Always Dreaming nears return

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Always Dreaming has made such steady progress in his daily training at Palm Beach Downs that the 2017 Kentucky Derby winner could surface in the Gulfstream Park entries before too long.

“We’re going to sit down and talk probably after his next work and zero in on his next race,” trainer Todd Pletcher said last weekend. “It’s getting to the point now where we really need to do that because he’s training lights out. He’s getting better every day.”

Always Dreaming is on schedule to breeze again toward the end of this week, which will mark his fifth workout since the 4-year-old colt returned from a layoff, during which he was treated for a serious ulcer problem. The son of Bodemeister won back-to-back races at the 2017 Gulfstream championship meet prior to the Kentucky Derby, ending with a five-length romp in the Florida Derby.

The Grade 2, $300,000 Gulfstream Park Mile is a plausible comeback spot, but that’s not for another month (on the March 31 Florida Derby undercard), and it’s a one-turn mile. Before then, there’s always a possibility that a two-turn allowance race could be made available by the Gulfstream racing office – and the race conditions wouldn’t even have to be custom-made, considering Always Dreaming has not won since the Derby last May.

“We’d certainly have to think about Gulfstream as one option, considering the success he’s had here,” said Pletcher.

Always Dreaming, owned by a partnership that includes Vinnie Viola and Anthony Bonomo, raced three times after the Derby, finishing eighth in the Preakness, third in the Jim Dandy, and ninth in the Travers.

‘Biscuits’ straight to Dubai

Chad Summers seriously considered running Mind Your Biscuits in the Gulfstream Park Sprint here next Saturday before deciding the 5-year-old horse will go straight to the March 31 Dubai Golden Shaheen without a second prep race. Mind Your Biscuits won the $2 million race last year.

“Originally, the plan was to get two preps into him,” said Summers. “But he ran kind of faster and harder than I thought” when second in a Feb. 9 allowance at Gulfstream.

“That was a good tightener. He’s been knocking down the barn and doing well, and I just thought it best that we have a fresh horse for Dubai.”

March 20 is the shipping date for all of the American horses headed to the Dubai Carnival at Meydan.

Without Mind Your Biscuits, the Grade 3, $100,000 Gulfstream Sprint is expected to have Favorable Outcome, Three Rules, Noholdingback Bear, and Extravagant Kid as the top contenders. It’s one of nine stakes on a Saturday card topped by the $400,000 Fountain of Youth.

At least 10 3-year-olds were expected for the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth when entries are taken Wednesday: Good Magic, Free Drop Billy, Strike Power, Storm Runner, Promises Fulfilled, Marconi, Impact Player, Machismo, He Takes Charge, and Belle Tapisserie.

McGaughey nears milestone

With no entries through Friday, and his career victory total standing at 1,999, it’s possible that Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey could be shooting for No. 2,000 on Saturday in the Davona Dale.

McGaughey is the trainer of Fly So High, one of the top contenders in the Grade 2, $200,000 Davona Dale, a Kentucky Oaks qualifying race. In her last start, Fly So High was an easy winner of a Jan. 4 allowance at Gulfstream, and McGaughey has been pointing to this one-mile race ever since with the Phipps Stable homebred.

McGaughey, 67, has accrued stable earnings of more than $141 million since he began training in 1979.

Brutal trips in defeat

A couple of horses surely made it onto the watch lists of serious handicappers with the difficult trips they endured last Saturday as beaten favorites at Gulfstream.

Samurai’ s first lady lost all realistic chance in a 7 1/2-furlong turf claimer when rearing at the start, yet persisted to finish fourth, beaten just 2 1/2 lengths by the winner, Plein Air.

King Zachary, ridden by Robby Albarado, was fortunate to escape a serious incident in a later maiden race when a 107-1 shot, Happy Hat, suddenly ducked in on him leaving the chute down the backstretch. Albarado had to take up sharply, yet his mount closed steadily to finish third, just 1 1/2 lengths behind the winner, Penalty.

◗ Beach Patrol, second to World Approval in the 2017 Eclipse Award voting for top turf horse, had his first breeze Sunday, going three furlongs in 38 seconds at the Palm Meadows training center. Trained by Chad Brown, Beach Patrol earned triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in all seven of his starts last year, including victories in the Arlington Million and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and a runner-up finish behind Talismanic in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.