Familiar faces in Fla. Sire Stakes

Nine horses were entered Wednesday in each of the two Florida Sire Stakes races to be run Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Saturday’s races, the second of three sets of Florida Sire Stakes, are the $200,000 Affirmed division for 2-yearold colts and geldings and the $200,000 Susan’s Girl division for fillies. Both races will be contested over seven furlongs on dirt.

The field for the Affirmed division comprises Capital S, Cowboy Bob, Dunk, Highborn, Kingston Pike, Majestic Secret, Phantom Ro, Soutache, and World of Trouble.

The nine fillies entered in the Susan’s Girl division are Awesome Mass, Dessert Honeys, Go Astray, Harbin Ice, Panty Hose, Reagan’s Rose, Right On, Starship Bonita, and

Valid Interest.

Phantom Ro, a Wildcat Heir gelding trained by Ralph Nicks for Raroma Stable, dueled for the lead and drew away to win the six-furlong Dr. Fager division of the sire stakes on Aug. 5. Now 2 for 2 to start his career, Phantom Ro will try to carry his speed another furlong Saturday. Dunk, the beaten odds-on favorite in the Dr. Fager, races with blinkers added for trainer Stanley Gold and owner Arindel in the Affirmed. World of Trouble, bred and owned by Darsan Inc. and trained by Kathleen O’Connell, walloped $25,000 maiden claimers by more than 14 lengths on Aug. 10 at Gulfstream in his lone start.

The filly Go Astray wired the Desert Vixen division of the Sire Stakes on Aug. 5, winning by almost five lengths, but is no standout Saturday. One of her main rivals, Awesome Mass, stumbled at the start and grabbed a quarter in the race, and should be more competitive in the Susan’s Girl. Dessert Honeys had a troubled start in her career debut, rallying from 10th to finish a close fourth while facing open maidens at Saratoga.

Limited value on Alpine Sky

Alpine Sky appears to be the most likely winner of the featured eighth race on Friday’s card, but that does not necessarily mean she is worth a bet.

Last time might have been the right time to back Alpine Sky. On Aug. 11 at Gulfstream she was 26-1 going one mile on dirt in a second-level allowance also open to $62,500 claimers, the same conditions as the Friday feature. Alpine Sky stalked the pace, came with a run into the homestretch, dueled through the final halffurlong, and took a tough loss by a nose.

She will be one-tenth the price, perhaps less, on Friday, especially with popular rider Tyler Gaffalione taking over the mount. With plenty of pace entered, Alpine Sky should get the right setup, but it might be unwise to expect a repeat of her last performance considering she is back three weeks after the best race of her career.

The filly Pancake has spent most of her career racing on turf, but her recent Gulfstream main track works have been snappy. She’s dropping in class from stakes competition and has trouble lines obscuring her recent form. Maybe Pancake is the one to step up at a price this time around.