Preakness Starter Quip Ready for Return in Hal's Hope

One thing Rodolphe Brisset doesn't worry about with Quip is effort, and with that in mind, the trainer plans to find the right spacing of races for the son of Distorted Humor  who is scheduled to make his 4-year-old debut Feb. 23 in the $100,000 Hal's Hope Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

For WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and SF Racing's Quip, the Hal's Hope will mark his first start since faltering and finishing last in the 2018 Preakness Stakes (G1). Looking back, Brisset noted Quip's prep season for the classics may have taxed him.

"He is a horse that will give you everything all the time. It's one of the reasons last year we went to the Tampa Derby off the layoff. We had to change plans from the (Toyota) Blue Grass (G2) to the Arkansas Derby (G1)," Brisset said. "I think he gave so much to us in those two races, maybe he wasn't ready for what we were trying with him. I think right now, we have a horse that has matured well. I think it's time to start again and see where he's taking us."

The Hal's Hope is a one-turn mile that attracted accomplished veteran runners like grade 3 winners Breaking Lucky and Mr. Jordan, both 7-year-olds. Brisset said they'll look to build on Quip's victory in last year's Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and runner-up finish in the Arkansas Derby.

"We gave him a really good month of galloping before we picked up the tempo at the beginning of December. He's been on a weekly breeze schedule, and he's been doing very good," the trainer said. "He's been good enough to win a grade 2, and we hope to win a grade 1 someday. Is he a true grade 1 horse? I guess we'll find out this year."

Breaking Lucky returns to Gulfstream's mile distance after finishing second to Aztec Sense in the Jan. 26 Fred W. Hooper Stakes (G3). That start on a sloppy (sealed) track marked the seasonal debut of the son of Lookin At Lucky  who closed 2018 with an 8 1/4-length romp in a Dec. 7 optional-claiming allowance race at Gulfstream.

"In the allowance race, I'm sure the horse appreciated the class relief," said trainer George Weaver, who took over training of Breaking Lucky last year. "He was running against the best horses in the country when Reade Baker had him, and he made a lot of money doing it. It was a one-turn-mile race that he won. He'd been running two turns. I wanted to stick to one turn and see if he could get good at it. When we ran him in the Fred Hooper, it was a good race, but it was a strange race. He kind of backed off. It looked like he was going the wrong way, and then he came again. I just think he was intimidated when they made things tight."

In nine starts in 2018, Mr. Jordan won a pair of stakes, including the Big Drama Stakes for Florida-breds in May at Gulfstream. He'll try to bounce back from a poor outing in the Jan. 19 Sunshine Millions Classic Stakes at Gulfstream.

Entries: Hal's Hope S. (G3)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 23, 2019, Race 11

• Grade III
• 1m
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 4:58 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Tale of Silence (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	117	Barclay Tagg	5/1
2	2Fellowship (FL)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	119	Kenneth Decker	12/1
3	3Breaking Lucky (ON)	Luis Saez	119	George Weaver	2/1
4	4Wild Shot (KY)	Robby Albarado	117	George R. Arnold, II	8/1
5	5Quip (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	117	Rodolphe Brisset	4/1
6	6Mr. Jordan (FL)	Charles C. Lopez	121	Edward Plesa, Jr.	10/1
7	7Copper Town (KY)	Javier Castellano	117	Todd A. Pletcher	6/1
8	8Sir Anthony (IL)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	123	Anthony Mitchell	20/1
9	9Prince Lucky (PA)	John R. Velazquez	119	Todd A. Pletcher	8/1