Handicapping: Endorsed the 'A' Mr. Prospector Play

Other than the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), which has been won the last seven years by trainer Bob Baffert and probably will be again since he has heavily favored Messier  and Barossa  in the field of five, the only graded stakes in North America Saturday is the Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

The seven-furlong Mr. Prospector, the first graded event of the Championship Meet at Gulfstream, drew a field of seven older sprinters.

Elsewhere, the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack is underway. Sprinters are also spotlighted there in the $100,000 Garland of Roses Stakes.

At Oaklawn Park, 3-year-olds race 1 1/16 miles in the $200,000 Poinsettia Stakes. Super Stock  is the 9-5 morning-line choice as he makes his first start in Hot Springs since winning the Arkansas Derby (G1).

It's also Louisiana Champions Day at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

Garland of Roses (Aqu, race 8, 3:37 ET): A forecast for occasional light rain could bode well for Glass Ceiling  (2), who comes off a win in the faster division of the Oct. 31 Pumpkin Pie Stakes in the slop. 

Glass Ceiling has been racing steadily since May 2020, yet comes off the two fastest races of her career. The stretch-running filly will be hard to stop if able to handle the cutback to six furlongs.

Sadie Lady  (6) will try to bust loose up front at the start. Chasing after the pacesetter will be Song River  (7), who seeks her third straight win for up-and-coming conditioner Cherie DeVaux, a long-time assistant for Chad Brown before going out on her own in 2018.

Sadie Lady should relish getting back to the Big A, where she has won five of eight starts. Song River has shown good versatility in terms of pace placement since switching from turf to dirt. However, this will be her initial attempt without Lasix.

A - 2, 7

B - 6

Mr. Prospector (GP, race 10, 4:32 ET): Dennis' Moment  (5) is the marquee name, with a reputation largely forged as a 2-year-old when he won a maiden race by better than 19 lengths and then won the Iroquois Stakes (G3), before finishing off the board as the odds-on favorite after stumbling at the start in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).

Dennis' Moment has turned in a couple of good races since returned from a layoff in late summer, but in between those efforts he finished nine lengths behind Endorsed , and that was his first and only start without Lasix. I'll let Dennis' Moment beat me at a short price.

Endorsed (4) currently rides a 14-race losing streak, which didn't deter Mike Maker from reaching in to claim the son of Medaglia d'Oro   for $100,000 at Saratoga Race Course. Endorsed has earned back $81,850 of that amount in three subsequent starts, notably a close second in the $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes—without Lasix.

Saffie Joseph Jr. is fresh off a runaway training title at Gulfstream's fall meet, and he takes two shots here with Wind of Change  (2) and Officiating  (7).

Wind of Change set a fast pace in a much stronger renewal of this race last year, fading late to wind up fourth behind Sleepy Eyes Todd  , Firenze Fire , and Mind Control , all grade 1 or grade 2 winners.

Officiating cuts back after putting in a wide middle move from post 12 in the Showing Up Stakes going long on Gulfstream's new synthetic surface.

A - 4

B - 2, 7

Poinsettia (OP, race 9, 5:13 ET): Super Stock (4) can obviously win, but Flash of Mischief  (3) is the one to beat based on their meeting in the Oklahoma Derby (G3).

Flash of Mischief did most of the heavy lifting battling up front throughout at Remington Park and still managed to hold off Super Stock  for second. Both colts came back to win as prohibitive favorites, Flash of Mischief taking the Delta Mile at 7-10 and Super Stock prevailing in the Zia Park Derby at 1-20.

Neither of the favorites have a massive edge on the likes of Last Samurai  (1), Simovitch  (6), and Ram  (7), all of whom should be square prices.

Last Samurai cuts back in distance after a sharp second in the 1 1/2-mile Greenwood Cup (G3)—a key race that has spawned several next-out winners—followed by a tough-trip third in an optional claimer at Churchill Downs.

The lightly-raced Simovitch took a significant leap forward by the numbers when stretched to two turns for the first time Nov. 17, beating allowance company at Churchill. The son of Street Sense   may be sitting on another forward move.

Ram was a maiden winner at this distance at Oaklawn back in April, albeit in the slop. He comes off six consecutive in-the-money finishes in Kentucky for D. Wayne Lukas, including a third in the Harrods Creek Stakes and a second in the Perryville Stakes, both at seven furlongs.

A - 3, 4

B - 1, 6, 7