Wildcat Red Back to Sprint in Hutcheson
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Wildcat Red, beaten a head in the one-mile Gulfstream Park Derby, drops back to seven furlongs in the Hutcheson Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park Feb. 1, where he will face nine sophomore opponents.
The Florida-bred son of D'wildcat –Racene, by Miner’s Mark, broke his maiden going six furlongs and then finished first in the state-bred Juvenile Sprint at Gulfstream only to be disqualified to second for interference in the stretch.
Owned by honors Stable Corp and trained by Jose Garoffalo, Wildcat Red was sent off at 7-2 in the Jan. 1 Gulfstream Derby, racing head-and-head from the quarter pole before dropping a head decision to General a Rod. Javier Castellano replaces Paco Lopez and will break from post 5.
Also coming out of the Gulfstream Park Derby is fourth-place finisher Pablo Del Monte from the barn of Wesley Ward. The son of Giant's Causeway won his first two career starts over Polytrack at Keeneland before shipping to California where he finished fifth in the Generous Stakes (gr. IIIT) on grass. He was making his dirt debut in the Gulfstream Derby and raced evenly throughout to be beaten 3 1/2 lengths. Lopez picks up the mount, replacing Kent Desormeaux.
Likely to get a lot of play is C. Zee, coming off a second-place finish in the six-furlong Spectacular Bid Stakes at Gulfstream Jan. 4. Beaten 2 1/2 lengths by Just Call Kenny, he earned a 90 Beyer figure. He will be ridden again by E.J. Zayas and will break from post 4 for trainer Stanley Gold.
The most experienced horse in the field with 10 starts is Mighty Brown, winner of the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. The son of Big Brown, trained by Tim Ice, is coming off a fifth-place finish in the OBS Sprint at the Ocala Training Center Jan. 21. Alan Garcia will ride for the first time.
Bill Mott will be represented by Long On Value, who hasn’t run since his sixth-place finish in the Champagne Stakes (gr. I). Before that, he was sixth in the Hopeful Stakes (gr. II) after going 3-for-3, including two stakes scores, for trainers Randy Allen and Don Roberson. The son of Value Plus will be ridden by John Velazquez.
Todd Pletcher has entered the pair of Vinceremos, a narrow maiden winner Jan. 4, and Trail Blaze, who is coming off a well-beaten fourth in the Spectacular Bid. The latter, a son of Indian Charlie, broke his maiden impressively by 4 3/4 lengths at Aqueduct Racetrack, earning a sharp 92 Beyer figure. Vinceremos, by Pioneerof the Nile , also has been entered in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay the same day.
Another horse with a big shot is Tashir, a son of Afleet Alex ,who is coming off a 9 1/2-length allowance score at Calder Casino & Race Course Jan. 17.
Eddie Kenneally will send out the impressive maiden winner Gambler's Ghost, a son of Ghostzapper who won last out by five lengths at Gulfstream in a snappy 1:09 4/5.
Rounding out the field is Spot, who hasn’t run since breaking his maiden by 8 1/2 lengths at Hawthorne Race Course last October.
$200,000 Hutcheson Stakes, (gr. II, Race 10, 5:03 p.m.), 3YOs, 7 Furlongs
PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer
1. Spot (KY), J Chamafi, 116, J P DiVito
2. Pablo Del Monte (FL), P Lopez, 116, W A Ward
3. Mighty Brown (KY), A Garcia, 116, T A Ice
4. C. Zee (FL), E J Zayas, 116, S I Gold
5. Wildcat Red (FL), J Castellano, 117, J Garoffalo
6. Gambler's Ghost (KY), C J Lanerie, 116, E Kenneally
7. Long On Value (VA), J R Velazquez, 118, W I Mott
8. Trail Blaze (KY), J Rosario, 116, T A Pletcher
9. Tashir (KY), J C Leyva, 116, G Dorochenko
10. Vinceremos (KY), E S Prado, 116, T A Pletcher