Sibelius Looks to Get Back on Track in Mr. Prospector

Last December, Jun Park and Delia Nash's Sibelius  used a victory in the $125,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park as a segue to a whirlwind winter campaign that culminated with a winning performance in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) in March.

“Taking a journey like that to Dubai is every trainer’s dream and hopefully we can do it again next year,” trainer Jeremiah O'Dwyer said of Sibelius. “That’s our goal, is to try and get back to Dubai with him. Obviously, he’s got to show up in the Mr. Prospector and then maybe the Pelican (Stakes) again. That worked last year, but he’d have to show up in both those races to let us know that he’s on his ‘A’ game to take him back to Dubai. You’re taking on grade 1 horses and you can’t be going there half-cocked. You have to be fully loaded.”

Since Sibelius' overseas triumph, the 5-year-old son of Not This Time   has struggled to regain his Meydan form. Given a freshening in Kentucky, Sibelius resurfaced with a fourth-place finish in the June 3 Aristides Stakes at Churchill Downs before checking in seventh in Del Mar's Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) in July. In his most recent outing, the gelding pressed the early pace in Keeneland's Phoenix Stakes (G2) before fading to fifth.

O'Dwyer felt Sibelius' Golden Shaheen effort, in which he prevailed by a nose in an epic battle down to the wire, is partly to blame for the gelding's lack of form.

"He did have to work very hard (in the Golden Shaheen) and it probably took more out of him than we anticipated and (it's) taken a little longer for the gas tank to fully replenish," O'Dwyer said. "But we've been patient with him, we haven't overraced him, we've given him time. He's just a great horse to be around and be associated with."

Reunited with Junior Alvarado, who partnered with Sibelius during last winter's magical ride, the chestnut will break from the outside post in the field of nine as the 5-2 favorite.

A quartet of promising younger rivals await Sibelius, with the top two challengers being New Jersey-bred Great Navigator  and Brendan Walsh-trained Gilmore .

Great Navigator, a stakes-winning 3-year-old trained by Eddie Owens Jr., ran third at 22-1 odds to Cody's Wish   last time out in the Vosburgh Stakes (G2).

"He's been training down here very well," Owens said. "I feel good. I think he's going to run a big race. ... Hopefully we get a good trip. If he runs his race, he's going to be tough to beat."

Gilmore, a multiple graded stakes-placed son of Twirling Candy  , cuts back to seven furlongs after a disappointing seventh-place finish going two turns in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) in September.

Spirit Wind Resurfaces in Sugar Swirl

One race earlier on the card, in the $125,000 Sugar Swirl Stakes (G3), the hardy Saffie Joseph Jr. duo of Intrepid Daydream  and Bluefield  head a group of eight older fillies and mares sprinting six furlongs on the main track.

Multiple stakes winner Spirit Wind , a four-time victress over the Gulfstream strip, makes her first start since joining the barn of trainer Carlos David. Previously trained by Ralph Nicks, the speedy Bahamian Squall   filly has been unraced since a fourth-place effort to Echo Zulu  in the May 29 Winning Colors Stakes (G3) at Churchill.