Rematch in Texas Glitter

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Nothing can ever replace his dad, but John Kimmel sure wouldn’t mind seeing Bourbon Currency win Saturday at Gulfstream Park to help ease his grief.

“It’s been a tough week,” said Kimmel, referring to the death last Saturday of his 91-year-old father, Caesar. “We were pretty close.”

Kimmel will saddle Bourbon Currency, one of the top contenders in the fourth running of the $75,000 Texas Glitter, a five-furlong turf race that drew a field of eight 3-yearolds. Favorably drawn in post 7 with Irad Ortiz Jr. to ride, Bourbon Currency will be looking to improve over a solid runner-up finish behind another Texas Glitter starter, Reed Kan, in a Dec. 17 allowance over the Gulfstream turf.

“I’ve tried to run this colt at least three times since then, but none of the races filled,” Kimmel said. “I’ve basically been sitting here at Palm Meadows with him with no place to run. He’s actually done really well in this two-month period. He’s grown and filled out and trained very forwardly. We hope he shows up and gets a good trip Saturday.”

Reed Kan (post 6, Carlos Montalvo) was 21-1 when leading all the way in the key Dec. 17 race. In his lone interim start, the Phil Combest-trained colt was a fading fourth in the restricted Limehouse Stakes on the main track.

The Texas Glitter is named for the Todd Pletcher trainee who earned $826,077 while specializing in turf sprints during a 37-start career that ended in 2002. It’s the sixth of 13 races on a card highlighted by the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope (race 12).

Pletcher will be represented in the Texas Glitter by the uncoupled duo of Salmanazar (post 1, John Velazquez), a flashy April winner making his first start since faltering as the favorite in the Tremont Stakes last June, and Barbarossa (post 2, Javier Castellano), whose maiden victory two starts back over the Belmont Park turf makes him a serious consideration. Both colts have been working sharply at Palm Beach Downs in preparation for their first starts of 2018.

Other possibilities include Shangroyal (post 4, Albin Jimenez), shedding blinkers and making his first start on grass following a 7 1/2-month layoff for Wesley Ward, and Wildcat’s Legacy (post 5, Luis Saez), who also makes his turf debut for Ralph Nicks after some decent performances over dirt. Dial One (post 3, Nik Juarez) and Clouded Judgment (post 8, Edgar Prado) round out the lineup.

The Texas Glitter was supposed to be one of two turf sprint stakes for 3-year-olds here Saturday, but the Gulfstream racing office planned to defer the running of the filly counterpart, the $75,000 Melody of Colors, until Sunday in the hope of drawing a greater number of entries.