Khozeiress faces open rivals

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – After winning her firstlevel allowance condition again statebreds in convincing fashion three weeks ago, Khozeiress will attempt to do likewise against open company as the likely favorite when facing six other 3-year-old fillies in Friday’s co-featured seventh race at Gulfstream Park.

The 6 1/2-furlong maintrack dash is the first of two $51,000 allowance events on the program along with a 5 1/2-furlong test over the Tapeta for fillies and mares that goes as the finale on the nine-race card.

Khozeiress stalked the early pace before drawing away to an impressive 2 3/4-length decision over the 4-5 Loco Abarrio while earning a career-best 86 Beyer Speed Figure going seven furlongs here April 28 for trainer Terri Pompay and owner-breeder My Purple Haze Stables. The performance avenged the first of Khozeiress’s two career losses. The homebred daughter of Khozan finished a distant second behind Loco Abarrio when launching her career here in late December.

Khozeiress could face her stiffest challenge, and will likely be tested from the outset by the Kentucky-bred Practiko, an easy 2 1/4-length winner when winning her maiden against older horses five weeks ago for trainer Jose D’Angelo. The Practical Joke filly showed major improvement with the addition of blinkers.

Practiko would logically have to move forward off the 74 Beyer Speed Figure she earned for that effort, although she gave every indication that could be in the cards by zipping a half-mile in 47 seconds out of the gate at Palm Meadows last Friday. The move was the fastest of 15 works at the distance that morning.

Pouncival, the only other multiple winner in the field besides Khozeiress, also is coming off a strong gate work for her jump in class Friday. She went four furlongs in 48.20 from the blocks at Gulfstream last Saturday. Pouncival has captured two of her four starts and will be back with straight 3-year-olds after finishing a distant fifth following a slow start and wide trip against older rivals in a lesser optionalclaiming and allowance dash

April 8.

The stakes-placed pair of Diamond Cool and This Run’s For You, who finished second and third, respectively, behind Zydeceaux in the OBS Sophomore Stakes for Floridabreds on March 26 at Tampa Bay Downs also are entered. Free Soul and Super Unison complete the field.

◗ A wide-open field of 10 fillies and mares will contest the nightcap, with a case to be made for at least a half-dozen of those runners.

The top last-race Beyer, a modest 76, belongs to the raildrawn Miss Domina, who exits a third-place finish under similar conditions nearly two months earlier. It was a good effort, considering the George Weaver-trained filly was making her debut over the Tapeta surface.

Oh Darlin, haltered for $75,000 out of a third-place finish in her most recent start by trainer Happy Alter, will wear blinkers for the first time and may prove the one to catch with the equipment change in a field lacking much significant early speed.

Fawning returns from a 5 1/2-month layoff for leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., but has worked well for her return while breezing exclusively over the synthetic strip.

Gunesh may be the most consistent member of the lineup from a Beyer perspective while returning to the surface over which she recorded her only previous win going two turns last November.

Turf course closing

Turf racing at Gulfstream will end for the season after the May 28 program, two weeks earlier than originally scheduled. Live racing also is being scaled back from four to three cards per week beginning June 2.

The change of schedule, which coincides with the end of the current condition book, is to facilitate plans to further renovate the turf course, which underwent an extensive overhaul last summer, and to ensure that work will be completed in time for the 2023-24 Championship meet in December, according to Bill Badgett, executive director of operations for 1/ST Racing at Gulfstream Park.

Racing will be conducted on a Friday-through-Sunday basis once the track switches to a three-day week.