No Stakes, But High-Priced Maidens Race at Gulfstream

Gulfstream Park may not have any stakes carded for April 11, but several maiden special weight races will bring some intrigue to the lineup.

First in race 5, three high-priced 3-year-old fillies and three more with graded stakes family ties will take to the turf for a one-mile maiden special weight.

The morning-line favorite is Todd Pletcher trainee Messina, an $825,000 yearling purchase at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select yearling auction in New York. The War Front  filly owned by Bass Stables and Cheyenne Stables has raced once, finishing off the board Feb. 2 over the same course and distance when ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. Rajiv Maragh will be aboard Saturday.

Bred in Kentucky by Town and Country Horse Farms, Pollock Farms, and Hugh Owen, Messina is the first foal out of the grade 3-placed Giant's Causeway mare Pine Needles. 

The overflow field of 12 with four also-eligibles includes Champagne Lady, the morning-line third choice at odds of 5-1. The daughter of Uncle Mo  races for trainer Mark Hennig and Courtlandt Farms and was an $875,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where she was consigned by Glennwood Farm.

Champagne Lady has two off-the-board efforts on dirt—Dec. 22 at Aqueduct Racetrack and Feb. 2 at Gulfstream. Edgard Zayas will ride for the first time.

A full sister to grade 1 winner and Ashford Stud sire Mo Town , Champagne Lady is the second foal to race out of the Bernardini  mare Grazie Mille.

Trainer Chad Brown entered Church On Time, a half sister to grade 1 winner Competitionofideas. The untested Honor Code  filly out of Devil by Design is a homebred for owner John Gunther, who bred her with Tony Chedraoui and Eurowest Bloodstock Services.

The filly has been training at Palm Meadows Training Center and most recently breezed four furlongs on turf April 5 in :48.30. She will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione.

Mark Casse has two entered: Lashara, the highest-priced filly bought at auction in the race, and Tapitlikeitshot, who is out of grade 1-placed Gold Mover.

Lashara, one of two fillies by American Pharoah  in the race, was bred in Great Britain and sold to Deuce Greathouse as a yearling for US$972,230 at the Arqana August Yearling Sale in Deauville where she was consigned by her breeder, Ecurie des Monceax. She was bred in partnership with Haras de St. Pair.

The filly produced a bullet four-furlong work April 4 on the Palm Meadows turf in :47 3/5 to be the fastest of 40 that day.

Lashara is the first foal out of the Smart Strike mare Marbre Rose, a grade 3 winner at Woodbine who was bred in Ireland. She races for Cindy Hutson and Robert Masterson and will be ridden by Luis Saez, who rode her in her March 15 debut when she finished off the board in a 6 1/2-furlong dirt maiden test.

Tapitlikeitshot also finished off the board in her Feb. 7 debut going five furlongs on dirt with Gaffalione aboard. The Tapit  filly owned by Gary Barber gets Dylan Davis in the saddle.

Brendan Walsh trainee Egyptian Princess is the other American Pharoah filly in the field, and she will make her second start after finishing sixth in a one-mile turf test at Churchill Downs in September.

Owned by Sumaya U.S. Stables, she is the first foal out of the grade 3-winning Full Mandate mare Full Ransom.

Entries: Race 5 (MSW) at GP on 4/11/20

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, April 11, 2020, Race 5

• MSW
• 1m
• Turf
• $45,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 2:23 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Messina (KY)	Rajiv Maragh	120	Todd A. Pletcher	4/1
2	2Take Charge Ro (KY)	Joe Bravo	120	Brian A. Lynch	10/1
3	3Egyptian Princess (KY)	Emisael Jaramillo	120	Brendan P. Walsh	8/1
4	4Ballymore Star (IRE)	Paco Lopez	120	Roger L. Attfield	15/1
5	5Church On Time (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	120	Chad C. Brown	9/2
6	6Lashara (GB)	Luis Saez	120	Mark E. Casse	8/1
7	7A Looker (NJ)	Marcos Meneses	120	John F. Mazza	30/1
8	8Tapitlikeitshot (KY)	Dylan Davis	120	Mark E. Casse	10/1
9	9Champagne Lady (KY)	Edgard J. Zayas	120	Mark A. Hennig	5/1
10	10Countless Fun (KY)	Chris Landeros	120	Kenneth G. McPeek	30/1
11	11Champagne Train (ON)	Luca Panici	120	Patrick L. Biancone	20/1
12	12Terrazza (NY)	Angel A. Rodriguez	120	Timothy A. Hills	6/1

Gulfstream Park's eighth race also will be worth watching as Robert and Lawana Low's $1.2 million purchase Colonel Liam makes his debut for Pletcher.

The Liam's Map  colt was bred in Kentucky by Phillips Racing Partnership and is the third foal out of the unraced Bernardini mare Amazement.

The couple picked up Colonel Liam during last year's Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, where he was the second-highest price of the auction. His second dam is champion Wonder Again.

He is the morning-line second choice at odds of 5-2. Brown entrant Per Capita is the morning-line 9-5 favorite.

Ian Wilkes trainee Good Juju is a longer price at odds of 20-1 after two starts that resulted in a third and an eighth, the latter Feb. 29 on Gulfstream's main track. The Ghostzapper  colt is out of grade 2 winner and 2007 Kentucky Oaks (G1) third High Heels.