Carotari eyes Silks Run repeat

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The $75,000 Silks Run is such a competitive race that hardly anyone will notice what they’re missing Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

A well-matched field of nine will clash in the Silks Run, a five-furlong turf race that supplanted the $100,0000 Hurricane Bertie as the Saturday feature when that Grade 3 race failed to attract a sufficient number of entries. Even without nationally prominent turf sprinters such as Leinster and Imprimis, both of whom have been in action in Florida this winter, the Silks Run shapes up as an acceptable replacement.

Carotari, whose gate-to-wire victory in the Silks Run last March 7 came just ahead of the coronavirus pandemic, is back to defend his title against a handful of in-form specialists such as Mai Ty One On, Yes I Am Free, and The Connector. The Silks Run goes at 5:19 p.m. Eastern as the 11th of 12 races, with first post set for 12:10.

Carotari, trained by Brian Lynch for Bill Branch, will break from post 4 with Julien Leparoux aboard. The 5-yearold Artie Schiller gelding returned from a nearly fivemonth layoff with a just-miss runner-up finish in the Houston Turf Sprint on Jan. 31 and has been on a steady work schedule in recent weeks at the Palm Meadows training center. In three prior starts over the local course, Carotari has two wins and a second.

“I couldn’t be happier with the way he’s doing going into the race,” Lynch said. “He’s always run well at Gulfstream before, so we’re looking forward to a big effort.”

Carotari led every step of the 2020 Silks Run, earning a 94 Beyer Speed Figure, the kind of number that would probably be sufficient for a repeat. He’s likely to be among the early goers in a race lacking an obvious front-runner.

Yes I Am Free (post 1, Emisael Jaramillo), as with Caratori, is a 5-year-old gelding with a versatile turn of foot – and he, too, has shown a definite fondness for the Gulfstream turf, having compiled three wins and two seconds from five starts over it. Mark Casse trains Yes I Am Free for Gary Barber.

Mai Ty One On (post 6, Luis Saez) edged Yes I Am Free in a key turf-sprint allowance on Feb. 5 and clearly belongs among the core of favorites here. The 7-year-old Floridabred gelding is 2 for 2 since returning in January from a six-month layoff for trainer Jane Cibelli.

The Connector (post 5, Jose Ortiz) ships over from Tampa Bay Downs for trainer Dennis Ward off a solid third-place finish behind The Critical Way and Imprimis in the Feb. 24 Turf Dash. The 4-year-old gelding has won 6 of 13 starts.

Rounding out the Silks Run lineup are Sovereign Warrior, Harry’s Ontheloose, Citrus Burst, Long Blade, and Kobe Fifty Two.

The Silks Run is part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6, which spans races 7-12 and was expected to offer a pool guarantee of at least $400,000, assuming the jackpot was not swept by a solo winning ticket Thursday or Friday.

The Saturday card also includes a pair of $52,000, first-level allowances going a one-turn mile on the main track. Race 6 marks the return of Army Wife in a field of six 3-year-old fillies, while race 10 has Funnybet as the one to beat in a field of nine fillies and mares.

Following sporadic showers and windy conditions through much of this week, the local weather is supposed to be nicer through the weekend, with mostly sunny skies and a high near 80 in the Saturday forecast.

As for the 6 1/2-furlong Hurricane Bertie, it has been rescheduled for next Saturday, March 20, after attracting just four entries.

The next major date at Gulfstream is March 27, Florida Derby Day.