Fearless Leads Pletcher Duo in Fred W. Hooper

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will double up for the $150,000 Fred W. Hooper Stakes Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G3) Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park, opting to run both Fearless  and Liam  in the mile stakes for older horses.

Pletcher had considered doubling up for the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by 1/ST BET (G1) with Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Life Is Good  and Repole Stable's Fearless. However, on entry day, Tuesday, the 18-time Championship Meet titlist decided to let Life Is Good go solo in the $3 million headliner and chose to run Fearless in the Hooper, along with Red Lane Thoroughbreds and JSM Equine's Liam.

Fearless, who has won four of five starts at Gulfstream, is coming off a powerful four-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile Harlan's Holiday Stakes (G3) after finishing second to fellow Hooper entrant Girolamo's Attack  in a Nov. 21 overnight handicap at Gulfstream while coming off a six-month layoff.

"He's a horse that I think kind of benefited from the race off the layoff and then made a move forward in the Harlan's Holiday," Pletcher said. "He seems to really like Gulfstream. He always runs well over that track. He's held form since then and has been training sharply."

Before going to the sidelines last year, the 6-year-old Ghostzapper   gelding captured the WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile (G2).

Liam came off a layoff of nearly 15 months Dec. 15 at Gulfstream to win a mile allowance optional claiming by 4 1/2 lengths in his first start for Pletcher.

"He had a good allowance win off the layoff. He's been training well also, so we're looking at the Hooper as the next step for him," Pletcher said.

The 5-year-old son of Liam's Map   broke his maiden at Remington Park in his third-career start September 2020 before finishing third in the Oklahoma Derby (G3) and going on the shelf.

Luis Saez has the return call aboard Fearless, while Irad Ortiz Jr. is scheduled to ride Liam for the first time.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will also be represented by two horses in the Hooper—Vegso Racing Stable's Officiating  and John Fanelli, LC Racing, Paul Braverman, and Timothy Pinch's Girolamo's Attack.

Officiating enters off two stakes victories in his last three starts, including a triumph in the seven-furlong Mr. Prospector (G3) last out. The 4-year-old Blame   colt, who was stakes-placed on turf when formerly trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, showed a new dimension when he won the off-the-turf Bear's Den at Gulfstream three starts back. He finished far back while trying the new Tapeta course in the Showing Up in his next start but rebounded with his victory over Pegasus World Cup entrant Endorsed  and Hooper runner Dennis' Moment  in the Mr. Prospector.

Bon Raison , Speaker's Corner , Shivaree , and Payne , round out the field.

Entries: Fred W. Hooper S. presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G3)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, January 29, 2022, Race 10

• Grade III
• 1m
• Dirt
• $150,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 4:12 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Fearless (KY)	Luis Saez	124	Todd A. Pletcher	5/2
2	2Payne (KY)	UMBERTO RISPOLI	120	Caio Caramori	20/1
3	3Bon Raison (KY)	Reylu Gutierrez	120	Jack Sisterson	20/1
4	4Officiating (FL)	Tyler Gaffalione	124	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	15/1
5	5Shivaree (FL)	Javier Castellano	122	Ralph E. Nicks	15/1
6	6Liam (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Todd A. Pletcher	5/1
7	7Dennis' Moment (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	118	Dale L. Romans	9/2
8	8Speaker's Corner (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	William I. Mott	2/1
9	9Girolamo's Attack (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	120	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	12/1

Inside Information Pacific Gale's Finale

Emotions ran high after last year's $200,000 Inside Information Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park, when durable mare Pacific Gale  ended a 17-race losing streak with her first graded triumph for the widow of one of trainer John Kimmel's longest clients, who passed away just a month before.

It could be a similarly emotional afternoon Saturday when the 7-year-old daughter of Flat Out   returns to Gulfstream with a chance to defend her title in what will be her final start.

Kimmel said Holly Hill Stables' Pacific Gale will be bred to Uncle Mo   following the Inside Information, a race she won by 2 3/4 lengths at odds of 16-1 last winter after finishing sixth in 2019. Pacific Gale was booked to Not This Time   for 2021, but was doing so well that Kimmel convinced the late Mike Morton's widow, Tobey, to give her another try.

"The owner had passed away and she hadn't won a race in two years at that point. I was very close with Mr. Morton and he had died in December. His wife was basically looking to disperse all the holdings and I've basically done it," Kimmel said. "I told her it would take me about a year. He had like 30 horses and that's how long it took me to get it done."

Pacific Gale was sold after the Inside Information to Holly Hill, and she paid immediate dividends by winning Gulfstream's Hurricane Bertie (G3) in her subsequent start—the first time she had ever won back-to-back races.

"We sold her to these new clients and she won for them first time out in the Hurricane Bertie. She's been running for them all year and she's got a date with Uncle Mo this winter," Kimmel said. "This will be her last start. I've had her since she was 2."

Pacific Gale has gone winless in five tries since the Hurricane Bertie but placed twice. Most recently, she finished fifth in the Oct. 17 Floral Park on the Belmont Park turf.

Junior Alvarado is named to ride from post 6 in a field of 10.

"She's just a class act. She's really a kind horse to be around. Some owners bring their little kids around and she'll come up and nuzzle them. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body," Kimmel said. "Any horse that's stayed healthy for that many campaigns, you hope she can pass that on to her offspring. She's just a nice physical specimen. She's stayed sound, raced multiple campaigns, she's a multiple stakes winner, a grade 2 winner, a grade 3 winner, and multiple graded stakes-placed. She always showed up and gave it a good effort."

Whitham Thoroughbreds' homebred Four Graces  is also a dual graded stakes winner, having captured the seven-furlong Dogwood (G3) and Beaumont Stakes Presented by Keeneland Select (G3) in successive starts in the summer of 2020. She returned Jan. 6 from a seven-month layoff in a six-furlong allowance optional claiming at Gulfstream, running second by a nose as the favorite to Starship Nala , who also returns in the Inside Information.

"We were very happy with her race, except for not getting the bob of the head. I actually thought I did, but that's racing," trainer Ian Wilkes said. "That was just her second race in 15 months. It was good that that race went. We were able to use it to just knock the cobwebs off and as a way to get ready for this next race."

Trainers Brad Cox and Pletcher will both start last-out stakes winners for the first time in the Inside Information. Cox takes over the charge of Warriors Reward and Commonwealth New Era Racing's Just One Time , a two-time stakes winner over fellow Pennsylvania-breds. Pletcher will have St. Elias Stable's A G Indy , who took the Senator Ken Maddy on the Del Mar turf in November.

Jakarta , Crumb Bun , Dance d'Oro , Family Time , and Mon Petit Chou  complete the field.

Entries: Inside Information S. (G2)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, January 29, 2022, Race 8

• Grade II
• 7f
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 3:03 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Family Time (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	118	Dale L. Romans	20/1
2	2A G Indy (KY)	Luis Saez	118	Todd A. Pletcher	6/1
3	3Dance d'Oro (KY)	Emisael Jaramillo	120	Ralph E. Nicks	6/1
4	4Mon Petit Chou (FL)	Javier Castellano	118	Fernando Abreu	20/1
5	5Four Graces (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	120	Ian R. Wilkes	5/1
6	6Pacific Gale (KY)	Junior Alvarado	120	John C. Kimmel	8/1
7	7Jakarta (PA)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	120	Michael J. Trombetta	7/2
8	8Just One Time (PA)	Joel Rosario	120	Brad H. Cox	3/1
9	9Crumb Bun (FL)	Chantal Sutherland	120	Jorge Delgado	12/1
10	10Starship Nala (FL)	Paco Lopez	120	Steven Dwoskin	15/1