Wedding Toast Targets Rampart
Never worse than second in seven lifetime starts, Godolphin Racing’s Wedding Toast goes for her sixth victory and second in a graded stakes in Saturday’s $100,000 Rampart (G3) at Gulfstream Park.
The 36th running of the one-mile Rampart is one of eight stakes, seven of them graded, on a 12-race card that includes the $400,000 Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth (G2) – the next step on the road to Gulfstream’s $1 million Florida Derby (G1) March 28 – and the $200,000 Mac Diarmida featuring the season debut of multiple Eclipse Award winner Main Sequence.
Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Wedding Toast returned from a nine-month layoff to win the seven-furlong Miami Shores Stakes on January 7 in her Gulfstream debut. She hadn’t run since finishing second behind multiple Grade 1 winner Princess of Sylmar in the Cat Cay Stakes last April, her only start of 2014.
“She just was not doing well and was a little sore and needed a little time off,” McLaughlin said. “No surgery, we just gave her the time off. She came back fabulous and she’s doing great.”
In the Miami Shores, Wedding Toast dueled for the early lead before edging away down the stretch to win by 1 ¼ lengths over Best Behavior. She stretches back out to a mile for the Rampart, having lost the Cat Cay and captured an entry-level allowance in September 2013 at the distance.
“She’s a very fast filly and she was aggressive last time going seven-eighths,” McLaughlin said. “She was on or near the lead the whole way, so she figures to be on or near the lead again. We’re looking forward to her race and all year racing with her. We’re glad to have her back.”
A 5-year-old daughter of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, Wedding Toast shows four timed works since the Miami Shores including a bullet five-furlongs in 1:00.70 on February 8 and a half-mile in 48.60 seconds on Sunday. She went all the way on the lead to win the Comely (G3) in November 2013.
“She won her first start and has trained extremely well since then,” McLaughlin said. “We don’t know exactly her best distance, but seven-eighths to a mile has to be close to her best distance. The track seems to be playing to forwardly placed horses, and she’s fast, so she’ll be forwardly placed going a mile. She’s doing great and she should run well.”
Wedding Toast drew post 2 in the seven-horse field with Jose Lezcano aboard. All horses will carry 117 pounds.
Unbeaten in two lifetime starts at Gulfstream Park, Got Lucky goes for her first graded stakes win in the Rampart. She was second in the Demoiselle (G2) in her second career start and last year was runner-up in the Rachel Alexandra (G3) and Gazelle (G2) before finishing off the board in the Kentucky Oaks (G1).
Owned by Phil Steinberg and Hill n Dale Equine Holdings, the 4-year-old A.P. Indy filly broke her maiden last January at Gulfstream in her 3-year-old debut, and also won a Saratoga Race Course allowance before fifth-place efforts in both the Alabama (G1) and Spinster (G1).
“We’ve always thought she was a stakes-caliber filly, as you can tell by us running her in the Demoiselle as a maiden,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “As is typical of the A.P. Indys that we’ve been around, they tend to get better as they get older. She’s physically blossomed this year as a 4-year-old and gotten bigger and stronger and is carrying better weight than she ever has.”
Freshened up following last October’s Spinster, Got Lucky returned with a one-length allowance victory on January 15 at Gulfstream going the Rampart distance. She tuned up for the race with a bullet half-mile work in 48.41 seconds on Sunday at Palm Beach Downs.
“We thought her comeback allowance race was one of her stronger performances and hopefully she can build off that and step up into a graded stake. We’re pleased with the way she’s doing and the way she’s coming up to it,” Pletcher said. “I think she’s a versatile filly. She probably handles more ground than a mile but she’s also 2-for-2 at Gulfstream going a one-turn mile. She can benefit from a solid pace up front and hopefully she continues to move forward.”
Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will ride Got Lucky from post 6.
Based at Gulfstream with trainer David Fawkes, Harold Queen’s Sheer Drama looks to win for the first time at her hometown track in the Rampart. The 5-year-old Burning Roma mare overcame a poor start and wide trip to rally for second, two lengths behind Dame Dorothy in the Sunshine Millions Distaff on January 17.
“For some reason when she left there she kind of leaned in a little bit,” Fawkes said. “If you watch it again, the horse next to her acted up in the gate and when she acted up my horse acted up. When she did she kind of twisted her body and when they broke, she broke in and hit that horse. She kind of ran on her side all the way down the backside. Once she got her weight over on that horse she was struggling to get back up on her feet. Once she did, she made a huge run.”
Winner of the Thirty Eight Go Go Stakes last September at Laurel Park, Sheer Drama was second behind Wedding Toast in the 1 1/16-mile Belle Cherie Stakes at Belmont Park in October 2013.
“She didn’t get beat that far by Wedding Toast in New York and that’s when Wedding Toast was really going good,” Fawkes said. “She’s got class and she’s knocked heads with some nice horses. She holds a track record in Maryland and won a stakes in Maryland, and she’s training really good here. She’s really settled in and put some weight on. I’m very happy with her. I love the way she came out of her race, I love the way she’s going into this race. I’m excited about it.”
Joe Bravo, aboard in the Sunshine Millions, gets a return call from post 5.
Grade 3 winner Thank You Marylou, third in a pair of Grade 1 stakes to end last year; multiple Grade 2-placed House Rules; and stakes-placed Flutterby and Oasis At Midnight are also entered.
Source: Gulfstream Park