Turf Sprinters Featured in Two Gulfstream Park Stakes

Gear Jockey  will gear up for his 2022 campaign Feb. 12 in the $100,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3T) where the Calumet Farm homebred produced a career breakthrough during last season's Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park.

The Rusty Arnold-trained 5-year-old registered a maiden-breaking victory in his ninth career start that would set the tone for a most productive 2021 season that culminated in a start in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) at Del Mar.

"He started out his 4-year-old year as a maiden and he got good. During the year we figured out what he probably wanted to do—be a sprinter instead of going long. He had a great year," Arnold said. "He didn't run well in the Breeders' Cup. He didn't finish off the year, but he's freshened up good and he's ready to go."

Gear Jockey made a wide bid on the turn into the backstretch but flattened out in the stretch to finish sixth in the five-furlong Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

The five-furlong Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint will co-headline Saturday's program with the $100,000 Ladies Turf Sprint, a five-furlong dash for older fillies and mares.

Gear Jockey, a 5-year-old son of Twirling Candy  , is 4-for-16 overall with earnings of $922,875. Luis Saez rides.

Just For Fun Stable's Warrior's Pride  is slated to seek his third sprint stakes in only his fourth career start on turf. The 4-year-old son of Poseidon's Warrior  had won two of six starts on dirt before registering a front-running victory in the five-furlong Texas Glitter Stakes in his turf debut during the 2020-2021 Championship Meet. The Antonio Cioffi trainee went on to win the Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint for Florida-breds two starts later during the Spring/Summer Meet before heading to the sidelines following an off-the-board finish in an overnight handicap on turf Aug. 7.

Other contenders include Omaha City , Belgrano , Yes I Am Free , Richy , and Breakthrough .

Miss Auramet Seeks Clear Sailing in $100,000 Ladies' Turf Sprint

David Melin, Leon Ellman, and Laurie Plesa's multiple stakes winner Miss Auramet , exiting a rare off-the-board finish after encountering trouble in her 2021 finale, looks to bounce back for her 6-year-old debut in Saturday's $100,000 Ladies' Turf Sprint.

Miss Auramet ran sixth in the five-furlong Abundantia Stakes Dec. 31 over a Gulfstream turf course where she has four wins, four seconds, and three thirds in 15 tries. The Uncaptured  mare found trouble at the start, hitting the gate and being cut off, then got floated wide on the turn and raced between horses in the stretch before winding up sixth, beaten 3 1/4 lengths. The Equibase chart comment simply called it a 'brutal trip.'

"She just had a horrible trip last time, just circumstances, nobody's fault. Hopefully we can rebound from the effort," trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. said. "I've been doing this for 50 years and that's the first time I remember where it's been stated 'brutal trip.' Just figure how many horses I've started and seen and all that other stuff. And it was a brutal trip, no ifs, and, or buts about it. But, that's horse racing."

Miss Auramet ran second by less than a length in last year's Ladies Turf Sprint behind two-time grade 3 winner Lady's Island . She put together a pair of three-race win streaks in 2020 and became a stakes winner last year with victories in the Lightning City Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs and Politely Stakes at Monmouth Park.

"She's just an overachiever. She goes out and puts it all on the line every time she runs," Plesa said. "She's just been one of those horses that you're just glad that you train her. She's just been a big plus for us."

Julien Leparoux gets the riding assignment from post 6 in a field of seven.

Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, Tony Weintraub, and Brandon Dalinka's Miss J McKay  beat Miss Auramet in the Abundantia, a 1 1/2-length victory to extend her win streak to two races in her third start since joining trainer Christophe Clement.

"She's training very well. We're very pleased with the filly," Clement's son and assistant, Miguel Clement, said. "It's exciting to finally get the ball rolling in the right direction with her."

Tyler Gaffalione, up in the Abundantia, gets the return call on Miss J McKay from post 2.

"She's very versatile, which makes it all up to Tyler in this race. He worried me a bit the other day," Clement said. "There were a lot of traffic troubles at the top of the stretch but nevertheless she was a class above everyone and she got the job done."

Chris Larsen's 2-for-2 filly Guardian Moon  is another contender in the short turf dash, making her stakes debut.

Completing the field are Nikee Kan , Reinagol , and Sister Peacock .

Entries: Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint S. (G3T)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 12, 2022, Race 5

• Grade IIIT
• 5f
• Turf
• $100,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 1:57 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Warrior's Pride (FL)	Junior Alvarado	122	Antonio Cioffi	8/1
2	2Breakthrough (KY)	Chantal Sutherland	118	Juan Carlos Avila	15/1
3	3Omaha City (KY)	Miguel Angel Vasquez	118	Mohamed Jehaludi	20/1
4	4Yes I Am Free (FL)	Emisael Jaramillo	120	Laura Cazares	6/1
5	5Belgrano (KY)	Isaac Castillo	122	Frank Russo	9/2
6	6Richy (FL)	Julien R. Leparoux	118	James M. Gulick	12/1
7	7Gear Jockey (KY)	Luis Saez	124	George R. Arnold, II	3/5

Entries: Ladies' Turf Sprint S.

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 12, 2022, Race 8

• STK
• 5f
• Turf
• $100,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 3:33 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Reinagol (KY)	Emisael Jaramillo	118	Carlos A. David	6/1
2	2Miss J McKay (MD)	Tyler Gaffalione	121	Christophe Clement	8/5
3	3Poseidon's Passion (FL)	Corey J. Lanerie	118	James M. Gulick	10/1
4	4Guardian Moon (NY)	Luis Saez	118	Jorge R. Abreu	6/1
5	5Nikee Kan (FL)	Junior Alvarado	118	Jose Francisco D'Angelo	12/1
6	6Miss Auramet (FL)	Julien R. Leparoux	121	Edward Plesa, Jr.	2/1
7	7Sister Peacock (KY)	Emma-Jayne Wilson	121	Stuart C. Simon	12/1