Gas Station Sushi Ships East for Beaumont at Keeneland
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Photo: Zoe Metz
Gas Station Sushi works at Santa Anita Park
There's a group of 2-year-olds every summer at Del Mar that are the worst-kept secrets on the backside.
The juveniles who work up a storm at the seaside racetrack are spotted early, and you'll see it on the tote board when they debut. Many are pegged for future stardom, and a few even reach that status.
Riley Racing Stables, Jason Tackitt, Megan Tackitt, and Mike Hensen's Gas Station Sushi was on that path in 2017. She was working like a standout for trainer Richard Baltas, and assistant trainer and exercise rider David Meah called her one of the best 2-year-olds he ever sat on. When the gates opened for her debut Aug. 6, her odds were 6-5 in a field of 10.
The Into Mischief filly ran to her odds under jockey Corey Nakatani, won the 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight on dirt by 3 1/2 lengths, and everything was ahead of her—Del Mar Debutante (G1), Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), and more.
As soon as her connections began thinking about what could be, the often brutal nature of the game brought everything back down to earth.
"She was the favorite for the Debutante and chipped an ankle," Baltas said. "We had to do everything right. We ended up giving her four months off and took the chip completely out."
The time off and recovery went well. Gas Station Sushi returned to training in early 2018, and she is now ready to rediscover that promise from the summer in the $150,000 Beaumont Stakes Presented by Keeneland Select (G3) April 8.
"We had high expectations at Del Mar, but this is the right spot," Baltas said of the about seven-furlong dirt sprint at Keeneland. "There's some good fillies in there, but I'll be disappointed if she doesn't win."
Baltas' expectations may be high for Gas Station Sushi, but she'll have to contend with three other fillies who have yet to lose and plenty more with a significant edge in experience.
Hoolie Racing Stable's undefeated Dream It Is has been tagged as the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the Beaumont, but she is also returning from a significant layoff. The daughter of Shackleford trained by Barbara Minshall has won her three starts by a combined 15 lengths and impressed twice in stakes as a juvenile. After her debut win in May at Woodbine, Dream It Is impressed in the My Dear Stakes back on the Woodbine synthetic with a 4 3/4-length victory, then shipped to Saratoga Race Course, where she dominated the Schuylerville Stakes (G3) by nine lengths (second-place finisher Best Performance went on to run second in the grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf).
WINCZE HUGHES: Dream It Is The Real Deal in Schuylerville
The other three-for-three filly in the Beaumont also hails from Woodbine and hasn't raced since the summer of 2017. Anne and William Scott's Summer Sunday collected all of her wins on the Woodbine synthetic for trainer Stuart Simon last year, including restricted scores in the Nandi Stakes and OLG/OR Muskoka Stakes Presented by Signature Red.
Another debut winner from Gas Station Sushi's backyard is entered Sunday: Peter Eurton-trained Uppercut, who took a six-furlong maiden special weight test at Santa Anita Park Feb. 17 by 5 3/4 lengths.
The entrant with the most back class is Merriebelle Stable, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Mrs. John Magnier's Happy Like a Fool, who won the Oct. 15 Matron Stakes (G3) last time out at Belmont Park and placed in the Queen Mary Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot over the summer. The Wesley Ward-trained daughter of Distorted Humor also has experience at Keeneland, where she won her debut by four lengths a year ago.
SHEA: Happy Like a Fool Kicks Away in Matron
Graded stakes-placed runners Kelly's Humor, Sunny Skies, and In the Mood also populate the field of nine 3-year-old fillies, along with multiple stakes-placed Upset Brewing.
Keeneland, Sunday, April 08, 2018, Race 7Entries: Beaumont S. Presented by Keeneland Select (G3)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Happy Like a Fool (KY)
Tyler Gaffalione
118
Wesley A. Ward
7/2
2
2Kelly's Humor (KY)
Jose L. Ortiz
118
Brad H. Cox
10/1
3
3Dream It Is (KY)
Luis Saez
118
Barbara J. Minshall
3/1
4
4Uppercut (KY)
Mike E. Smith
118
Peter Eurton
4/1
5
5Gas Station Sushi (KY)
Corey S. Nakatani
118
Richard Baltas
4/1
6
6Upset Brewing (KY)
Corey J. Lanerie
118
William B. Bradley
15/1
7
7Summer Sunday (ON)
Julien R. Leparoux
120
Stuart C. Simon
6/1
8
8Sunny Skies (KY)
Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.
118
Kenneth G. McPeek
15/1
9
9In the Mood (KY)
John McKee
118
Stephen S. Sandy
15/1
