Go Back
Lynch-Trained Silent Heart Makes Anticipated Return Friday
1/11/2024
Feb. 3 Holy Bull (G3) on Radar for Stakes-Placed Sea Streak
Octane Tops Stakes Winners Nominated to Sunshine Classic
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Terry Hamilton’s Silent Heart, a dominating maiden winner in his Dec. 7 Gulfstream Park debut, is scheduled to make his highly anticipated return to the races in Friday’s Race 6, a five-furlong turf sprint for 3-year-olds.
“I expect him to run very good again. He’s been training really well. His works have been sharp. It seems like he’s doing really well,” trainer Brian Lynch said.
Silent Heart, who is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in Friday’s co-feature, is a son of multiple Grade 1 winner Heart to Heart, who dominated the Gulfstream turf from 2016 to 2018. Heart to Heart’s son has shown a lot of the same heart that dominated his long career at Gulfstream, during which he won five stakes, four graded, including the 2018 Gulfstream Park Turf (G1).
“Time will tell. I think we’re going to find out that there could be [similarities],” Lynch said. “I think he’s not just a sprinter. I think he will stretch out. I wanted to get one more sprint into him before I did stretch him out. I think he’s got his faire share of talent. I think he’s an above-average horse.”
Silent Heart debuted Sept. 26 at Horseshoe Indianapolis, where he was squeezed back to ninth and last before rallying to finish second in a five-furlong turf sprint. The Kentucky-bred colt came back to run on dirt Nov. 10 at Churchill Downs, where he dueled for the lead throughout the five-furlong sprint before losing a photo finish by a head to Wesley Ward’s favored Baraye.
The Lynch trainee dominated in his Dec. 7 appearance in a five-furlong sprint at Gulfstream, driving to a 2 ¼-length victory in 55.20 seconds after stalking the pace under Luis Saez, who has the return mount Friday.
Feb. 3 Holy Bull (G3) on Radar for Stakes-Placed Sea Streak
Holly Crest Farm’s New Jersey homebred Sea Streak, most recently third by a half-length in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man on New Year’s Day, is being pointed to a possible start in the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3) Saturday, Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park.
The 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull is the next step for 3-year-olds on the road to the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1), the country’s premiere Triple Crown prep, March 30.
“He’s doing really good. We’re going to probably nominate him to the Holy Bull,” trainer Eddie Owens Jr. said. “I think the two turns will be better for him. We’ll find out.”
The Holy Bull would mark the first time around two turns for Sea Streak, a gelded son of Sea Wizard that went into the Mucho Macho Man off a runner-up optional claiming allowance finish Dec. 9 at Gulfstream, also at a mile. The winner of that race, stakes-placed Inveigled, was three-quarters of a length behind Sea Streak in the Mucho Macho Man in fourth.
“I’m going to give him a chance. That’s his chance,” Owens said. “I think he’ll be a better horse around two turns, I really do. The one-turn mile is more of a sprint, so we’re going to see about that. It’s going to the starting point. We aren’t chasing any dreams yet and we’re not going to chase them unless he takes us to them.”
The Mucho Macho Man was the first time racing in blinkers for Sea Streak, who debuted running second in the six-furlong Smoke Glacken last summer at Monmouth Park behind Book’em Danno, who went on to win the Futurity and finish second in the Nashua at Aqueduct.
“I liked him a lot but I didn’t want to run him first time in a stake. It’s just the options that we had. I didn’t want to put him on a van first time starting and take him out of town. He had been training good and had been working with the best horses in the barn, so I asked the owner if he wanted to take a chance and we took a chance,” Owens said. “He didn’t get tired. I just think that horse had the momentum going by him. He dug back in and came back at him, but it was too late. The horse had all the momentum, and he went on about it.”
Sea Streak broke his maiden next out in October at Aqueduct before Owens, a long-time assistant to Joe Orseno, headed south for the winter. In the Mucho Macho Man, Sea Streak forged a short lead after six furlongs while racing inside and still had the advantage at the top of the stretch but wound up a neck behind runner-up First World War as favored Otello came with a dramatic late run on the outside to win by a half-length.
“With him, he loses focus sometimes. We put the blinkers on him, and he improved a bunch,” Owens said. “I don’t think [First World War] would have beat him unless the horse that won didn’t come up on the outside and got his attention again. I think we were going to come back and beat that horse that finished second. But when that other horse pulled up on the outside he dug in even more. We didn’t get that opportunity because we were down on the rail. If we were in the middle. it would have been the same thing. We probably would have finished second.”
Owens has another 3-year-old for Holly Crest Farm in Ship to Shore, an eight-length winner of the six-furlong Limehouse Jan. 6 at Gulfstream. It was his second win from five career starts and marked a return to the dirt after running seventh in the 7 ½-furlong Pulpit on the Gulfstream turf Dec. 9.
“He came out of the race good,” Owens said. “That wasn’t even a plan for him. I was going to look for an allowance race for him. He’s not a very big horse. He’s very small but he gives it all every time. I don’t know what’s next. We’ll see what’s coming up. We haven’t made any long-range plans for him.”
G3-Placed Octane Tops Stakes Winners Nominated to Sunshine Classic
Grade 3-placed Octane and fellow stakes winners Lure Him In, Khozeiress, Shaq Diesel and The Skipper Too are among a dozen nominees to the $75,000 Sunshine Classic for Florida-bred 4-year-olds and up Saturday, Jan. 20 at Gulfstream Park.
Arindel homebred Octane exits a fifth in the 1 1/16-mile Harlan’s Holiday (G3) Dec. 30 at Gulfstream. Runner-up in last winter’s Fred Hooper (G3), the 5-year-old gelding is a four-time stakes winner, all against state-breds, most recently in the one-mile Gil Campbell Memorial Handicap Oct. 21.
Lure Him In won the 2021 Tokyo City (G3) on turf and has made his last two starts on dirt after being claimed for $40,000 in September and returned to South Florida by trainer Herman Wilensky. Shaq Diesel rallied to win the seven-furlong FSS Marion County Dec. 9 at Tampa Bay Downs in his latest effort.
The Skipper Too and Khozieress respectively ran fifth and sixth in the Marion County. The Skipper Too won the 1 1/16-mile William A. Kaplan Memorial overnight handicap July 2 at Gulfstream, while Khozieress registered a one-length triumph in the seven-furlong Awesome Banner overnight handicap Nov. 11.
Borders Racing Stable Ltd.’s 8-year-old defending champion Roaring Forties is among the nominees for the $75,000 Sunshine Turf for Florida-bred 4-year-olds and up scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the grass Sunday, Jan. 21.
Live Oak Plantation homebred Souper Blessing is nominated off his rallying neck triumph at odds of 12-1 in the 1 1/16-mile Tropical Park Derby Dec. 23 at Gulfstream. Third in that race, beaten a half-length, was 2022 With Anticipation (G3) winner Boppy O, another nominee.
Max K. O. ran fifth in last year’s Sunshine Turf but went on three starts later to capture the 1 1/16-mile Mr. Steele by a nose May 14 at Gulfstream. Me and Mr. C. ran third in both races and is also among the nominees.