Gold loaded for Sire Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Stanley Gold is as resilient as he is disciplined. A strict vegetarian for nearly 50 years, Gold has landed on his feet since being abruptly dismissed in April 2016 by his longtime client, the Jacks or Better Farm of Fred Brei.

Gold, who turns 70 later this year, has won a record 18 races in the Florida Sire Stakes series, all of them for Jacks or Better. For new clients, he went 0 for 5 in the series last year, but given time to sufficiently regroup and reload, Gold will have the horses to beat when the first events in the 2017 series for Florida-sired 2-year-olds are run Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Gold will send out Dunk and Tipsheet in the $100,000 Dr. Fager and Awesome Mass in the $100,000 Desert Vixen, the six-furlong races that kick off the annual Florida Sire Stakes. Ensuing dates in the series are Sept. 2 (Affirmed and Susan’s Girl) and Sept. 30 (In Reality and My Dear Girl).

All of the Gold runners are homebreds from the first crop of the young sire Brethren and are owned by Arindel, the Ocala, Fla., farm of Alan Cohen, the pharmaceutical magnate who formerly owned the Florida Panthers. Gold has become the primary trainer for Arindel and has about 40 of its horses split between Barns 11 and 14 on the Gulfstream backstretch. Ever the team player, Gold is rooting for Brethren to get away to a quick start in his stud career.

“That’s what I’d really like to see, him get a stakes winner right away,” he said.

Dunk most likely will be favored in the Dr. Fager after earning a 78 Beyer Speed Figure in an 8 3/4-length romp in a July 15 maiden race, while Awesome Mass should fill the same role in the Desert Vixen after getting an 81 Beyer in an 11 3/4-length runaway July 20.

Both horses were winning maiden races when making their third career starts, and Gold believes their breakout victories atop their prior experience should come in handy Saturday.

“Their latest performances speak for themselves, I believe,” said Gold. “Their Beyers ranked in the top five among 2-yearolds around the country when they first came out, although there’ve been some higher ones since then. If they can run back to those races, I’d have to think they’ll both be pretty tough in these spots.”

Gold, who has a youthful and energetic demeanor that stems partly from his abstaining from meat, seafood, and poultry since 1969, gives off the impression that he would love to regain the prominence he once enjoyed in the Florida Sire series. In 2011, he and Jacks or Better teamed to win five of the six races for 2-year-olds, with their only defeat coming in the Susan’s Girl, where Redbud Road was defeated a nose by Queen Drama. (Races for 3-year-olds formerly were part of the Florida Sire program but have been discontinued this year.)

Since the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association began the Florida Sire races at the old Calder in 1982, 12 horses have swept their respective series, starting with Smile in 1984. Gold has trained three of those: Jackson Bend (2009), Awesome Feather (2010), and Fort Loudon (2011), with Awesome Feather proceeding to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and a divisional Eclipse Award in that same season.

As he watched a set of horses train Wednesday morning from his backside perch, Gold expressed gratitude for the opportunity afforded him by Cohen after his career took its unexpected detour a little more than a year ago.

“[Cohen] called, and I said yes,” said Gold. “I’ve been focused on training these horses ever since.”

Entries for the Desert Vixen and Dr. Fager were drawn here Wednesday as part of a 13-race Saturday card that starts at 12:10 p.m. Eastern. Access to the “Summer Soiree,” an ontrack wine-and-cheese festival, is available to fans for $25.

Gunnevera set for return

The Florida Sire Stakes events will be overshadowed to a certain extent this weekend by the eagerly awaited comeback of Gunnevera, the locally based standout whose star lost some luster with off-the-board finishes in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Gunnevera will be a heavy favorite Sunday in the $100,000 Tangelo Stakes as part of a small field of 3-yearolds.

Trainer Antonio Sano said Wednesday that he has been very pleased with how Gunnevera has matured and filled out since the colt finished fifth in the May 20 Preakness.

“He is very good,” said Sano. “His conditioning is good, a lot more weight. Better condition now.”

Sano said he is hoping Gunnevera will run well enough to merit a start in the Aug. 26 Travers before advancing to the Sept. 23 Pennsylvania Derby. “Maybe just one, but hopefully both,” he said.

◗ A nine-race Twilight Friday card will be highlighted by a $37,000 allowance to be contested by as many as 11 fillies and mares, assuming the 7 1/2-furlong race remains on the turf, as scheduled. First post is 2:15, with the nominal feature (race 7) going at 5:44 and the last race at 6:49. A fourday race week started Thursday with a jackpot rollover of $20,089 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 4-9).