Irish War Cry may have edge vs. Always Dreaming in Mile

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – While the return of Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming has garnered the bulk of the attention regarding Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Gulfstream Park Mile, Irish War Cry appears to have the advantage in a matchup of two of the more talented 3-year-olds from 2017.

Always Dreaming, who won last year’s Florida Derby here, will make his first start since he finished ninth in the Travers Stakes on Aug. 26 at Saratoga. He was sidelined afterward, and later diagnosed with ulcers.

Always Dreaming returned to the work tab Jan. 29 at Palm Beach Downs and has eight workouts leading to his return.

“Any time you bring a Derby winner back off a layoff you’re hoping you have him tight enough and ready enough and all those things,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, a four-time winner of this race. “I think we do, but a race is a race, and this is not a cakewalk. We’ll hope he shows up and is the same horse he was at this time last year.”

Regarding the ulcers, Pletcher said: “We scoped his stomach twice since he’s been back, and he’s been perfect. We’ve done all we can do, now it’s time to run.”

John Velazquez rides from post 2.

Meanwhile, Irish War Cry, who won the Holy Bull Stakes here last winter, has already made his 4-year-old debut, finishing second behind Economic Model in the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope here Feb. 24.

“I’d like to think he will benefit from that race,” said Graham Motion, Irish War Cry’s trainer. “I’d like to think it gives us a little bit of an advantage with a race under our belts.”

Irish War Cry has been a difficult horse to figure. After the Holy Bull, he finished seventh in the Fountain of Youth. He rebounded with a solid victory in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and went off as the 4.80-1 second choice behind Always Dreaming (4.70-1) in the Kentucky Derby. Irish War Cry finished 10th, 16 1/2 lengths behind Always Dreaming.

Irish War Cry ran a solid second to Tapwrit in the Belmont Stakes, then ended his 3-year-old campaign with a fourth in the Haskell and an eighth-place finish in the Pennsylvania Derby.

Motion thought about shipping Irish War Cry to New York for next Saturday’s Grade 1 Carter, but said the chance to run the horse over a track he ran well over last out and the opportunity to keep Jose Ortiz on him were factors in running him here.

“We’re keeping it simple,” Motion said.

Tommy Macho, also trained by Pletcher, is coming off a win in the Grade 3 Fred Hooper here. Page McKenney, a 21-time winner, took the Old Hickory Stakes here last out. Conquest Big E, if he breaks well from the rail, could be the target that Always Dreaming would like to have in front of him. Mr. Jordan, who is 0 for 11 at Gulfstream, completes the field.

The Gulfstream Park Mile goes as race 8 (3:13 p.m. Eastern post) and is not part of the Rainbow 6 wager.

KEY CONTENDERS

Irish War Cry, by Curlin Last 3 Beyers: 99-85-86

◗ Was turned aside in the stretch by Economic Model in the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope, his first start off a five-month layoff. Economic Model was slated to run earlier Saturday in the Godolphin Mile in Dubai.

“His works have been good before and have been good since,” Motion said of Irish War Cry. “Fitness won’t be an excuse this time, where it might have been last time.”

◗ He is better drawn in this race, breaking from post 4. He had the rail in the Hal’s Hope.

Always Dreaming, by Bodemeister Last 3 Beyers: 84-92-82

◗ Returns to arguably his favorite surface, where he went 2 for 2 last winter, including a five-length victory in the Grade 1 Florida Derby.

◗ Though Pletcher has hit at a 36 percent clip the last five years bringing horses back off a layoff of 180 days or more on dirt, he is just 3 for 14 over that span doing it in a graded stakes.

“I think we have him ready to run well, but at the same time this is not the season’s end goal,” Pletcher said. “Hopefully it’s the first step to a successful 4-year old campaign.”

Tommy Macho, Macho Uno Last 3 Beyers: 99-96-91

◗ He is a three-time graded stakes winner going a mile over this track, including a three-quarter-length score in the Fred Hooper in January.

◗ He has not won back-toback races since the spring of 2015.