Apostle Wins Opening Day Feature at Gulfstream West

By David Joseph —-

Gulfstream Park West Meet Runs through Nov. 25

MIAMI GARDENS, FL – Apostle, a 3-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro owned by Karl Glassman and Cathi Glassman and trained by Eddie Plesa Jr., drove past Belle Tapisserie inside the final 70 yards to win the feature race Wednesday on the opening day program of the Fall Turf Festival at Gulfstream Park West.

Apostle, making just his fourth career start, covered a mile in 1:40.35 while winning for the second consecutive time.

Apostle was purchased for $900,000 at the 2017 OBS March 2-year-olds in training sale. His dam, Apt, is a half-sister to Liable, the dam of Blame, the 2010 older horse Eclipse Champion who earned more than $4 million in purses. Apostle is a half-brother to Carve, a graded-stakes winning millionaire.

The Kentucky-bred colt raced twice during Gulfstream Park’s 2017-2018 Championship Meet, finishing fifth in his debut, a six-furlong dash in which he showed speed before tiring, and checking in third after a wide trip at 1 1/16 miles. He came off a six-month layoff Aug. 23 to register an off-the-pace 1 ½-length victory against older rivals going a one-turn mile.

Ridden by Edgard Zayas, Apostle raced three-wide around the first turn and down the backstretch while Belle Tapisserie set leisurely fractions of :24.49, :49.57 and 1:14.19. Around the final turn, however, Apostle moved to the leader and drove past Belle Tapisserie despite being bumped by the runner-up above the eighth pole.

“The other horse just drifted out and bumped [Apostle],” Zayas said. “He lost momentum a little because he was rolling at that point. I felt like if he hadn’t been bumped I would have opened up by a couple lengths. But he got going again.

“He loves the two turns and the longer he goes the better. He’s improving with every race.”

Belle Tapisserie hadn’t run since finishing fourth in the Hutcheson (G3) at Gulfstream Park March 24th. The 3-year-old son of Tapizar had previously finished second in his second career start Feb. 2 behind King Humor, who won his next two starts after running 5 ½ furlongs in a brilliant 1:03. Belle Tapisserie went on to break his maiden by 2 ¼ lengths and finish second in a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance before making his stakes debut in the Hutcheson.

Gulfstream Park West will offer 40 days of live racing through Nov. 25 leading up to the 2018-2019 Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park that is scheduled to begin Dec. 1. For the first six weeks of the Fall Turf Festival racing will be conducted on a Wednesday-Sunday schedule. A special Columbus Day program will be offered next Monday, Oct. 8.

Sunshine Millions Preview, a program of eight stakes for Florida-bred horses, will be run Nov.10, serving as an early prep for the Sunshine Millions card at Gulfstream Jan. 19. The $75,000 Showing Up for 3-year-olds and the $75,000 Cellars Shiraz for 3-year-old fillies will both be run at a mile on turf Nov. 3.

Emisael Jaramillo, who captured the riding title for the Summer Meet at Gulfstream, is the defending champion at Gulfstream West. Antonio Sano is the defending training titlist at Gulfstream Park West, where he is currently preparing multi-millionaire Gunnevera for a start in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs Nov. 3.

First race post Friday is 1:15 p.m. The 20-cent Rainbow 6 carryover will be $3,280.02. There will also be a Super Hi 5 carryover of $1,400.65.

Gulfstream Park West is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness, and Rosecroft Raceway. 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.