Tomlinson Seeking Stakes Success with Watson in Proud Man

Juvenile Sprint Headlines Sunday Card to Close 4th of July Weekend

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – In the midst of a breakthrough meet at Gulfstream Park, trainer Nick Tomlinson goes in search of his first career stakes victory with promising Arindel homebred Watson in Sunday’s $100,000 Proud Man.

The Proud Man for 2-year-olds sprinting 5 ½ furlongs on the main track headlines a 10-race program closing the Independence Day holiday weekend along with the $70,000 Pay Any Price overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up scheduled for five furlongs on the grass.

First race post time is 12:20 p.m.

Tomlinson, 31, is in his first full year as a trainer since going out on his own last fall after working 10 years as a top assistant for Hall of Famer Mark Casse, much of it overseeing the stable’s highly successful string at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.

Both his first starter and winner came courtesy of Insolenta two weeks apart last October at Gulfstream. Watson will be Tomlinson’s first stakes starter and third for Alan Cohen’s high-powered Arindel operation managed by his son, Brian.

“I’ve known Brian Cohen for a while. Even when I worked for Mark we kind of talked about when I went on my own maybe sending a couple horses my way. Just very grateful for the opportunity,” Tomlinson said.

A native of Canada that started walking hots at Woodbine for trainer Peter Berringer as a 13-year-old and worked for Malcolm and Sally Pierce before joining Casse, Tomlinson went 6-7-6 with $157,620 in purses earned during the 2025-2026 Championship Meet. His first starter for Arindel, well-regarded colt Strike, ran second in a June 20 maiden special weight.

“Arindel has been the pinnacle of Florida racing and Florida-breds. To be able to have an opportunity like this so early in my career is absolutely phenomenal for me,” Tomlinson said. “I’m very thankful to be able to train for them and I’m really hoping for an exciting future with them.”

Tomlinson entered the holiday weekend with 10 wins, nine seconds, five thirds and $299,250 in purse earnings from 31 starters at the Royal Palm Meet. Both his win (32) and top-three (77) percentage ranked highest among the top 10 trainers where Saffie Joseph Jr. led the way with 29 victories.

Watson could have added to that win total in his debut June 13, a six-furlong maiden special weight where he led from start to finish and crossed the wire a length in front but was disqualified to second for interference after drifting out in deep stretch.

“All credit to Arindel. He came in all ready. All we had to do was get him his gate card and run him,” Tomlinson said. “He’s pretty straightforward. I wasn’t really sure how he was going to run first time out. He’s kind of a laid-back horse, just does what he has to in the morning. Once we kind of saw in the afternoon that there was something more there, it kind of made the decision easier to enter him [Sunday].”

By Arindel’s foundation sire Brethren out of the Into Mischief mare Weekend Mischief, Watson drew outermost Post 8 and will have jockey Samy Camacho back aboard at 120 pounds. They are rated at 4-1 on the morning line.

“He’s kind of laid back so you don’t really know what’s left in the tank. He kind of only does what he has to,” Tomlinson said. “There could be a lot more to him that we haven’t seen which is obviously exciting, especially with a 2-year-old. We’ll see what happens come Sunday, but we’ll go in there and be cautiously optimistic.”

The 8-5 program favorite in the Proud Man is AMO Racing USA’s Regent’s Park (Post 5, Jose Morelos), a son of Bolt d’Oro whose siblings include Launch, winner of Gulfstream’s six-furlong Any Limit in 2024, and fellow six-figure earners Energizer and Rebellious Stage. The 123-pound topweight was a popular 3 ¼-length debut winner May 25 at Monmouth Park for trainer Jorge Delgado and is cross-entered in Saturday’s Sanford (G3) at Saratoga.

Among three first-time starters in the Proud Man is Dew Sweepers’ Gaelic Legacy, by Leinster out of the Munnings mare Stifled Heiress that is a half-brother to multiple graded-stakes-winning sprinter Mad House. Trained by Patrick Biancone, Gaelic Legacy will carry 120 pounds including jockey Keith Asmussen from Post 3.

“When you have the young horses, it’s no big deal because you have never run and the other ones only run one time. It’s not like when they get older and they’ve run six or seven times and you’re a first-time starter,” Biancone said. “If a horse runs one time, takes the lead and wins, they’ve not learned anything anyway. You’re all at the same level.”

Bred in Florida by Bulldog Racing, Wavertree Farm and SGV Thoroughbred and purchased for $85,000 as a yearling, Gaelic Legacy has breezed three times at Palm Meadows for his unveiling including a bullet three-furlong move in 35.15 seconds June 27 in company with 4-year-old multiple stakes winner Classic of Course, who is entered in Saturday’s $100,000 Smile Sprint.

“We know from day one that he was really a top horse,” Biancone said. “He’s like 16 hands. He’s a huge horse. He’s not a little thing that will only go four furlongs and then stop. He’s a big, strong horse. They do a great job at the farm. Normally when they send them to me, they have a month or five weeks until they run. Then I just have to put on the little touches at the end. He’s a horse we like a lot. He trained really good from the start.”

Biancone has enjoyed considerable success with progeny from second-year sire Leinster such as multiple stakes winner Lennilu, stakes winner Celtic Dispute, and stakes-placed six-figure earners Laigina, Monster, Bronze Bullet and Squire.

“Up to now I’ve had a bit more luck with the [Leinster] fillies than the colts, but this one is by far the best colt of Leinster. He’s a really, really good horse [and] he’s the brother of a very good horse,” Biancone said. “The horse is bred for speed, Leinster from a Munnings mare. We’re very happy with him. Some perform the first time, some don’t, but we’ll see what happens. We’re happy to run him.”

Spicy Taco (Post 1, Diego Herrera, 123), It’s Smoking (Post 2, Edgar Perez, 123), Etruscan Warrior (Post 4, Miguel Vasquez, 120), Bourbon On Tap (Post 6, Micah Husbands, 120) and the filly Candy Cole (Post 7, Yolber Torres, 117) complete the field.