Swirvin Gives Girvin Another First-Crop Winner
Sunday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $150,000

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott walked onto the racetrack to greet Juddmonte’s Coleridge and jockey Edgar Prado to the Gulfstream Park’s winner’s circle following their impressive victory in Saturday’s Race 7 feature.

“Alright, Hall of Famer,” Mott called out to Prado, his fellow Hall of Famer who produced a perfectly executed ride aboard the 3-year-old homebred son of Uncle Mo to prevail in the $71,000 optional claiming allowance at a mile on turf by comfortable 1 ¼ lengths.

Coleridge, who graduated impressively at Gulfstream in his second career start Jan. 30 before returning from an eight-month hiatus to finish a close fourth in an Oct. 10 Keeneland allowance last time out, settled into a nice rhythm under Prado while racing several lengths off the pace around the first turn and along the backstretch. When gently asked by Prado, Coleridge kicked in with a five-wide sweep into the stretch and drew off with authority.

“He ran well down here last year. We thought he was a nice horse, He really finished well when he broke his maiden here,” Mott said. “He needed some time and turned him out for the summer and brought him back. We got him back to form.”

Coleridge ($9.20) ran a mile over a firm turf in 1:34.51 while very much looking like a future stakes performer.

“He’s got some conditions left, so we’ll see. That was a pretty good race today,” Mott said. “Maybe, to keep everybody interested, maybe we’ll try to go through his conditions.”

On Thin Ice, who returned from a seven-month layoff to just miss in a recent optional claiming allowance on Tapeta, rallied for second under Edwin Gonzalez, a quarter of a length ahead of News Break and Julien Leparoux.

Swirvin Gives Girvin Another First-Crop Winner

Bassett Stables’ Swirvin ($7) withstood a two-pronged challenge to his outside on the turn into the homestretch and kicked in through the stretch to capture Saturday’s Race 4, a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds.

The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained colt provided highly successful freshman sire Girvin with yet another winner while scoring a gutsy half-length debut victory. The Kentucky-bred colt set an uncontested pace into the far turn before losing the lead while being challenged on his outside by Scaramanga and Al Atasi on the turn into the homestretch. He finally responded to jockey Edgard Zayas’ urging after straightening away in the stretch to retake the lead and gut out a win.

“He was very gutsy. He always trained good in the morning,” Joseph said. “At the three-eighths pole, I was a bit worried because Edgard was having to ride him the whole way and he looked like he was going to back up. Once he made the corner and saw him dig in again, I was quite confident that he would hold them off.”

Goodlookinrags closed to finish second, 1 ¼-lengths ahead of late-running Baby Billy, the 4-5 favorite who got away from the starting gate last and trailed the field by several lengths on the backstretch before closing impressively for third.

Swirvin, who survived a brief review of an objection for swerving in the stretch, ran 6 ½ furlongs in 1:18.60 while providing Zayas with his third win of the day.

Sunday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $150,000

Sunday’s 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot is guaranteed at $150,000 after the popular multi-race wager went unsolved for the eighth racing day in a row.

The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 5-10, featuring a $72,000 optional claiming allowance in Race 7. Todd Pletcher-trained Abaan, who captured the W. L. McKnight (G1) last season, is rated as the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up on turf. The 5-year-old son of Will Take Charge, who hasn’t seen action since finishing off the board in the June 10 Belmont Gold Cup (G2), also won the H. Allen Jerkens and finished second in the Pan American (G2) during the 2021-2022 Championship Meet. Championship Meet defending titlist Luis Saez, who was aboard for all of the above races, has the mount.

Streaking Brazillionaire will seek his fifth straight victory in Race 7 feature. The Jeremiah Englehart-trained 5-year-old, who was claimed for $50,000 three starts back, is coming off a front-running victory in a 1 1/8-mile allowance race on turf at Keeneland.

Kelly Breen-trained Yes This Time brings a strong record on turf at Gulfstream into Race 7, winning four of six starts, including a triumph in the English Channel last season.