Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Once again, Maker has pair of aces in Pan American
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Many Gulfstream Park bettors looking to play the huge Rainbow 6 forceout (races 9-14) or the late pick five (races 10-14) on Saturday afternoon will be happy to see that a pair of longstanding graded turf marathons are both part of those overlapping sequences.
The Grade 2, $200,000 Pan American and the Grade 3, $100,000 Orchid, its filly-mare counterpart, are among the lead-ins to the day’s finale, the Florida Derby. Both will be run around three turns over a course that should be quite firm, given the forecast for continuing sun-baked conditions in South Florida.
Pan American (race 10)
High-profile Saturdays at Gulfstream invariably showcase the depth of the Mike Maker barn, particularly when it comes to the older-male turf division. Very few trainers have been more effective in this niche in recent years than Maker, who ran 1-2 in the Pan Am last year with Bemma’s Boy and Zulu Alpha.
This time, it’s Cross Border (post 1, Tyler Gaffalione) and Temple (post 2, Irad Ortiz Jr.) representing Maker among a field of eight in the 1 1/2-mile Pan American. Both competed on the Jan. 23 Pegasus World Cup undercard, with Cross Border finishing third to Colonel Liam in the Pegasus Turf and Temple a close second in the W.L. McKnight behind yet another Maker trainee, Tide of the Sea.
Whereas Temple has raced in the interim, finishing a close fourth in the Feb. 27 Mac Diarmida, Cross Border enters off a lengthy series of local works, having been flattered by Colonel Liam winning the Muniz Memorial last Saturday at Fair Grounds.
“He ran a big race in the Pegasus Turf, and we’re expecting another good one from him Saturday,” said Maker.
Among the chief threats to the Maker duo is Sadler’s Joy (post 3, Jose Ortiz), whose career bankroll of $2.66 million is by far the highest of the entire card. The 8-year-old Woodslane Farm homebred is the epitome of a stretch-runner, falling far behind through the early stages before eating up ground late.
“If he wasn’t in the barn, it’d be pretty strange,” said his trainer, Tom Albertrani. “When that day comes, it’s going to be a sad day when we don’t see him walking down the shed row anymore. He’s just been one of those types of horses that tries every race. He puts everything into every time he runs, and it’s just a pleasure having a horse like that.”
This 59th running of the Pan American represents a chance for Bill Mott to extend his record of six wins in the race. He’ll send out Moon Over Miami (post 7, Junior Alvarado), who happened to give the Hall of Fame trainer his 5,000th career win last June. Remarkably, Mott’s first Pan Am winner came 30 years ago with Phantom Breeze, Julie Krone up, and his latest came in 2014 with Newsdad.
Orchid (race 13)
If such a thing existed, Always Shopping would be a candidate for horse of the meet this winter at Gulfstream if she can come through as the favorite in a field of 10 ready to go in this 56th running of the 1 3/8-mile Orchid. The resurgent Repole Stable homebred dominated the Dec. 19 Via Borghese and the Jan. 23 La Prevoyante before trainer Todd Pletcher decided to bypass the Feb. 27 The Very One with her.
“She wasn’t quite ready for it anyway, and the time between races seems to have done her well,” said Pletcher.
Always Shopping (post 9, Irad Ortiz Jr.), now 5, was a two-time stakes winner over dirt early in her 3-yearold season before hitting a mid-career slump. Since last September, however, she has found her best stride, using a highly effective stalking style when sandwiching three wins around a narrow defeat in four races, all on turf.
It’s that recent streak that makes Always Shopping clearly the one to beat in a lineup that also includes Morning Molly, Sorrel, and Belle Laura as her main threats.
Morning Molly (post 4, Jose Ortiz) wheels back three weeks after finishing a sharp second in the Grade 2 Hillsborough at Tampa Bay Downs in what was arguably the strongest fillymare turf race run in Florida this winter. Sorrel (post 5, Javier Castellano) is the obvious wild card of the group, making her North American debut for the noted turf conditioner Christophe Clement. Belle Laura (post 8, Edgard Zayas) stretches out for Juan Avila after being a creditable third in the Grade 3 Marshua’s River, then second behind a front-running winner in the Grade 3 The Very One.
Fringe players in this deep cast include Crystalle, Delta’s Kingdom, and Sister Hanan.