Sloan Avenue Gallops for Donn

Susan Roy’s Sloane Avenue galloped over Gulfstream Park’s main track on Tuesday morning in advance of his anticipated start in Saturday’s $500,000 Donn Handicap (G1).

Under exercise rider Wayne Tanner, Sloane Avenue galloped 1 ¼ miles shortly after 7:45 a.m. following the first renovation break. The 4-year-old Candy Ride colt, based in England with trainer Jeremy Noseda, arrived at Gulfstream on Sunday afternoon after clearing quarantine.

“I thought he moved great,” Noseda said. “He’s a very relaxed horse early on in his gallop. He wasn’t really concentrating, but once he got down the lane and got into his bridle I was delighted. He looked to be in great order.”

The first major stakes in the country for older horses, the 1 1/8-mile Donn will be the first start on dirt for Sloane Avenue, whose sire was undefeated in six lifetime starts including Group 1 victories in England and France as well as the 2003 Pacific Classic (G1) on the dirt at Del Mar.

“I’m more than hopeful,” Noseda said. “I’m sort of quietly confident that he will handle the dirt really well.”

Sloane Avenue has raced once before in North America, finishing eighth in a field of nine in the Hill Prince (G3) last October over Belmont Park’s soft turf course. In his last start on November 19, he won the EBF Stallions Hyde Stakes at Kempton Park by a neck.

Michael Roy, the son of owners Susan and Paul Roy, also accompanied Sloane Avenue to South Florida with Noseda, whose last trip to Gulfstream Park came for the 1989 Breeders’ Cup, a decade before being purchased and later given a multi-million reconstruction by The Stronach Group.

“It looks a lot different from 1989, that’s for sure,” Noseda said. “The track looks the same, just the grandstand has changed significantly.”

Source: Gulfstream Park