Sweezey Trainee Captures 1st Race on New Turf Course

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

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – No one could be any happier to see the return of turf racing at Gulfstream Park Friday than trainer Kent Sweeezey, judging from Kahiko’s past performances on the grass course at the Hallandale Beach racetrack.

The Sweezey-trained 5-year-old mare won four races on grass at Gulfstream last year and the daughter of First Samurai didn’t disappoint her connections with her return to the winner’s circle following a thoroughly professional performance in the Race 8 feature, a $72,000 optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares on turf. It was the first race on turf at Gulfstream since June.

“She loved it, but the turf she was on hasn’t been this one,” said Sweezey after Kahiko saved ground into the stretch before catching favored Fast as Flight and prevailing by three-quarters of a length in the 7 ½-furlong turf feature.

Kahiko, who finished second last time out on Tapeta while coming off a seven-month layoff, obviously found the new turf surface as much to her liking as the replaced surface while completing the 7 ½-furlong distance over a ‘good’ turf in 1:27.69.

“After she had some time off, I didn’t breeze her on the grass. Before, we always breezed her on the grass at Palm Meadows. I said, ‘she’s in such a good rhythm right now, why change it?’” Sweezey said. “This is the first time she’s stepped foot on grass in a long time, which is kind of cool, because she obviously loved it.”

Although Fast as Flight came up a little short in her return to Gulfstream, where she broke her maiden on grass in February, jockey Julien Leparoux was pleased with the new course and the resumption of turf racing.

“I think everybody was happy. It felt great out there. Even with the rain yesterday, it was good. It felt good,” Leparoux said. “I was pulling up and asking the other jocks, and they all seemed like they were happy with it.

“They did a good job. I think the six months off, you can see now it feels good and looks good. It’s a big improvement.”

Fast as Flight finished three lengths clear of third-place finisher Miss Bonnie T.

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

Saturday’s Rainbow 6 jackpot pool at Gulfstream Park will be guaranteed at $150,000.

Saturday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 5-10, featuring a mile optional claiming allowance on turf in Race 7 and a mile optional claiming starter allowance on turf in Race 9.

Todd Pletcher-trained Causin’ Mayhem, the 2-1 morning-line favorite, will make his first start as a gelding after following up an off-the-board finish in the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine with a close-up fourth in an entry-level allowance at Aqueduct. Pletcher will also be represented by Red Line Overdrive, who graduated on Tapeta at Gulfstream while coming off a nine-month layoff. Multiple stakes-placed Modern Science, a 4-year-old son of Galileo trained by Ian Wilkes, is scheduled to return from a three-month layoff. Bill Mott-trained Coleridge is slated to make his second start off an 8 ½-month layoff since graduating at Gulfstream.

In Race 9, English Painter, who graduated last time out at Meadowlands, is rated as the 7-5 morning-line favorite for his first start for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.

There will also be a $4,321.12 Super Hi-5 carryover heading into Saturday’s first race.