Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Romans high on Dak Attack entering Mucho Macho Man
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Three-year-old racing has always been the focal point of the Gulfstream Park championship meeting, and what better way to get things rolling again than Saturday’s 11-race program? The card features five stakes for newly turned 3-yearolds, led by the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man, a one-mile test that likely will produce prospects for the important graded stakes offered in the division here later this winter.
The Mucho Macho Man is led by the undefeated stakes winner Dak Attack, multiple stakes winner Bal Harbour, and the undefeated Mask. Santiamen, Coltandmississippi, Forever Taken, Handsome Franco, and Whereshetoldmetogo complete the lineup.
Trainer Dale Romans has been eager to get Dak Attack back to the races ever since a minor shin issue forced him to bypass the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Dak Attack won his only two starts at age 2, a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight dash at Churchill Downs, followed by an even more impressive victory in the seven-furlong Ellis Park Juvenile on Aug. 20.
Dak Attack put an exclamation point on a series of three local works when going a bullet five furlongs in 58.94 seconds in company last Saturday.
“A horse can’t work any better than that,” Romans said afterward. “He has the whole package. He does everything right, he’s smart, has a good pedigree. He’s never been farther than seven furlongs, but I don’t think distance should be an issue since he’s by Ghostzapper.”
Bal Harbour owns an experience edge over the other leading contenders. The homebred son of First Samurai has already started six times and posted two stakes wins, both at a mile. His victories include the Smooth Air here on Dec. 9, when he determinedly ran down Whereshetoldmetogo in the final strides to register a well-deserved neck decision on a sloppy track.
“His races earlier in the year were too short, and we’ll continue to stretch him out after this since he’s already won a race [the Sapling Stakes] around two turns,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who also will send out Coltandmississippi on Saturday. “I don’t think the wet track hurt him in the Smooth Air, but I don’t necessarily feel he needs that to be effective.”
Trainer Chad Brown is high on Mask, who overcame a slow start to win his debut by three lengths on Oct. 20 at Belmont Park, earning an 88 Beyer Speed Figure that is easily the best in the Mucho Macho Man field. Mask was sidelined for the remainder of his 2-yearold campaign by what Brown called “minor baby issues,” but, like Dak Attack, has trained forwardly for his 3-year-old debut.
Santiamen is perfect in two starts, although he did struggle a bit before finally wearing down his stablemate Empire Power to capture a one-otherthan allowance/optional-claiming dash going six furlongs to conclude his juvenile season.
Pletcher will put blinkers on Coltandmississippi following his fifth-place finish in the Smooth Air.
“I think he was compromised by the inside post a little bit the last time, and I’m going to put blinkers on after he had a poor start in the race,” said Pletcher.
Whereshetoldmetogo made a wide, middle move to draw clear in early stretch of the Smooth Air, only to be run down late by Bal Harbour while easily second-best in the best performance of his 2-year-old season.