Champion Filly Shisospicy Working Toward Breeders’ Cup Return

Sunshine Meet Resumes Friday with $125,000 Estimated Jackpot Pool

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Morplay Racing’s 4-year-old filly Shisospicy, last year’s champion female sprinter, continues to train forwardly for a planned return trip to the Breeders’ Cup.

Gulfstream Park-based trainer Jose D’Angelo said Shisospicy, who beat males in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) last fall at Del Mar, is being pointed to the Oct. 30-31 championships at Keeneland, which would be just her second race this year.

Seventh in the Unbridled Sidney (G2) May 1 at Churchill Downs, Shisospicy was sidelined by minor ailments that cost her starts in Dubai and New York, most recently the Floral Park sprinting six furlongs on the Belmont Park turf Sept. 19.

The daughter of 2019 champion male sprinter Mitole has breezed six times at Saratoga, returning from three weeks between works with a bullet half-mile move in 46.93 seconds Saturday, the fastest of 133 horses. Shisospicy has won six of 10 career starts and more than $2 million in purses.

“She had a very good work at Saratoga. It was the first workout since she was out for a little bit with a little temperature. That’s why we skipped the race we were supposed to run at Belmont,” D’Angelo said between races Sunday at Gulfstream. “Now we are pointing to the Breeders’ Cup. It’s the only race we have now going forward. She’s been training very good.”

Shisospicy was the first Breeders’ Cup winner for D’Angelo, who followed up one race later by winning the Sprint (G1) with Leon King Stable Corp. and TCC Stables’ Bentornato. This year, Bentornato ran second in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) and True North (G3), the latter June 6, before being sidelined with a small sesamoid fracture following a workout in early July.

“He’s at the farm. I saw him when I went to Keeneland for the sale and he looks pretty good,” D’Angelo said. “We are waiting 30 more days to recheck him and probably back to training.”

Saturday at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, D’Angelo gave TAG Stables’ 4-year-old homebred filly Spirited Boss a three-furlong breeze in 37.40 seconds. Winner of the Monrovia (G3) April 4 at Santa Anita, it was her first work since running sixth in the Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Sprint (G1) Aug. 29. She is being pointed to the Oct. 23 Perfect Sting at Belmont.

“She’s doing great. She’s here,” D’Angelo said. “We are planning to run her in New York. She’s a horse that five furlongs is too short for her and a mile is too far. We have the seven furlongs over there so that is the plan, the stakes at the end of [next] month.”

D’Angelo said Fugget About It Racing Stables’ Itza Boss, most recently fifth in the Bob Umphrey Sprint Sept. 12, would run next in the $60,000 Chasing Artie overnight handicap scheduled for five furlongs on the grass Oct. 10. He entered Soldi Stables’ Gabaldon in a starter optional claimer for 3-year-olds and up, also scheduled for five-eighths on the turf.

Gabaldon, most recently second in an Aug. 16 optional claiming allowance at Del Mar, won Gulfstream’s Royal Palm

Sunshine Meet Resumes Friday with $125,000 Estimated Jackpot Pool

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is expected to reach $125,000 when the fall Sunshine Meet resumes with a nine-race program Friday at Gulfstream Park.

First race post time is 12:20 p.m.

Friday’s Rainbow 6 spans Races 4-9, starting with a maiden claiming event going a one-turn mile on the main track that drew a field of seven fillies and mares 3 and up where Not One Less, with four second and eight thirds to her credit, is the lone 4-year-old.

After a summer at Colonial Downs, Tell Me Lies goes after her sixth career win in Race 5, a starter optional claimer scheduled for a two-turn mile on the grass. Race 6 is a 1 1/16-mile claimer on the all-weather Tapeta course for older females where Veronika Z looks to make it back-to-back wins.

Bert’s Knoty Girl, third in the Aug. 22 Miss Gracie, returns to the Gulfstream turf in Race 7, a one-mile starter optional claimer for 3-year-old fillies. Race 8 is a starter optional claimer for 3-year-olds and up sprinting 5 ½ furlongs on the main track featuring stakes winners King Cab and 9-year-old Mish, owner of 14 career victories.

The feature comes in the Race 9 finale, a maiden special weight for 3-year-olds and up scheduled for one mile on the grass. Among the field of 10 are first-time starters Yastrzemski and Kinkonce; and Happy Memories, second last out sprinting 6 ½ furlongs on the main track against Florida-breds.

In the Rainbow 6, the jackpot pool is paid out only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

On mandatory payout days, the entire pool is disbursed to the bettor or bettors holding tickets with the most winners in the six-race sequence.

Notes: Trainer Michael Morrison and owner Mike Nyman teamed up for two winners Sunday, Come On Teesha ($24) in Race 5 and War Warrior ($20) in Race 7 … Jockey Samy Camacho doubled on Imperia Blue ($2.60) in Race 3 and Arabia Wild ($10.20) in Race 8.