Lewis Bay ends hiatus, faces Curlin’s Approval

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Lewis Bay, who proved competitive on several occasions at the Grade 1 level as a 3-year-old, returns from a one-year hiatus to take on Curlin’s Approval and six other fillies and mares in the $100,000 Rampart, one of five Grade 3 stakes Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

The one-mile Rampart will be Lewis Bay’s first start since her second-place finish in the Grade 3 Comely in her 3-year-old finale in November 2016 at Aqueduct. Earlier last year, the daughter of Bernar- dini finished second in the Mother Goose, third in the Kentucky Oaks, and fourth in the Test, all Grade 1 races at distances ranging from seven furlongs to 1 1/8 miles.

She is a multiple Grade 2 winner, having won the Demoiselle at 2 and the Gazelle early in her 3-year-old campaign.

Trainer Chad Brown said it was a lot of little things that kept Lewis Bay sidelined for the majority of her 4-year-old season.

“She just needed a bunch of time off,” Brown said. “It took longer to get her back than we originally thought, but she’s doing great now, she’s 100 percent, and a one-turn mile seems like the perfect spot to get her started. She also ran a good race over this track last winter, which is another appealing aspect about starting her back in this race. It’s a tough field. She’s going to have to run a really good race to win, but the time off has done her well. She’s ultra-consistent. She’s always showed up for us even against Grade 1 competition, and I’m hopeful this will be the starting point for a real successful campaign.”

Irad Ortiz Jr., who won three stakes here last weekend, returns to south Florida to take his regular seat aboard Lewis Bay in the Rampart.

Curlin’s Approval will attempt to rebound from a 13th-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, a race that was essentially over for her after she stumbled leaving the gate.

“When a horse stumbles like that out of the gate, you can’t recover,” said trainer

Alter, who bred Curlin’s Approval and owns her with Bridlewood Farm.

She will certainly have the home-court advantage in the Rampart, having posted all seven of her wins at Gulfstream, including the Grade 2 Princess Rooney on July 1 and the Barely Even Handicap in her most recent local try earlier this fall.

“We look forward to getting her back here for the Gulfstream meeting and winning some of the same races we won last year,” said Alter.

Curlin’s Approval will break from the rail leaving the one-mile chute in a field that also includes Lirica, King’s Ghost, Alpine Sky, Nonna Mela, and Gamble’s Ghost.

Trainer Todd Pletcher said he was eager to stretch Nonna Mela out to a mile for the first time on Saturday. A Grade 2 winner last year at 2, Nonna Mela has been idle since finishing a wide-running fifth in the seven-furlong Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland on Oct. 21.

Canadian invader Gamble’s Ghost brings a three-race win streak into her local debut. All of her wins have come over the synthetic surface at Woodbine. She finished fourth under allowance conditions at Keeneland in her only previous start on dirt.

The Rampart is one of two Grade 3 stakes for fillies and mares to be decided over the main track here Saturday, along with the six-furlong Sugar Swirl, which lured a field of nine led by defending champion Dearest. Dearest has been idle since finishing a tiring fourth behind Curlin’s Approval in the Princess Rooney 5 1/2 months ago. Dearest contested the pace before edging away to a one-length victory over You Bought Her to close out her 2016 campaign in the Sugar Swirl.

The field for the Sugar Swirl, from the rail out, consists of Dearest, Miss Hollywood, More Than a Party, Stella Performance, True Romance, Girls Know Best, Pretty Perfection, Rich Mommy, and Bodacious Babe.

Dearest could face a challenge for the lead Saturday from several others, most notably True Romance and Girls Know Best. A contentious pace might enhance the chances of the versatile Pretty Perfection, a comefrom-behind winner in her last two starts. She won two stakes over the turf during the 2016-17 Championship meeting.