Seismic Wave Makes 5-Year-Old Debut in Appleton

Michael Dubb, Michael Caruso, and Nice Guys Stables' Seismic Wave will launch his 5-year-old campaign and make his inaugural start for his new connections March 27 in the $100,000 Kitten's Joy Appleton Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park.

The one-mile Appleton for 4-year-olds and up will be the first time in five months that the son of Tapit  will be racing. The chestnut gelding amassed three wins and $368,800 in purse earnings in 16 starts for breeder Juddmonte Farms and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott before he was purchased for $60,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale by his new ownership group. 

Trained by Chad Brown, Seismic Wave has made two prior starts at Gulfstream. He broke his maiden at the South Florida track at 3 and took the Cutler Bay Stakes by a neck in his next race. 

Seismic Wave went winless in five starts last year. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount in the Appleton from outermost post 8.

Paradise Farms and David Staudacher's Little Menace will also race first time for new owners after being sold for $145,000 at Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale and moved to trainer Mike Maker. It will also be the 4-year-old Into Mischief 's colt's turf debut after 11 starts on dirt.

"We bought him out of the sale. He's bred very well for the grass, and we look forward to stretching him out," Maker said. "You've got to love Into Mischief, and the dam's side has plenty of turf so we thought we'd give him a chance. He's a stakes winner so he's got plenty of back class."

Little Menace has primarily been a sprinter. He was fourth in the 2020 Chick Lang Stakes (G3) at Pimlico Race Course last October in what is his only previous graded stakes attempt. 

"He's been working great. He makes a fabulous appearance," Maker said. "We're very high on him."

Jose Ortiz will ride from post 6.

Sorrel to Make Stateside Debut in Orchid 

Trainer Christophe Clement is hoping to make some noise with Ireland-bred Sorrel in Saturday's $100,000 Orchid Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream.

The 1 3/8-mile Orchid has drawn a field of 10 older fillies and mares including Sorrel, who was bred in Ireland by owners George Strawbridge and James Wigan. The Orchid will be the first North America start for the Dansili filly and she enters off a three-race win streak in Europe—all at 1 1/2 miles or longer.

"She came to us in the fall of last year. Nice filly," Clement said. "She won a stakes the last start for Michael Stoute in England on the Polytrack, which is interesting because it's a different kind of form, going long. A mile and five-eighths.

Clement has won the Orchid seven times in his career, including four in a row from 1999 to 2002, and most recently with Beauty Parlor in 2015. Hall of Famer Javier Castellano will ride Sorrel from post 5. 

"I think she's doing well. I've been lucky in that race and have won it quite a few times," Clement said. "I think she's going to be a nice filly. I just don't exactly know if she's going to be more mile and a half and mile and a quarter, but she's so athletic and she's pretty exciting."

Sorrel will have to contend with Repole Stable homebred Always Shopping, who became a graded stakes winner on two surfaces when she won the 1 1/2-mile La Prevoyante Stakes (G3T) Jan. 23 on the Gulfstream turf. 

"She seems to handle these longer distances really well, and she's in good form, so we've been pointing to this for a while," trainer Todd Pletcher said. "She seems to be doing great and seems to like the course here. We're happy with her and looking forward to it."

Always Shopping won the 1 1/8-mile Gazelle Stakes (G2) on the Aqueduct Racetrack dirt in 2019 but has since September 2020 been running regularly on grass. Since the full-time surface switch she has three stakes wins and a second in the Rood and Riddle Dowager Stakes (G3T), where she was beaten a head last fall.

Irad Ortiz Jr. rides from post 9 for Pletcher, a five-time Orchid winner, including 2005-06 with Honey Rider and most recently in 2016 with Photo Call.

Entries: Kitten's Joy Appleton S. (G3T)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, March 27, 2021, Race 6

• Grade IIIT
• 1m
• Turf
• $100,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 1:57 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Gray's Fable (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	Roger L. Attfield	8/1
2	2Perfect Speighty (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	118	Roger L. Attfield	10/1
3	3Frostmourne (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	120	Eddie Kenneally	9/5
4	4Ever Dangerous (KY)	Edgard J. Zayas	122	George Weaver	7/2
5	5Renaisance Frolic (KY)	Javier Castellano	120	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	8/1
6	6Little Menace (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Michael J. Maker	15/1
7	7Forever Mo (KY)	Leonel Reyes	118	Timothy A. Hills	20/1
8	8Seismic Wave (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Chad C. Brown	3/1

Entries: Orchid S. (G3T)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, March 27, 2021, Race 13

• Grade IIIT
• 1 3/8m
• Turf
• $100,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 5:55 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1War Like Goddess (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	117	William I. Mott	10/1
2	2Enjoyitwhilewecan (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	117	Michael J. Maker	20/1
3	3Dizzy (FL)	Edwin Gonzalez	117	Juan Alvarado	30/1
4	4Morning Molly (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	120	Thomas F. Proctor	8/1
5	5Sorrel (IRE)	Javier Castellano	120	Christophe Clement	5/1
6	6Crystalle (KY)	John R. Velazquez	117	John C. Kimmel	20/1
7	7Delta's Kingdom (KY)	Junior Alvarado	117	William I. Mott	4/1
8	8Belle Laura (KY)	Edgard J. Zayas	120	Juan Carlos Avila	8/1
9	9Always Shopping (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	123	Todd A. Pletcher	8/5
10	10Sister Hanan (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	117	Ben Colebrook	10/1