Stakes-Winning Stablemates Howbeit, Winfromwithin Try Mr. Prospector (G3)<br> Five Stakes on the Weekend and Mandatory Payout of Rainbow 6

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Repole Stable, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Dynamic One is scheduled to return from a long layoff in Friday’s featured Race 7 at Gulfstream Park, where the Grade 2 stakes winner has been installed as the 6-5 morning line favorite for the mile optional claiming allowance.

“We’re looking forward to getting him back to the races,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. “Hopefully, this leads to bigger opportunities ahead.”

Pletcher had nominated Dynamic One for the Dec.30 Harlan’s Holiday (G3), a key 1 1/16-mile prep for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G3) Jan. 27 at Gulfstream but opted to bring the 5-year-old son of Union Rags back to the races around one turn in Friday’s feature.

Dynamic One has been sidelined since finishing sixth in the 2022 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1). The Phipps homebred had run the best race of his career in his prior start, a victory in the Suburban (G2) at Belmont Park. The Pletcher trainee, the runner-up in the 2022 Wood Memorial (G2), also won the 2021 Curlin at Saratoga and the 2022 Blame at Churchill Downs.

Defending Championship Meet titlist Irad Ortiz Jr., who was aboard Dynamic One in the Suburban, has the return mount Friday.

Defending two-time Championship Meet training titlist Saffie Joseph Jr. has entered two horses in Friday’s feature, Picking Up Pennies and Positive Review.

Stakes-Winning Stablemates Howbeit, Winfromwithin Try Mr. Prospector (G3)

Howbeit, a Grade 2 winner on dirt last fall, and multiple turf stakes winner Winfromwithin will share a starting gate for the first time as stablemates in Saturday’s $125,000 Mr. Prospector (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

The seven-furlong Mr. Prospector for 3-year-olds and up is one of four $125,000 stakes on an 11-race program, along with the six-furlong Sugar Swirl (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and up and Tropical Park Derby for 3-year-olds and Tropical Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies, both scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the grass.

David Bernsen, Weijland Holdings, Omar Aldabbagh and Jeffrey Lambert’s 6-year-old gelding Howbeit drew Post 2 in a field of nine for the Mr. Prospector that includes defending champion and Group 1 winner Sibelius. Joe Bravo is named to ride.

Howbeit will be making his 34th career start and second for trainer William E. ‘Billy’ Morey after closing to be third, beaten 4 ¼ lengths, in a six-furlong claiming event Nov. 11 at Churchill Downs following a belated start.

“He ran OK last time,” Morey said. “He got away a little slow but he was finishing decently, so we were encouraged by that.”

A rallying nose winner of the six-furlong Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2) last fall, has been third or better in 14 of 33 starts with $415,546 in purse earnings. Third in the 2020 Laz Barrera (G3), he began this season with back-to-back fourths in the six-furlong Palos Verdes (G3) and seven-furlong San Carlos (G3).

“The owners are good clients and they’ve sent me some nice horses,” Morey said. “This one is kind of a little in-between these days. Obviously, he’s gone through all his conditions so he’s a little bit hard to find places for, so we’re kind of taking a chance in the stakes with him.”

Bernsen and Aldabbagh also own Winfromwithin, a 5-year-old son of Into Mischief that has done his best running on the turf including stakes victories in the 2021 Columbia at Tampa Bay Downs for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and last fall’s Red Bank at Monmouth Park for trainer Jorge Delgado.

While Howbeit had primarily raced in California until his last start, Winfromwithin broke his maiden in January 2021 at Gulfstream, ran sixth in an optional claimer a year later and set the pace before tiring to be fourth by less than two lengths in the 1 1/8-mile Fort Lauderdale (G2) during last winter’s Championship Meet. All those races came on the grass.

“My clients were interested in trying to switch him to running a little shorter and on the dirt,” Morey said. “So, that’s what we’re doing. It was kind of a request by the clients, so I was game for it.”

Winfromwithin has a win and two seconds in four previous tries on dirt, the most recent an optional claiming victory sprinting seven furlongs last April 22 at Tampa. He is 5-for-19 overall with purse earnings of $352,045. Luis Saez has the mount from Post 4.

“He trains very well,” Morey said. “He’s got some wins going back on the dirt. Obviously his better numbers are on the turf, but if you never try something like this you’ll never know.”

Five Stakes on the Weekend and Mandatory Payout of Rainbow 6

The holiday weekend will be celebrated at Gulfstream Park with five stakes, two graded, and a Rainbow 6 mandatory payout that could exceed $1 million.

If there is no single winning ticket on Friday’s 20-cent Rainbow 6, there will be a mandatory that will be anchored by Gulfstream’s four stakes races – the $125,000 Tropical Park Oaks, $125,000 The Sugar Swirl (G3), $125,000 Mr. Prospector (G3), and $125,000 Tropical Park Derby.

The Tropical Park Oaks, at 1 1/16-mile on the turf, drew 13 3-year-old fillies including graded winners Cairo Consort and Implicated. The Tropical Park Derby, also at a 1 1/6-mile on the turf, drew 14 3-year-olds graded winners Anglophile, Bobby O, and stakes winners Legacy Isle, Amstrong, and Irish Aces, undefeated around two turns on the turf.

Sunday’s program will play host to the two-mile H. Allen Jerkens, redrawn after it was cancelled last week due to inclement weather.