Poster ‘Ready to Run a Big Race’ in Harlan’s Holiday

Litigation Set to Make Stakes Debut in $125,000 Janus
Pletcher Pair to Debut in Friday’s Well-Stocked Opener

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Knocked off the Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) by injury last March, Poster returns to graded-stakes competition Saturday at Gulfstream Park, where the Godolphin homebred colt will make the second start of a most promising comeback in the $150,000 Harlan’s Holiday (G3).

The 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds and up, a prep for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 24 at Gulfstream, will co-headline an 11-race program with five stakes, including the $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G3), a 1 1/8-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds and up that will serve as a prep for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1).

Poster has been installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in a seven-horse field that includes Skippylongstocking (3-1), a multiple grade-stakes winner with $3.86 million in earnings.

“He’s doing great. I wouldn’t have brought him down here if I didn’t have the utmost confidence that he’s in great shape and ready to run a big race,” trainer Eoin Harty said.

The son Munnings launched his juvenile campaign with back-to-back wins on turf at Ellis Park and Keeneland before scoring an off-the-pace victory in the Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct under Flavien Prat while making his debut on dirt to enter his 3-year-old season undefeated.

“The Remsen is an iconic race. It was his first time running on the dirt. I wouldn’t say he was very far back but he certainly came off the pace. He looked very, very comfortable over it from the get-go,” Harty said. “He took dirt. He didn’t seem to mind that. When Flavien asked him to run that day, he took off and he looked very good doing it.”

Poster made his highly anticipated 3-year-old debut Feb. 8 over Tampa Bay Downs’ main track in the 1 1/16-mile Sam Davis, in which he got away last in a 10-horse field before going five-wide into the stretch and closing to third, beaten by 2 ¾ lengths.

“I took him to Tampa and I trained him and ran him over [dirt]. He was very comfortable over it too, so I can’t say he prefers turf over dirt or vice versa,” Harty said. “He seems comfortable over either surface.”

Poster, out of a daughter of Grade 1 winner Cara Rafaela, went on to finish fourth over Turfway Park’s synthetic surface in the G3 Jeff Ruby Steaks.

“He came back well. He ran a very good race in Tampa and then he ran well at Turfway Park but came out of the race with a very small condylar fracture,” Harty said. “He was off for a considerable amount of time and he came back and ran every well.”

Poster, who returned to action to win a mile optional claiming allowance on turf Nov. 9 at Churchill Downs, will be back on dirt at Gulfstream Saturday.

“He’s very accomplished on the turf and he’s had two starts on the dirt. He won the Remsen at a mile and an eighth on the dirt and he was a very good third with a very troubled trip at Tampa,” Harty said. “I don’t think he carries his track with him. He can run his race on any surface.”

Prat, who was aboard for the Remsen, will be aboard the Harty trainee for only the second time in the Harlan’s Holiday.

Litigation Set to Make Stakes Debut in $125,000 Janus

Stone Farm’s 3-year-old homebred Litigation, a winner of four of his last five starts, will take the jump into stakes company for the first time in Saturday’s $125,000 Janus at Gulfstream Park.

Trained by Brian Lynch, who has won with five of his first 11 starters (45 percent) at the Championship Meet, Litigation has gone unraced since his 1 ¾-length open allowance triumph sprinting 5 ½ furlongs on the Churchill Downs turf Sept. 31.

The Janus, for 3-year-olds and up, is scheduled for five furlongs on the grass. Lynch won the Janus in 2021 with multiple graded stakes-placed Carotari.

Since relocating from Kentucky to South Florida, Litigation has worked twice at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, going four furlongs in 49.75 seconds Nov. 30 and 49.40 Dec. 14, the latter ranking third-fastest of 40 horses at the distance.

“He’s a neat little horse. He just kept getting better with racing and we’re excited about the way he’s doing,” Lynch said of Litigation. “He breezed here at Palm Meadows [Dec. 14] in good order and that gives us the confidence to think he’s going to run good next Saturday.”

Litigation debuted in March at Gulfstream, finishing off the board in a pair of dirt sprints 28 days apart. He graduated in a maiden claimer May 30 that was rained off the grass at Churchill Downs before moving to tur at Ellis Park to winning back-to-back turf starts. He finished second in a Keeneland allowance on turf before getting back to winning form in his most recent start.

By Twirling Candy, Litigation is 2-0 when facing older horses but has never raced at a distance shorter than 5 ½ furlongs. Mario Gutierrez, up for the last four starts, rides back from Post 7 in a field of nine. They are rated as the 4-1 third choice on the morning line.

“He’s got a nice turn of foot. He just needs a bit of pace to run at so hopefully the pace comes back to him at bit,” Lynch said. “Sometimes the speed here at Gulfstream is hard to reel in. Maybe the five furlongs could be a little bit short, but these are all questions we’re going to get answered Saturday.”

Pletcher Pair to Debut in Friday’s Well-Stocked Opener

Hall of Fame Trainer Todd Pletcher has entered two 3-year-olds to make their racing debuts in Friday’s first race, a mile maiden special weight event on the turf for 3-year-olds and up.

Robert and Lawana Low’s Highlands Way, a son of Not This Time who sold for $1.35 million at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale of 2023, is out of the Virginia-bred mare Street Mate. Meanwhile, Make It Make Sense, a son of Into Mischief purchased out of the same sale for $600,000, is out of the Florida-bred Mare Shopit. Make It Make Sense is owned by Repole Stable, Spendthrift Farm LLC, Big Easy Racing LLC, and Titletown Racing Stables.

The field also includes Amerman Racing’s Bessamay, beaten a neck at this distance on the turf at Keeneland in October for trainer Brian Lynch; Cruise the Nile, a daughter of Cairo Prince out of the graded stakes-placed mare Party Boat; and Mortal Lock, second on the turf last time out at Aqueduct.

Saturday’s program, which includes five stakes races, three that are preps for Pegasus World Cup Day, begins with a maiden special weight event at five furlongs on the turf for 2-year-old fillies. Making her debut is Pillar of Beauty for West Point Thoroughbreds. Trained by Bill Mott, the daughter of Travers (G1) and Peter Pan (G2) runner-up Caracaro brought $200,000 at auction. Chatelot, a daughter of War Front trained by Miguel Clement, returns after finishing fourth at six furlongs on the turf last out at Aqueduct. Trainer Patrick Biancone sends out another offspring of the sire Leinster in Elenique, beaten less than a length in her debut on Tapeta Nov. 29 at Gulfstream.

Juvenile maidens also go to post on the turf in Saturday’s Race 7 at 1 1/16 miles with eight of the 11 starters selling at auction for six figures or more. Epic d’Oro, a $1.35 million son of Medaglia d’Oro, is scheduled to make his debut for Pletcher. Making their debuts will be C J Star ($400,000) for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, Comprehensive ($305,000) for trainer Brian Lynch, and Coburg ($325,000) for Riley Mott.

Boss Henry has two third-place finishes on the turf for Chad Brown, while Lemon’s Law, also trained by Riley Mott, was second at Churchill Downs Nov. 9 by less than a length at this distance and surface. Stuart Janney’s homebred Protect and Defend, a son of Munnings, will make his debut as will Carl and Yurie Pascarella’s homebred Minotaur.