past two years, can reverse that trend with a return to form in Saturday’s Sunshine Millions Turf at Gulfstream Park.
The Turf for 4-year-olds and up and Filly & Mare Turf for females 4 and older, both at 1 1/16 miles, are joined on the 15th annual Sunshine Millions Day program for Florida-breds by a trio of dirt stakes: the 1 1/8-mile Classic and the Distaff and Sprint, each at six furlongs.
Following Saturday’s card, Gulfstream will host the 46th Eclipse Awards dinner and ceremony for the fifth consecutive year inside its Sport of Kings Theater where one of Arrogate, Beholder or California Chrome will be named Horse of the Year.
Reporting Star, a gelded 7-year-old son of Grade 1 winner Circular Quay, paid immediate dividends when he captured the one-mile Appleton (G3) last April at Gulfstream. It was his first start for trainer Brendan Walsh since being purchased privately following a half-length loss to Manchurian High in the Sunshine Millions Turf.
Walsh put Reporting Star in four straight graded events where he finished no better than sixth in both the Red Bank (G3) and Bernard Baruch (G2), ultimately capping his campaign running fourth by 1 ½ lengths in the 7 ½-furlong El Prado Dec. 17 at Gulfstream, a race he won in 2015 for previous trainer Pat Parente.
“He came out of the last race good and he’s been doing well, so hopefully we can rekindle his old form and if he can, he should be very live in there,” Walsh said. “He was coming off a bit of a layoff [in the El Prado] but it was a good comeback and we thought he ran well.
“He wasn’t beaten far and he looked like he was back to his old self,” he added. “He kind of lost his way after the Appleton last year but he seems like having had a break now he seems like he’s back to his old self again. We’re looking forward to it.”
Reporting Star has had one breeze since the El Prado, going a half-mile in 49.30 seconds Jan. 13 at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County where Walsh is based. Reporting Star began his career in South Florida with trainer Kathleen O’Connell and is no stranger to Gulfstream, with two wins, two seconds and two thirds from eight lifetime tries.
“I think he knows. You hear about course specialists but it appears like he loves Gulfstream. Palm Meadows, too,” Walsh said. “He trained in Gulfstream up to when I got him so he obviously likes Florida. Everything seems to suit him down here. It seems like it’s his track.”
Placed in six other graded stakes including a third in the 2014 Northern Dancer (G1), Reporting Star won the Play the King (G2). Both races came over Woodbine’s turf course.
“I think he’s just one of those horses who’s a funny horse, temperamentally. There’s just certain things he likes,” Walsh said. “He’s a little unorthodox. There’s things he likes that most horses don’t like and things he doesn’t like that other horses do. You just have to train him a little different. Hopefully he’ll run good on Saturday.”
Rounding out the field are Sunshine Millions Turf Preview winner Enterprising and turf stakes winner Two Step Time, both from the barn of Mike Maker; Better Talk Now Stakes winner Our Way; Grade 3-placed Go Around, winner of the Turf Classic at Tampa last April; Class and Cash, a winner of four of six starts since being claimed last winter at Gulfstream by trainer Jane Cibelli; Beneficiary and Starship Zorro.
Frosty Friday Seeks First Stakes Win in SM Filly & Mare Turf
Always having shown trainer Mark Casse flashes of ability, Gary Barber’s Frosty Friday has been unable to sustain her talent. He is hoping the 5-year-old mare can put it all together for a second straight race in the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf.
The daughter of Grade 1 winner Eskendereya returned from a 4 ½-month break between races to post a half-length victory in a 7 ½-furlong second-level optional claiming allowance Dec. 15 on the Gulfstream turf.
Her previous victory also came on the grass 11 months earlier at Gulfstream, where she has two of her three career turf wins. In between she was off the board in a pair of stakes tries, most recently finishing fourth in Gulfstream’s Soaring Softly Aug. 6.
“She’s run fairly well at Gulfstream. She likes that turf course. A lot of horses will struggle with it a little bit but she seems to really like it,” Casse said. “She came out of her last race good and she’s been training well. I thought her last race was a nice race.
“She’s a filly that we’ve always thought was fairly talented but we’ve just had a lot of starts and stops with her,” he added. “If we could ever get her on a regular schedule and keep her happy, I think you’ll end up seeing a fairly decent filly.”
Frosty Friday’s most recent wins have come when on or near the lead, but she has also shown the ability to rate and run late dating back to her maiden triumph in March 2015 at Santa Anita.
“She can kind of do anything,” Casse said. “If there’s no pace she can be on it and if there is pace she can sit off of it, so she is very versatile.”
Runner-up to Marty Wolfson-trained stablemate Lori’s Store in last year’s Filly & Mare Turf, Miller Racing’s E B Ryder will be making her fourth straight start in the race, having finished sixth in 2015 and second in 2014. The 7-year-old mare’s last victory came in the Anka Germania Stakes in May 2014 at Gulfstream.
Fourth in the Tropical Park Oaks Dec. 31 at Gulfstream in her last start, Glen Hill Farm homebred Family Meeting is winless with three seconds and a third from seven starts since taking the the one-mile Jimmy Durante (G3) in November 2015 at Del Mar.
Also entered are Elizabeth Aurora, a Gulfstream maiden winner Dec. 4; Mom’s On Strike, off the board in pair of graded stakes last summer and most recently second in the Pebbles Oct. 15 at Belmont Park; Rontos Lily, making her second start off a seven-month layoff when she was third in the Honey Ryder at Gulfstream; and Sumfloridasunfun.
Source: Gulfstream Park
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