Starship Jubilee can rebound and repeat

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – When Starship Jubilee won the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf last year at Gulfstream Park, she was making amends as a beaten favorite in the Claiming Crown Tiara.

Trainer Kevin Attard is hoping history repeats itself Saturday when Starship Jubilee runs back in the $150,000 Filly and Mare Turf after fading to fourth as an odds-on choice last month in the Tiara.

“She had a couple of little excuses for that race,” Attard said. “She jumped somethi ng in the first turn, and she’d missed some [training] time after going through the sale [at Keeneland] in November. I really like how she’s trained since the Claiming Crown. She’s gotten better in her breezes, and I’m really expecting her to move forward Saturday.”

Starship Jubilee and X Y Jet, who runs in the $100,000 Sprint, appear to be the two standouts in the four-race Sunshine Millions series, highlight of the long weekend ahead at Gulfstream. The other races are the $200,000 Classic and $150,000 Turf.

Entries for the 12-race Saturday card were to be drawn Wednesday. A Monday holiday card will extend the race week to six days.

Prat gets call on Audible

Flavien Prat, the star French jockey based in Southern California, has been named to ride Audible in the $9 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 26, it was announced Sunday by trainer Todd Pletcher.

The mount on Audible came open when his regular rider, Javier Castellano, opted to stick with City of Light, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in his last start.

“Flavien seems to be riding in really good form,” Pletcher said. “We thought he’d fit him well.”

Audible, owned by a fourway partnership, will be looking to rebound off a runnerup finish as the 1-10 favorite in the Harlan’s Holiday here last month. The 4-year-old colt was a romping winner of the Holy Bull and Florida Derby here last year at 3.

The Prat announcement means that riding assignments on all 11 confirmed starters for the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus are complete. Gulfstream officials were still awaiting word early this week about whether McKinzie will be the 12th starter. A final round of pre-race workouts is on tap for the coming weekend for virtually every confirmed starter.

Brownlee back on track

It’s been nearly two years since David Brownlee had to give up training, but you can’t keep him away from his horses. Brownlee was at Gulfstream last week to lend a hand and moral support to trainer Juan Arias with She’s No Joke, whom he co-owns in a partnership. The 4-year-old filly ran second in a claiming race.

“I’ve had liver cancer,” said Brownlee, 72, “but the doctors say I’m clean now, thankfully. I had to quit training because of all the chemotherapy treatments, so I turned my horses over to Juan. He’s doing a great job.”

Brownlee has been a fixture on the local circuit for more than 30 years, having won 326 races for purses of more than $8.3 million. His last starter as a trainer came in April 2017.

◗ Dubby Dubbie worked five furlongs over the grass in 1:04.01 here Sunday in preparation for a possible start in the Pegasus World Cup Turf. Dubby Dubbie, an allowance winner with a 97 Beyer Speed Figure in his 2018 finale at Churchill Downs, was purchased privately by owner Ron Paolucci and turned over to trainer Bob Hess Jr. following that race. Hess said the other option for Dubby Dubbie would be the Grade 3 W.L. McKnight on the Pegasus World Cup undercard on Jan. 26.

◗ Bye Bye J, winner of the six-furlong House Party Stakes here last month, breezed a sharp five furlongs from the half-mile pole in 1:01.04 on Monday in preparation for a scheduled start in the Grade 3, seven-furlong Forward Gal on Feb. 2. Bye Bye J is trained by Ron Spatz, a former groom for Forward Gal’s trainer Warren A. “Jimmy” Croll Jr.

◗ Albin Jimenez was scheduled to resume riding here Wednesday after missing all of last week (Jan. 9-13) for a family emergency in Panama. Marcos Meneses will be back Friday after suffering a deep facial laceration last week in a spill, while Romero Maragh, an 18-yearold apprentice, didn’t miss any mounts Sunday when suffering a minor foot injury during a post-parade mishap.

◗ Bourbon War, fourth in the Grade 2 Remsen in his second career start, will make his 3-year-old debut here Friday as the likely favorite in the ninth race, a 1 1/16-mile allowance.