La Prevoyante, McKnight Showcasing Turf Stayers

Proven runners at 12 furlongs will be tested by several successful route stakes winners with the potential to stretch in the La Prevoyante Stakes (G3T), one of seven graded stakes carded for Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park.

Repole Stable's Always Shopping , last year's winner of the La Prevoyante, will be one of the favorites in the nine-horse field that also includes two-time 1 1/2-mile European stakes winner Sorrel  and Beautiful Lover , who has just missed a stakes win at 1 /2 miles by a neck.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Always Shopping comes into her 2022 debut off a win Dec. 31 at Gulfstream in the 1 3/8-mile Via Borghese Stakes on the grass. She defeated Beautiful Lover in this race by three lengths. A 6-year-old multiple graded stakes winner, Always Shopping is a Mike Repole homebred by Awesome Again  out of Repole's multiple grade 1 stakes winner Stopshoppingmaria (More Than Ready  ).

"It was a pretty gutsy effort," Pletcher said of the Via Borghese. "It looked like she was beaten and then she fought back gamely. She seems to like the Gulfstream turf course. She's had a good schedule since then and she seems to be coming up to it in good form."

Always Shopping will leave from post 4 under Tyler Gaffalione, who rode her in the Via Borghese.

Sorrel, a homebred for George Strawbridge Jr.'s Augustin Stable and James Wigan, has not found the winner's circle since she began racing in the United States last March but the 5-year-old daughter of Dansili  won twice at 1 1/2 miles in black-type stakes in England  in 2020. Three different riders held the reins in her three U.S. starts that produced at best a third in the Orchid Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream. Trainer Christophe Clemente tries to change her luck by putting jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. in the saddle for the La Prevoyante.

Clemente also saddles Beautiful Lover for Moyglare Stud Farm. The 6-year-old daughter of Arch  missed winning at 1 1/2 miles in November at Belmont Park where she was second by a neck in the Zagora Stakes. She has never raced at less than a mile and has a win and six placed finishes in stakes, including two runner-up efforts in graded stakes. Joel Rosario has the mount.

Other route winners with the potential to stretch out include Jim and Susan Hill's allowance winner Honor Hop , by Honor Code  , who won going 1 5/16 miles at Kentucky Downs in September and was second by three-quarters of a length in a 1 1/2-mile allowance race at Keeneland in October. The 5-year-old mare won or placed five times out of nine starts in 2021 for trainer Brian Lynch. Julien Leparoux will be in the irons.

Trainer Shug McGaughey brings Emory Hamilton's stakes-placed homebred Hungry Kitten  to the La Prevoyante. The 6-year-old daughter of Kitten's Joy   was second by a neck in the 2020 running of the Zagora Stakes. She put in a strong rally in last year's edition of the Zagora, moving from last to finish a good fourth by 1 1/4 lengths. Javier Castellano has the mount.

Male runners face the same 1 1/2-mile turf test on the card in the W.L. McKnight Stakes (G3T), which has attracted several entrants proven at the distance.

Thriving in routes on the grass has been Abaan , a 5-year-old gelded son of Will Take Charge  , who is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Alex Daigneault.

Winless in three starts in 2020, Abaan was a part of a four-horse package that Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Daigneault purchased from Shadwell.

"He was a lightly raced 3-year-old when we acquired him and he'd shown some talent on the dirt," said Eclipse president Aron Wellman. "He was still a maiden, so he had all of his conditions available, which was attractive to us."

Abaan has been first or second in five of six races since being moved to Pletcher's barn in July 2021. He was second by half a length in a 1 1/2-mile allowance race at Belmont in October and comes into the McKnight off a gate-to-wire win in the two-mile H. Allen Jerkens Stakes on the grass Dec. 24 at Gulfstream. Luis Saez, who was aboard in the H. Allen Jerkens, returns for the McKnight and leaving from post 10.

"He seems to have kind of found his niche in these marathon turf races," said Pletcher. "We'll be backing up off the two-mile race, but he's done well since then."

Three Diamonds Farm also has a proven 12-furlong competitor in Glynn County , a 5-year-old son of Kitten's Joy, who is trained by Mike Maker. Glynn County won by two lengths going 1 1/2 miles at Churchill Downs last June, though that was in a $62,000 allowance optional claimer. He has since proved his mettle in graded stakes with a third in the Mr. D Stakes (G1T) at Arlington International Racecourse and a third in the Calumet Turf Cup Stakes (G2T) at Kentucky Downs.

Maker also has two other challengers with potential—also eligible German-bred Kygo  and multiple graded-placed stakes winner Temple .

Michael Dubb and Madaket Stables own Kygo, a 4-year-old son of Adlerflug who won last year's Prix du Just'Equilibre handicap and was second by half a length in the Deauville Tattoo Festival allowance race, both run at 1 1/2 miles at Clairefontaine-Deauville in France. Kygo is unplaced in both his U.S. starts since Nov. 26. Paco Lopez will ride him for the first time in the McKnight.

Temple, a 6-year-old gelding by Temple City  , was second by three-quarters of a length in last year's McKnight and has finished in the money in his previous four starts, including a third in the Knickerbocker Stakes (G3T) at Belmont. Maker is on his second round with the gelding, who he trained in 2019 before he was claimed away. The trainer claimed Temple back Nov. 19 at Aqueduct Racetrack and has raced him once since then, finishing third in a $100,000 allowance optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles Dec. 5 at Aqueduct. Umberto Rispoli will be aboard.

Entries: La Prevoyante S. (G3T)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, January 29, 2022, Race 5

• Grade IIIT
• 1 1/2m
• Turf
• $150,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 1:27 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Sorrel (IRE)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	121	Christophe Clement	6/1
2	2Sister Otoole (FL)	Luis Saez	119	H. Graham Motion	10/1
3	3Onyx (FL)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	119	Juan Alvarado	30/1
4	4Always Shopping (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	121	Todd A. Pletcher	7/5
5	5Niceno (KY)	Kent J. Desormeaux	119	Edward Vaughan	12/1
6	6Beautiful Lover (FL)	Joel Rosario	121	Christophe Clement	7/2
7	7Scarabea (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	119	Jack Sisterson	15/1
8	8Hungry Kitten (KY)	Javier Castellano	119	Claude R. McGaughey III	8/1
9	9Honor Hop (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	119	Brian A. Lynch	8/1

Entries: W. L. McKnight S. (G3T)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, January 29, 2022, Race 7

• Grade IIIT
• 1 1/2m
• Turf
• $200,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 2:31 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Temple (KY)	UMBERTO RISPOLI	118	Michael J. Maker	4/1
2	2Oriental Trigger (ARG)	Hector Isaac Berrios	118	Amador Merei Sanchez	30/1
3	3Farmington Road (KY)	Emisael Jaramillo	118	George R. Arnold, II	15/1
4	4Media Blitz (KY)	Joel Rosario	118	Michael J. Maker	15/1
5	5King Cause (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	120	Michael J. Maker	10/1
6	6Bama Breeze (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	118	George R. Arnold, II	12/1
7	7Mandate (KY)	Emma-Jayne Wilson	118	Yvon Belsoeur	30/1
8	8Bakers Bay (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	Claude R. McGaughey III	12/1
9	9Glynn County (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	118	Michael J. Maker	3/1
10	10Abaan (KY)	Luis Saez	120	Todd A. Pletcher	2/1
11	11In Effect (KY)	Reylu Gutierrez	118	Jack Sisterson	30/1
12	12Sole Volante (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	120	Patrick L. Biancone	20/1
13	13Flying Scotsman (KY)	Jamie P. Spencer	120	Jack Sisterson	15/1
14	14Tiberius Mercurius (KY)	Javier Castellano	118	Michael J. Maker	12/1
15	15Kygo (GER)	Paco Lopez	118	Michael J. Maker	15/1