Spanish Harlem in good spot

Armando De la cerda wouldn’t mind accepting a birthday gift a few days late. De la cerda turned 45 on Wednesday, and Saturday he’ll send out Spanish Harlem as one of the top contenders in the $75,000 Barely Even at Gulfstream Park.

Spanish Harlem was overmatched in her last start, the Grade 2 Princess Rooney on June 30, but she fits much better in the Barely Even, a one-mile race restricted to non-winners of a stakes.

Spanish Harlem stalked the pace in the Princess Rooney and tired to finish sixth, beaten 17 1/2 lengths by winner Stormy Embrace.

“Last time she was too close to the pace and got beat by a very nice filly,” De la cerda said. “This time we won’t have to go so fast. She’s ready. I like her a lot.”

Spanish Harlem, owned by the Midwest Thoroughbreds of Richard and Karen Papiese, will have Emisael Jaramillo aboard when she breaks from the outside post in a field of nine fillies and mares in the Barely Even, which highlights a 12-race card that starts at 12:45 p.m. Eastern.

In her other two starts this year, the 4-year-old daughter of More Than Ready was a sharp allowance winner May 10 and fourth in the restricted Christmas Past on May 31. De la cerda said the filly was found to have bled in the Christmas Past, but not so in the Princess Rooney. “She’s fine now,” he said. These are good times for De la cerda, a native of Aguascalientes, Mexico, who spent more than 20 years on the Chicago circuit working under trainers Noel Hickey, Mike Stidham, and Brian Williamson before opening his own stable in 2013. Dissatisfied with how Chicago racing was trending, De la cerda established a base in South Florida nearly two years ago with the blessing of the Papieses.

At the Gulfstream spring meet, which ended June 30, De la cerda won 16 races, one win shy of the three-way tie for leading trainer. And now, at the 56-day summer meet which runs through Sept. 30, he was alone at the top of the standings with 11 wins when a four-day week began here Thursday.

“I hope to keep it like that,” he said. “We need our races to [fill]. I don’t have too many cheap horses right now.”

Other major players in the Barely Even include Weekend Mischief, a 3-year-old riding a modest two-race win streak for Arindel and trainer Stan Gold, and My Cousin Martha, a late-running Ontario-bred with a combined seven firsts or seconds from 11 career starts.

The Barely Even (race 11, 6:03 p.m.) is part of the Rainbow 6, which spans races 7-12. The Rainbow 6 jackpot stood at $14,584 before Thursday.

◗ The next few Gulfstream stakes are all for Florida-breds at seven furlongs: The $100,000 Benny the Bull, for 3-yearolds and upward, will be run Aug. 25, and the second legs in the Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds – the $200,000 Affirmed and $200,000 Susan’s Girl – are set for Sept. 1.

◗ Sunday entries were listed in the Gulfstream condition book as being scheduled to be drawn along with the Saturday entries on Wednesday, but the racing office has announced it no longer will hold double draw days, as requested by horsemen.

◗ Gulfstream will host racing this coming Wednesday (Aug. 22) – normally a dark day – to meet a specified number of dates as required under its licensing agreement with the state.

◗ Because of the ongoing renovation of the turf course, all races listed at 7 1/2 furlongs in the Gulfstream condition book will be run instead at one mile until further notice.