Gulfstream: Multiple G2 Winner Curlin’s Approval Gets Class Relief in Barely Even

By David Joseph —-

$50,000 Sprint One of Six Stakes on Sunday’s Closing Day Program

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Looking for a spot to run multiple Grade 2 winner Curlin’s Approval prior to her Breeders’ Cup debut, trainer, breeder and co-owner Happy Alter found one right in their own backyard.

Curlin’s Approval will break from Post 5 as the 123-pound highweight in Sunday’s $50,000 Barely Even, a seven-furlong overnight handicap for fillies and mares 3 and up at Gulfstream Park that attracted a field of seven.

The Barely Even is one of six stakes worth $280,000 in purse money on a 10-race program closing Gulfstream’s summer meet that began July 1. Other overnight handicaps are the $50,000 Green Parrot at five furlongs on the turf, $50,000 Alabama Jack’s at seven furlongs and $50,000 Bull and Whistle at 1 1/16 miles, all for 3-year-olds and up.

Also carded is a pair of $40,000 starter stakes on turf, the Captain Tony’s at 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-olds and up and the Jack Flats at one mile for 3-year-olds that have started for a claiming price of $35,000 or less.

Curlin’s Approval will yield from three to 11 pounds to her six rivals in the Barely Even, the first non-graded stakes the 4-year-old daughter of Hall of Famer Curlin has run since beating her elders in the Added Elegance last August.

The seven-furlong Added Elegance is one of three career wins at the distance and one of six wins from nine tries at Gulfstream, where she is based. The most recent came July 1, a 4 ½-length triumph in the Princess Rooney (G2) that earned her an all-fees-paid berth to the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) Nov. 4.

Alter needed to call an audible for Curlin’s Approval when her training was interrupted during and after Hurricane Irma swept through South Florida earlier this month. Like many horses stabled at Gulfstream she was able to take refuge at Palm Meadows, the track’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.

“We lost a lot of training time during the hurricane. That’s why with the goal being the Breeders’ Cup, we wanted to have a prep race at home. This is home for me, for the horse and I think it all is working out good,” Alter said. “It’s a prep race, but a stakes race is a stakes race. The other horses that are in there have earned their right to be in the race. I don’t know if some of them got to get more training in than us depending on where they went for the hurricane, but it’s the best thing that we could do.”

Edgard Zayas will be aboard Curlin’s Approval for the second time, having finished seventh together in the Matron (G3) May 20 prior to the Princess Rooney. In her most recent start, she was sixth in the Ballerina (G1) Aug. 26 at Saratoga.

“The race at Saratoga there was a lot of problems coming out of the gate so we’ve got to throw that race out. The filly that was supposed to be the very best in the whole country, Paulassilverlining, she had the same problem that day and we both finished back together,” Alter said. “She won the Princess Rooney one race before Saratoga, so the confidence is there.”

Concealedwithakiss and Money Or Love, ninth and 11th, respectively, in the Princess Rooney, return in the Barely Even. Money Or Love won the Added Elegance by a neck in her subsequent start, while multiple stakes winner Concealedwithakiss took the Ana T. Handicap one race prior.

Also entered are 2016 Hut Hut winner Lirica, 10-for-13 lifetime in the money at Gulfstream including five wins; She Takes Heart, Rashette, and Savingtime are also entered.

“There’s a lot of ways to lose a race and only one way to win them. You’ve got to overcome all the troubles that can create themselves during a race and you’ve got to hope the jockeys are thinking clearly on that particular day and that particular race,” Alter said. “She’s the class of the field but she’s also carrying 123 pounds. Things have a way of equaling out, but I’m optimistic.”

Kicking off Sunday’s stakes action is the Green Parrot, which drew a field of seven including Grade 3 winner Doctor J Dub, entered for main track only. Among the group is Extravagant Kid, winner of the Tamiami Handicap last out Sept. 17 at Gulfstream and multiple stakes winner Successful Native, who returned from more than a year layoff to run ninth in that race.

Groomstick Handicap winner Splash Rules and Sunshine Millions Classic winner Hy Riverside top nine entries in the Alabama Jack’s (Race 6), while the Bull and Whistle (Race 8) field of nine includes 2016 Florida Derby (G1) runner-up Majesto and multiple stakes winners Diamond Bachelor and Chepstow.

Gaultier, five-for-seven lifetime at Gulfstream, takes a three-race win streak into the Captain Tony’s for trainer Carlo Vaccarezza. Five horses coming off wins, along with stakes winner General McGooby, take aim at the Jack Flats.

Campo to Focus on VP Duties, Badgett Named GM at Gulfstream
Camac Promoted to Racing Secretary

Due to his growing responsibilities as Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group, P.J. Campo has relinquished his role as General Manager of Gulfstream Park.

Campo will spend additional time working with The Stronach Group’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Ritvo on ways to coordinate the racing schedules and race meets at all Stronach Group tracks while studying the feasibility of shared services and a centralized racing office.

Bill Badgett will assume the role of General Manager at Gulfstream effective immediately and Chris Camac has been named racing secretary.

“P.J. has enjoyed great success at Gulfstream improving the racing product and revitalizing summer racing in Florida,” Ritvo said. “We’re looking at P.J. to now work more closely at all our tracks as we look to better coordinate and restructure our race meets and services. We have no doubt Bill will do a great job succeeding P.J. as General Manager at Gulfstream.”

Campo, who served as both Vice President of Racing and General Manager at Gulfstream for the past four years, said: “We’ve done a lot of great things these past several years at Gulfstream and we’ve succeeded in creating a year-round racing program again in Florida. We still believe there’s more room for growth in the Florida market. I’m excited to continue my work with The Stronach Group and Tim to help develop all our markets.”

Badgett, who has served as a consultant the past three years for The Stronach Group, was a noted horseman for 35 years, mainly in New York and Florida. Badgett trained nearly 600 winners as well as Breeders’ Cup champion Go for Wand and graded-stakes winners Bevo, Clark Street, Timo and End Sweep.

“I’m honored and excited about my expanded role with The Stronach Group,” Badgett said. “We have an incredible team at Gulfstream. I’ve learned a great deal these past three years from Tim and P.J. and I’m excited to get started.”

Camac, a third generation horseman whose father Charlie was a noted racing official in Florida and New Jersey for five decades, has served as assistant racing secretary under Campo the past 10 years, three in Florida and seven while Campo was VP of Racing, Director of Racing at all three New York tracks – Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct.

About Gulfstream Park

Gulfstream Park is one of the world’s premier Thoroughbred racetracks and one of the most unique entertainment facilities in the world. The historic facility, originally built in 1939 and modernized into a state-of-the-art facility by The Stronach Group in 2006, hosts the richest race in the world – the $16 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational – as well as the Florida Derby, which has produced 44 starters who have gone on to win 59 Triple Crown events including three of the last five runnings of the Kentucky Derby. The track has hosted racing’s biggest stars including Barbaro, Cigar, Spectacular Bid, Forego, Kelso, Mucho Macho Man, Arrogate, Coaltown, California Chrome, Needles, Skip Away, Gen. Duke and Bold Ruler. Gulfstream features a casino, poker room, and The Village at Gulfstream Park, an open-air mall which includes premier dining, shopping, signature home stores, world-class art galleries, fashion boutiques and nightclubs. Gulfstream also offers private suites, Ten Palms Restaurant and the Sport of Kings Theater for special and corporate events and weddings and bridal parties.

Gulfstream Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, home of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and Florida Derby, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; XpressBet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is also a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry