Coppola Wins Going Gate To Wire in $165,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint

6-year-old Easily Holds off 35-1 Capture the Lion in 5-furlong grass test

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Coppola and jockey Tyler Gaffalione broke on top in Saturday’s $165,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint and never looked back to win the 5-furlong sprint on grass.

Owned by Hammer Time Stable LLC and Sport of Kings Racing Partners LLC, the 6-year-old horse improved his record in Gulfstream turf races to four wins in seven tries.

Coppola, the 2-1 favorite for trainer Dale Romans, sprinted away to a clear advantage and finished in 54.43 seconds. Capture the Lion just held off Reef Runner for second.

“He’s a fast son of a gun,” Romans said. “They go :42 (for the half-mile). I think that’s the fastest any horse of mine has ever gone in my life and I’ve run a lot of horses.”

Said Gaffalione: “If we had the opportunity to go to the front, we were going to take it. He’s a big strong horse, and if we can get out of the gate first, it alleviates the worry about being bounced around.”