Going in Circles Digest FL DERBY Edition
Real Writing on Racing 💯
It’s Florida Derby week
The running of the Florida Derby signals the end of the “Championship meet” portion of your Gulfstream Park programming. While I’m still puzzled by exactly what championships occur during the winter months in South Florida, the important Kentucky Derby prep and deep field of undercard races featuring 10 stakes, serves as the line of delineation between the Championship meet and the remainder of the Gulfstream racing season.
Going in Circles is going to have a special podcast preview show on Friday evening that covers the Derby itself as well as the undercard stakes and any other interesting races that our racing analysts Barry Spears and Jason Beides deem worthy. You can find the podcast posted Friday night, be sure to subscribe using Spotify, Google or Apple podcasts or whatever service that you use. Click here for the link
Florida Derby (Gr 1) $750000 (100 KY derby pts)
Nova Rags - drawing the rail here with a short run to the first turn is a good thing. The bad thing is that he hasn’t shown that he is quite good enough against top caliber colts. Junior Alvarado, who has been on fire this last week, gets back on board the colt on whom he broke his maiden on way back in October. Seems like hitting the board would be his ceiling here.
Quantum Leap - Broke his maiden last time out at 22-1 going 1 1/8 which is same distance as the Florida Derby. Earned a decent number in that win but will need to step up once again to have any chance in here.
Jirafales - Broke slow in all three of his races but the best solution for him would be to break from a starting gate that wasn’t holding a field of graded stakes horses.
Southern Passage - As we have noted before Romans trained horses often have erratic form and this Super Saver colt is not different. His last was a runner up to the highly touted Prevalence but he was never a threat and appears overmatched in this spot.
Known Agenda - Owns a hard fought win over the prohibitive favorite Greatest Honour back in November at Aqueduct at the same distance though over an ultra deep surface that day. Didn’t show much in his subsequent start in the Remsen finishing a non-threatening 3rd. Shipped south to Tampa for the Sam Davis, he was very sluggish early, falling far back before rallying late to finish 5th. Pletcher wheeled him right back in an allowance race 20 days later and he was very sharp, winning over an overmatched field by 11 lengths, a race made famous by the post race fight between Irad Ortiz vs Paco Lopez. He clearly is capable and his only trip over this surface was a good one. He should get the jump on Greatest Honour and might just be good enough to hold him off again.
Sigiloso - appears overmatched in this spot as he has one start on dirt that leaves a great deal to be desired. Has been running evenly on the grass and a return to state bred races should be in the cards after getting hot and dirty in here.
Greatest Honour - Has thrived in South Florida, winning three in a row including the first two point legs of the Gulfstream Park Derby trail. Should benefit from this race utilizing the entire stretch as opposed to the short stretch of the 1 1/16 races, though it didn’t seem to bother him too much in his Holy Bull or Fountain of Youth scores. There appears to be a little pace for him to run into but Jose Ortiz has to make sure that he doesn’t give him too much to do if that early speed doesn’t materialize. He is the best horse in the race but will probably be underlaid at a very short price.
Soup and Sandwich - Has done nothing wrong in his two starts though they were against short fields, defeating only two other rivals at Tampa in an allowance race. Johnny Velazquez hops aboard for this spot which certainly doesn’t hurt his chances but the two questions that he has to answer is 1) Is he good enough and 2) does he have enough experience to tackle Collaborate on the lead and then hold off Known Agenda, Greatest Honour and potentially Spielberg? I’m guessing no.
Collaborate - Highly regarded $600000 Into Mischief colt broke his maiden going a mile, in stylish fashion on the Fountain of Youth undercard. He is the likely pacesetter in a field that doesn’t have any other real speed horses. While he appears to be a talented colt, this is a huge step up in class and the two turns is a completely different race than the one turn races. He might get slower than par fractions early but breaking from the outside does force his hand out of the gate, the stalkers should be hounding him before hitting the second turn and I don’t see him as being able to hold them off and also be able to hold off Greatest Honour’s late charge. If he wins, we lose.
Spielberg - Baffert rarely ships to Gulfstream, especially for Derby preps so it was a little bit of a surprise to see his name pop up on the list of probables for the race. He rallied late to finished a distant second in the slop to Essential Quality in the Southwest at Oaklawn. That may have been more of a product of a weak field other than the winner and the clearly distance challenged Jackie’s Warrior. The outside draw doesn’t help matters as he will likely lose ground in the first turn or be forced to take back and lose position. Tough spot.
Papetu - Made a nice run to threaten at the top of the stretch in the Fountain of Youth but hung in the lane and was left in Greatest Honour’s wake as that one motored on by him. Only one work since that race and post 11 makes getting a decent early spot difficult. He is probably a little better horse than he is given credit for but this is a rough assignment and he may really be better at a mile as well.
Joe V’s Racing City Restaurant Review
This editions Racing City Restaurant Review has a South Florida theme here on Florida Derby week. Olivia’s Restaurant and Bar on Young Circle in Hollywood, Florida is a few miles north on US-1 of Gulfstream Park. Valet parking right out in front of the restaurant on the north side of the building is easy in and out. The bar on the ground floor is spacious with a lot of room for those who are social distance conscious with a ton of drink specials at reasonable prices.
“I got a big push on this spot from trainer Greg Sacco and his brother Rick who are regulars there. They said you want to go up to the rooftop dining area and it was a good call as the views were spectacular. The tables were spaced out so that we didn’t feel cramped at all, “ said Joe V.
“The menu was basic Italian with a bunch of pasta dishes, some flatbreads, steak, chicken and fish as well as veal. It had a few interesting twists, the mozzarella bar where homemade cheese is made daily was a huge hit. We started off with an order from there, the Proscuitto San Daniele, aged 24 months wrapped around balls of mozzarella topped with fresh tomato wedges marinated in extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, sweet onions and a touch of garlic. It was tremendous with great flavor and the fresh mozzarella was amazing. Our other appetizers were the fried Calamari and Zucchini with spicy marinara sauce, it was a good sized portion and tasted really good, not heavy at all and an order of mussels in white wine sauce that were nice sized and also very fresh. Thumbs up on the apps.”
Joe commented that the entire party was happy with the appetizers and moved on to the main entrees where a lot of veal and seafood were ordered.
“I had the Lombata Milanese which is veal chop on the bone lightly pounded, breaded and sautéed. A nice piece of meat with huge helping of chopped radicchio, arugula, endive, diced tomatoes, diced onions garlic and extra virgin olive oil in a balsamic vinaigrette. The veal was perfectly cooked and the portion was large enough that I couldn’t finish. Other veal items that were ordered were the Lombata Parmigiana which is veal parmigiana topped with fresh mozzarella and a light tomato sauce with angel hair pasta on the side. A very nice portion of veal and pasta that meshed well with the tomato sauce.”
Other meat items ordered were Veal Marsala and Veal Montebianco both of which were excellent choices. The Chilean Sea Bass special was also good with a nice piece of light, flaky sea bass cooked in a lemon reduction with a side of spinach .
“The wine list was nice with reasonably priced offerings and good variety and the dessert menu wasn’t flashy but solid. The service was top notch, the atmosphere was superb and the meal was not only excellent but reasonably priced for the South Florida market. Thanks to Greg and Rick for pointing us to a winner, Olivia’s Restaurant and Bar.”
-Joesph Villante
Florida Derby videos of the week
In 1996 Unbridled Song defeats an excellent field including Belmont winner Editors Note, Preakness winner Louis Quatorze and Hall of Famer Skip Away.
In 1987 Cryptoclearance rallies late to beat Bet Twice among others
In 2006 Barbaro fought off a hard trying Sharp Humor
Great restaurant review - have stayed there and enjoyed many meals there in the street side restaurant and rooftop vista! A hidden treasure that was developed by South African businessmen who fell in love with Hollywood Fla and its proximity to the racetrack!