Emmanuel One to Watch Jan. 7 at Tampa Bay Downs
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Lauren King
Emmanuel coasts to the wire in his debut victory in 2021 at Gulfstream Park
As Derby fever begins to brew, six promising prospects, topped by head-turning debut winner Emmanuel , line up for a Jan. 7 $31,500 one mile-and-40-yard allowance optional claiming contest for 3-year-olds at Tampa Bay Downs.
Video: Race 7 (MSW) at GP on 12/11/21
WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's Emmanuel left a favorable impression after dusting his rivals by 6 3/4 lengths in a one-mile maiden special weight Dec. 11 at Gulfstream Park. The son of More Than Ready boasts a well-bred pedigree suited for longer distances on either surface; his sire is a proven quantity on that front, but interestingly, his dam, Hard Cloth (Hard Spun ), is a half sister to Hawkbill, hero of the 2018 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) as well as to 2017 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) winner Free Drop Billy .
Trained by two-time Kentucky Derby (G1)-winning conditioner Todd Pletcher, Emmanuel will break from post 3 with Luis Saez back aboard.
Two other runners to note Friday are the Mark Casse-trained Golden Glider and Eoin Harty-trained Boitano . The former, a Ghostzapper colt, absolutely circled the field in a last-to-first effort when annexing a Nov. 27 maiden special weight going two turns at Woodbine. Boitano, wearing the colors of Godolphin, broke his maiden in his third attempt last time out over this oval, which tends to play as a quirky, deep surface catering to those runners who've had a race for the track. The son of Nyquist won wire-to-wire by 1 1/4 lengths Nov. 27.