Boots Set for Highly Anticipated Return in Sharp Susan

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – An impressive debut winner, Arindel’s homebred Boots will make her highly anticipated second career start in Friday’s $100,000 Sharp Susan Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

A precocious daughter of Brethren, Boots had been scheduled originally to follow up her 3 ½-length debut score in the May 9 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies at Gulfstream with the goal of winning a fees-paid berth in one of six stakes for juveniles during Great Britain’s Royal Ascot meeting in June.

“She got a little sick. I had her in the turf races here, but I had to scratch her because she got ill,” trainer Carlos David said. “But she’s recovered fully and is doing really, really well.”

Boots will be making her first start for David since being transferred from trainer Jorge Delgado shortly after her debut.

Boots pressed the pace before drawing off to a convincing debut victory in a 4 ½-furlong dirt dash at Gulfstream April 16 under Samy Camacho. She is rated third at 7-2 on the morning-line for the 5 ½-furlong stakes for juvenile fillies on dirt that will co-headline Friday’s program with the $70,000 Wildcat Red, a one-turn mile overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up.

Among Boots’ seven rivals Friday will be stablemate Hot Rod Honey.

Like Boots, Troy Johnson, Wendell Yates and Robert Fritts’ Hot Rod Honey is also coming off an impressive debut victory.

“I’m excited about both fillies,” David said.

The daughter of hot first-crop Florida sire Roadster pressed the pace into the stretch before kicking in to win a five-furlong maiden special weight by 1 ½-lengths June 5 at Gulfstream.

“When she came to us, she came ready to breeze, ready to get going,” David said. “She is a small filly. She’s not very big, but she has it in her. I wasn’t surprised when she won. I liked the way she won – off the pace a little bit.”

Rated second at 3-1 on the morning-line, Hot Rod Honey drew the rail post position.

“It’s not the best post Friday, but there’s nothing we can do about that,” said David, who has named Leonel Reyes to ride Hot Rod Honey for the first time.

Deb Morgan and trainer Patrick Biancone’s Elegante Miz, a gutsy debut winner on Tapeta June 6 at Gulfstream, has been installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Sharp Susan.

The daughter of Golden Pal, who was purchased for $145,000 at the 2026 OBS April sale, was last of six fillies out of the starting gate in her debut, in which she made a four wide rally on the turn into the homestretch to take the lead in the stretch, where she drifted out but dug in to win by a neck.

“She’s a good filly. She’ll be an even better filly when she doesn’t drift out off the turn,” Biancone said.

Elegante Miz has been working sharply over the dirt track at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, for her main-track debut in the Sharp Susan.

“She’s worked good on the dirt. Good horses are good on anything, you know,’ Biancone said.

Elegante Miz will be equipped with blinkers for the first time Friday.

“The other day she was really green. I don’t like to put blinkers on the first time, but I think she was looking around too much,” Biancone said. “It’s just to get a bit more focus.

Kentucky-based Keith Asmussen has the return mount on Elegante Miz for the Sharp Susan.

Jeffrey Cole’s Candy Cole, a debuting daughter of Twirling Candy, is highly rated at 4-1 on the morning-line for a filly with no race experience.

A $115,000 yearling purchase at last year’s Keeneland September sale, Candy Cole sports a solid worktab at Gulfstream in preparation for her debut.

Yolber Torres has the mount.

Ortega Stables’ Melody Queen (8-1), who graduated with a front-running three-length victory in her third career start; Cloud Nine Lumoni’s Colombina (10-1), a front-running debut winner against state-bred fillies; Soler and Soler Thoroughbred Corp.’s Privateinformation (10-1), who finished second behind Hot Rod Honey after holding a two-length lead in the stretch; and Gabriel Duignan’s Lamdara (20-1), who finished third in her recent debut; round out the field.