Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Five-way battle for riding title
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – For the past several seasons, when the Gulfstream Park Championship meet ended it became pretty easy to predict who would win the spring and summer riding titles – either Tyler Gaffalione or Edgard Zayas.
But things are different this year. Gaffalione and Zayas find themselves in a five-way battle for spring-meet honors. The two are in third and fourth place, respectively, behind Nik Juarez and Miguel Vasquez, who are leading the way with 38 victories apiece, and just in front of Emisael Jaramillo, who rounds out the top five entering Thursday’s program with 33 wins.
“It’s probably going to be this way here right through the end of this meet and during the summer as well,” said Zayas, whose 34 tallies since the spring session began April 4 has him within easy striking distance of the leaders.
“It’s a lot tougher winning races than it’s ever been here during the summer. There are a lot of top veteran riders around and a couple of good bug boys, too.”
Zayas, who won the spring crown here in 2016 over Gaffalione, cited several reasons for the influx of jockeys this year.
“The money is better than it’s ever been around here during the spring and summer, and you don’t have to be traveling around any more,” he said. “A rider can stay right here, in one place, all year and do really well.”
Zayas’s big horse remains Pay Any Price, the turf sprinter he’s ridden to six victories in his last nine starts, including a very easy allowance win earlier this month. Zayas is also awaiting the return of Gunnevera, whom he rode to a stakes triumph here last summer as well as a second-place finish in the 2017 Travers.
“He’s still on the farm, and from what I hear he’s probably got a couple of more months before he comes back to the track,” Zayas said. “When he does, I’m sure I’ll be working him again and hopefully can get the mount back. Especially if he starts back running at Gulfstream, like he did last year.”
◗ The battle for the spring training title, won for the first time last year by Todd Pletcher, is also very tight with Armando de la cerda holding a slight edge over both Pletcher and Ralph Ziadie when racing resumes Thursday. The spring meet ends with the Summit of Speed program on June 30.
Turf course overhaul slated
With more than four inches of rain falling locally from 5-9 a.m. on Sunday, it was a miracle of sorts the 11-race Gulfstream Park program went on as scheduled that afternoon over a racetrack officially designated as good throughout the card.
“I got to tip my hat to track super John Jamison and his entire crew for the job they did with all the rain that hit us in such a short period of time,” said Bill Badgett, Gulfstream general manager. “It got to a point this morning it had rained so much the water just had no place to go. It’s a tribute we were even able to run, let alone over a track in this good shape.”
Jamison, who took over track superintendent duties earlier this spring, will oversee a major project scheduled to begin this week, weather permitting – the complete overhaul of the turf course.
“We’ll be committed to the outside part of the turf course for the next four months or so,” Badgett said. “We’ll begin completely redoing the first 96 feet this week. That means tearing up the entire course and starting all over again. If things go according to plan, we’ll be able to redo the rest of the course when we move over to Gulfstream Park West in the fall. Barring any delays due to major weather issues this summer, the entire course should be ready for use by the time the Championship meet opens in December.”
Badgett said all the work would be done on dark days, with special lighting also to be installed on portions of the course to allow for work to be done at night.
◗ There will be only nine races on Thursday’s and Friday’s programs. Thursday’s main event goes as the opener, a $38,000 starter optional-claiming race carded at one mile on the grass that drew a field of eight fillies and mares, plus one maintrack-only entrant. Nile Rising, a recent maiden winner, and Congrats in Blue, who has won two of her last three starts, should vie for favoritism.