Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Bullards Alley looking solid
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Tim Glyshaw is a pretty sharp handicapper aside from being a successful trainer. He has taken a long look at how the Grade 3 W.L. McKnight Handicap shapes up Saturday at Gulfstream Park and has come to a reasonable conclusion.
“It looks like my horse and Maker’s are the two to beat,” said Glyshaw, referring to his stable star, Bullards Alley, and Oscar Nominated, one of two McKnight entries trained by Mike Maker. “I’m not an idiot, am I?”
Nope, not at all. Bullards Alley, back in Florida from his winter base at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, most likely will be favored in the 51st running of the McKnight, with Oscar Nominated the second choice. With his stunning 10 3/4-length romp and 114 Beyer Speed Figure in the Grade 1 Canadian International last fall still prominent among his past performances, Bullards Alley clearly has the credentials to emerge victorious over eight other older horses in the McKnight, which will be run at 1 1/2 miles around three turns.
Bullards Alley, a 6-yearold gelding owned by Wayne Spalding and Faron McCubbins, will be turning back from the two-mile Allen Jerkens, an ungraded Dec. 30 turf race at Gulfstream in which he was defeated a head with Paco Lopez up. That was his first start in eight weeks, following a respectable sixth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
“I think he’ll improve off his last race,” Glyshaw said. “He ran a good race, I thought. If he can run back to his two before then, they won’t beat him – although he’ll never run another 114, we all know that.
“We got here [Monday] a couple days earlier than we did for his last race, so hopefully that’ll help. It looks like there’ll be plenty of speed in front of him, so hopefully this time Paco can get out earlier and get him moving. He’s got more of a sustained run, instead of that quick quarter-mile a lot of turf horses have.”
Oscar Nominated, a multiple graded winner of nearly $1.3 million for owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey, will be ridden by star jockey Jose Ortiz and looking to rebound from a subpar effort in the Red Smith on the Aqueduct turf in November. Both he and Bullards Alley will carry 123 pounds as co-highweights.
Fringe contenders in the McKnight include Gold Shield and Infinite Wisdom, the respective third- and fourth-place finishers in the Jerkens; Durocher, an upset winner of the Tropical Park Derby last out; and the uncoupled Ian Wilkes duo of Nessy and Mr Cub.
The McKnight, carded as the eighth (post 3:04 p.m. Eastern) of 12 Saurday races, is one of two Grade 3 turf marathons set for the Pegasus World Cup undercard, along with its twin sister, the $200,000 La Prevoyante Handicap (race 3, post 12:30).
Summersault, whose three straight wins at the 2016-17 Gulfstream championship meet culminated with the Grade 3 Orchid in April, will be returning from a 12-week break as one of the principals in the 49th running of the La Prevoyante. Seven fillies and mares are entered, with Lopez named to guide Summersault out of post 2.
“She hasn’t run in a while and she obviously loves Gulfstream,” said Mark Hennig, who trains 6-year-old Summersault for William Parsons Jr. and David Howe. “We brought her down here and let her acclimate. She’s happy to be back at Gulfstream, so hopefully she gets back on track here in this race.”
Apple Betty, trained by Shug McGaughey, returns from an even longer layoff, having captured the Grade 3 Dowager on Oct. 22 at Keeneland in her most recent start. The 5-yearold mare has a handy style that should serve jockey John Velazquez well when the Irishbred mare breaks from the outside post as the 123-pound highweight.
Apple Betty has been pegged as the 7-5 morning-line favorite in the La Prevoyante over Daring Duchess (7-2), a 6-yearold mare who will have Jose Ortiz back aboard for the Ramseys and Maker. In her last start, Daring Duchess went wire to wire in the Dec. 30 Via Borghese at Gulfstream at 13-1, and similar front-running tactics can be expected here in search of a repeat.
The McKnight and La Prevoyante both were longtime fixtures at the former Calder Race Course prior to being moved to Gulfstream afterthe Stronach Group’s took over operations at what is now known as Gulfstream Park West. The McKnight is named for the longtime 3M chairman and philanthropist who died in 1978, and the La Prevoyante is named for the champion 2-yearold filly of 1972.