Cookie Dough in GP Oaks Sweet Spot

Arindel's multiple stakes-winning homebred Cookie Dough, overlooked at 13-1 while making her first start in 22 weeks earlier this month, figures to garner plenty of attention as she goes after her first graded triumph in Saturday's $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2).

The 49th running of the 1 1/16-mile Gulfstream Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies is one of seven stakes—four graded—on the 14-race program highlighted by the Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (G1).

Based at Gulfstream Park year-round with trainer Stanley Gold, Cookie Dough exits the one-mile Davona Dale Stakes (G2) March 2 where she set the pace in the field of seven and held it to the shadow of the wire before being caught by 51-1 longshot Jeltrin by a head.

It was the first race for the daughter of Brethren —Brooke's Valentine, by Fusaichi Pegasus , since sweeping the final two legs of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series for juvenile fillies—the seven-furlong Susan's Girl Stakes and 1 1/16-mile My Dear Girl Stakes—28 days apart last September by a combined 14 lengths.

"She's on schedule. I'm looking forward to it," Gold said. "She came out of the race excellent. It kinds of burns you for a little while because I don't think shortness had anything to do with it. We just got caught, but she'll certainly be stronger this time with the race under her belt. She has been training well; she breezed (five furlongs in 1:00 March 16) and it's right around the corner, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed she stays just like she is."

Cookie Dough entered the Davona Dale off a long layoff after coming down with pneumonia following a trip to Kentucky which forced her to miss a planned start in the Tito's Handmade Vodka Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and spent two weeks at a clinic before returning to South Florida. She rejoined Gold's string in mid-December.

"It's gratifying because it was what we already knew. She's kind of been under the radar," Gold said. "She's had bad luck. She missed the Breeders' Cup, and I thought she was good enough. Let's see if she gets it done this time, and that will kind of close it off.

"We've been overlooked and unmentioned since the race, but that's OK," he added. "I'm not even thinking past this race. We'll get through this and go from there."

Jeffrey Sanchez, aboard for the filly's past five starts, gets the call from outside Post 7; all fillies will carry 122 pounds.

"You expect when they've been off a long time and they're coming in sharp and they're going that distance that they're going to be a little antsy and a little closer than you want," Gold said. "That's why you get worried they're going to use up some energy and come up short on you, so I wasn't surprised but that's when you cross your fingers that she doesn't burn out. She'll relax better this time and she'll be wherever Jeffrey wants to put her."

Also returning from the Davona Dale is Six Column Stables and Randall Bloch's Champagne Anyone, who was bumped at the start and raced near the back before making an outside move to get up for third, beaten 4 1/2 lengths.

It was the first race for the Street Sense  filly since her sophomore debut Feb. 2 in the seven-furlong Forward Gal Stakes (G3), where she came from next-to-last to be beaten less than a length while also running third.

"The filly came out of the last race with no problems and she's really well," trainer Ian Wilkes said. "I just think she came off that really good effort first off the layoff and she may have been a bit flat and maybe I didn't do a good enough job. You always question that, but she's improved a lot."

Champagne Anyone figures to improve as the races get longer, Wilkes said. The Oaks will be her second try around two turns, having run fourth in the 1 1/16-mile Golden Rod Stakes (G2) to cap her juvenile campaign last fall.

"The further the better for her," Wilkes said. "You could even see in that last race, she was only getting warmed up at the end there. I'm hoping the two turns will be right in her wheelhouse."

Chris Landeros, up for each of Champagne Anyone's six lifetime starts, rides back from Post 5.

Stepping into graded company for the first time will be Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Stetson Racing's Point of Honor, unbeaten in two starts. By Curlin , she debuted with an off-the-turf maiden special weight victory Dec. 16  going 1 1/16 miles.

Point of Honor then captured the one-mile, 40-yards Suncoast Stakes Feb. 9 at Tampa Bay Downs by 2 3/4 lengths following a three-wide trip under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, who retains the mount from Post 3.

"We're happy with her, and we look forward to seeing her run on Saturday," trainer George Weaver said. "She hasn't been beaten yet, so that's what you have to do, run against tougher horses and see what you've got."

Weaver said Point of Honor gave little indication of her ability while leading up to her unveiling, but he has been impressed by her results in the afternoon. He likes the maturity she has shown for a relatively inexperienced horse.

"She doesn't do anything special in the morning, and never has, so it was a pleasant surprise how she's jumped up and is two-for-two now," he said. "She did do very well last time. She's very professional, that's one of her fine attributes."

Point of Honor is based at the Palm Beach Downs training center, where she has breezed four times this month following the Suncoast.

"All horses are different but she's very classy, very professional," he said. "She's been doing well all winter and now it's going to be up to her. I don't know who's going to run against her or what the competition is, but it really doesn't matter. We're looking to continue on with her 3-year-old campaign and see how far we can take it."

Magic Stables' Bella Ciao returns to stakes company after running second in an entry-level optional claiming allowance going one mile March 8 at Gulfstream, beaten 1 1/4 lengths. Prior to that she had run in five consecutive stakes, including a fourth in the Spinaway Stakes (G1) at Saratoga last summer in her third start and a third-place finish in the one-mile Hut Hut Stakes Dec. 8. Two-time meet leading rider Luis Saez, who has been red-hot winning 41 races this month, has the assignment from Post 4.

Trainer Dale Romans has won three of the last four editions of the Oaks, with Coach Rocks (2018), Go Maggie Go (2016), and Birdatthewire (2015). He will be represented by Frank Jones Jr. and Nancy Delony's Shacklette, a winner of her last two starts at Gulfstream, most recently going a mile in a starter optional claimer March 13.

Peter Brant's Dunbar Road, an 8 3/4-length maiden special weight winner March 3 at Gulfstream in her debut; and Nice Guys Stables, Steve Hornstock, Margarita Del Russo, and Jack Bick's Safta complete the field.

Entries: Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, March 30, 2019, Race 8

• Grade II
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $250,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 3:00 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Safta (KY)	Manuel Franco	122	Dermot Magner	20/1
2	2Shacklette (KY)	Nik Juarez	122	Dale L. Romans	20/1
3	3Point of Honor (KY)	Javier Castellano	122	George Weaver	9/5
4	4Bella Ciao (KY)	Luis Saez	122	Antonio Sano	15/1
5	5Champagne Anyone (KY)	Chris Landeros	122	Ian R. Wilkes	6/1
6	6Dunbar Road (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	122	Chad C. Brown	8/5
7	7Cookie Dough (FL)	Jeffrey Sanchez	122	Stanley I. Gold	7/2