Hot pace a plus for Siena Lady

The pace should be honest when seven 3-year-old Floridabred fillies square off at 5 1/2 furlongs over the Tapeta strip under allowance and optionalclaiming conditions in Saturday’s modest $43,000 main event at Gulfstream Park.

The 11-race program also features a promising-looking field of 2-year-old maidens who will go five furlongs over the main track in the afternoon’s second event.

Four of the seven members of the evenly matched lineup in Saturday’s headliner were on the lead for at least the opening half-mile in their most recent outings, with two of the others in front for at least the first two calls just two starts back.

The abundance of pace should be a plus for Siena Lady, who has raced either near midpack or farther back in all four career outings, passing several rivals down the stretch in three of those starts, including her maiden win, when she rallied to a neck decision over the Tapeta strip on March 2.

Siena Lady was hung wide and failed to kick on late going five furlongs on the turf while drifting some during the latter stages of her most recent appearance against similar opposition May 7. As a result, trainer Jose Pinchin has opted to put blinkers on the 4-year-old filly, who worked a half-mile in 47.60 seconds over the synthetic strip last weekend with the new equipment added.

Lovin Makes Cents is far and away the most accomplished member of the lineup over the Tapeta track, having posted all four of her career wins over the surface, the latest of those victories coming under similar conditions against statebreds here Jan. 14. In her most recent try, Lovin Makes Cents raced forwardly from the outset but could not match strides through the final furlong with the redhot Sequin, who ran clear by 2 1/2 lengths while registering her third consecutive victory.

Beauty of the Sea owns the highest last-out Beyer Speed Figure of the bunch, a 77 posted for her gate-to-wire maiden win four weeks earlier. She figures to be hustled right from the start after breaking from the rail but is likely to be joined for the early lead by Moanas Power, who dueled with ultimate winner Musical Design before tiring to finish fourth, nearly a length in front of Siena Lady, when the pair met earlier this month.

Meetmeatthebeach, freshened since finishing sixth in a key statebred dash over the grass April 9; the idled Com On; and much-improved Free to Roam complete the field.

◗ In an effort to increase entries and betting interests here this summer, the racing office is planning on experimenting with a new policy that will allow trainers to enter as many as three horses in a race, provided no more than two have any common ownership. In case of overfilled races, a trainer will be limited to two horses in the body of the race, with standard common ownership and/or date-preference rules to apply.

The new rule goes into effect with condition book entries for next Friday, June 9.