Brandy’s Girl in easier spot

Brandy’s Girl will appreciate the class relief and being back with her own sex when she runs in a $62,500 optional-claiming race that will serve as Saturday’s feature at Gulfstream Park West. The five-furlong dash on turf for fillies and mares drew six horses and goes as race 4 on a 10-race program that begins at 1:15 p.m. Eastern.

Trainer Edwin Broome is expecting a solid effort from Brandy’s Girl, who figures to move forward after finishing fifth in the $75,000 Tamiami at Gulfstream Park on Sept. 16. It was her first start since her ninth-place finish in the $135,000 Ladies’ Turf Sprint at Gulfstream on Jan. 27.

This will also be the first time she has competed in a non-stakes race since she won a $62,500 optionalclaiming race at Gulfstream on July 23, 2017.

“This looks like a good spot for her,” Broome said. “She is a hard horse to train and she should be a bit fitter now that she’s had a race.”

Broome said one reason for the layoff was the difficulty in filling races for fillies and mares during the summer at Gulfstream.

“We decided to turn her out for the summer,” Broome said. “People like Mike Maker are coming back now, so it makes it a little easier to get races to go.”

Brandy’s Girl will break from post 4 with Luca Panici riding.

Speaking of Maker, he trains Touch of Bling, who looks like the main threat to Brandy’s Girl.

The 5-year-old Ohio-bred is coming off a sixth-place finish going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf in a $62,500 optionalclaiming race at Saratoga on Aug. 20. A four-time winner, she will make good use of her speed breaking from the rail with Paco Lopez aboard.

KEY CONTENDERS

Brandy’s Girl, by Posse Last 3 Beyers: 82-68-78

◗ She should get a nice trip from a stalking position, and if she can regain the form she had when she won the Jupiter Beach and finished second to Extravagant Kid in the Tamiami last year, she will be tough to beat. Extravagant Kid is a multiple stakes winner who finished third in the Grade 2 Woodford at Keeneland on Oct. 6.

Touch of Bling, by Tale of the Cat Last 3 Beyers: 79-60-60

◗ She has regressed since she earned a 91 Beyer Speed Figure for her front-running win in a second-level allowance race with a $62,500 claiming option at Aqueduct on April 6, but she has been freshened and could be tough to reel in if she gets the jump on the other speed.

Sierra Aleone, by Gemologist Last 3 Beyers: 76-67-68

◗ The Mark Casse-trained Kentucky-bred was coming off a layoff when she won a first-level allowance race with a $25,000 claiming option at Gulfstream on Sept. 30.

◗ She will need to improve to contend in this spot, but that isn’t impossible for a lightly raced 3-year-old, and she did come back with a sharp interim work.

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