Orseno Has Two for Cicada Saturday
Trainer Joe Orseno, who has had a solid Gulfstream Park meeting with 15 winners -- highlighted by five winners on last Monday’s card -- holds a strong hand for next Saturday’s $75,000 Cicada Stakes with Silly Goose Racing Stable’s Prop Me Up and Reata Thoroughbred Racing Farms’ Lady Byar.
Either 6-year-old mare could win the 1 1/8 miles test.
“She’s (Prop Me Up) been with me five or six weeks now,” said Orseno Sunday morning. “She came here from New Orleans for the Sunshine Millions (6th in Distaff for trainer Greg Sacco) and then went to the farm in Ocala for about 30 days to freshen up before coming back here to me. Joe Bravo’s ridden her before and will ride her Saturday.
“Lady Byar loves this track so much I have to give her a chance. Mario Madrid has worked with us here this meet and will ride her.”
A chestnut daughter of Byars, Lady Byar has won six of 14 starts over the Gulfstream track with three seconds and three thirds, most recently third to Silver Knockers in a one-mile allowance on Mar. 27.
Prop Me Up is the most accomplished of the 11 Florida-bred fillies and mares nominated for the Cicada, the final stakes on the Gulfstream schedule before closing day Sunday. A chestnut daughter of Reparations, Prop Me Up boasts career earnings of $454,000 with four victories last year, including three stakes for Sacco.
The biggest threat to Orseno’s team in the Cicada is expected to come from J. Paul Reddam and Rockin BB Ranch’s 5-year-old mare Peach Flambe, who ran very well to be second in the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Distaff here on Jan. 26, although beaten nearly seven lengths by 2007 Eclipse champion Ginger Punch.
Trained by Mark Hennig, Peach Flambe is a daughter of Flying Chevron with a 13-3-5-1 record for earnings of $332,000. In one start since the Sunshine Millions, she finished fifth behind Spring Waltz in the Rampart Handicap (G2) on Mar. 9 after setting the pace to the upper stretch.
Smooth Air Sharp in Mile Drill at Calder Sunday
While other Kentucky Derby (G1) contenders were in the spotlight in stakes at Keeneland, Oaklawn Park and Gulfstream Park Saturday, and Derby favorite Big Brown worked at Palm Meadows that morning, Mt. Joy Stables’ Smooth Air continued his preparation for the 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ at Calder Sunday morning with a sharp mile workout timed in 1:41, a very impressive move over that surface.
Trained by Bennie Stutts Jr., Smooth Air has $290,000 in graded-stakes earnings after his runner-up effort behind Big Brown in the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream on Mar. 29. The homebred chestnut by Smooth Jazz is due to work again next Saturday before boarding a Tex Sutton Forwarding charter flight for Louisville Sunday.
While Big Brown and Smooth Air are assured of their berths in the maximum field of 20 allowed in the Derby, the status of Jet Set Racing’s Tomcito and Bea Oxenberg’s Hey Byrn, third and fourth in the Florida Derby, remains undetermined with graded-stakes earnings of $151,292 and $140,000, respectively.
Tomcito is at Keeneland where trainer Dante Zanelli Jr. is pondering a start for him in next Saturday’s $325,000 Coolmore Lexington Stakes (G2) if he feels the Street Cry colt needs to add to his bankroll in order to qualify for a Derby berth.
Hey Byrn looked good winning Saturday’s $150,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) here for trainer Eddie Plesa Jr., but with others leapfrogging into the fray in the wake of the Saturday’s $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland and $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn, the Put It Back colt will need a lot of help and luck to make the Derby field.
Gulfstream-Raced Horses Take Top 5 Spots in Blue Grass
Fountain of Youth winner Cool Coal Man was a disappointment in Saturday’s Blue Grass Stakes but other Gulfstream-raced 3-year-olds performed quite well, sweeping the first five positions in Keeneland’s Kentucky Derby prep Saturday.
Monba, last of 12 in the Feb. 24 Fountain of Youth, outfinished his fellow Todd Pletcher-trained stablemate Cowboy Cal, who was second in the Hallandale Beach here Feb. 16, by a neck in the Blue Grass. Kentucky Bear, who won his maiden at Gulfstream Jan. 11 before an unplaced effort in the FOY, was third in the Blue Grass, followed by 68-1 Stevil, who was second and third here in allowance races earlier this meet, and Visionaire, who won at Gulfstream Jan. 4.