Gulfstream: Nolan Ramsey Set to Saddle First Starter Saturday at Gulfstream

By David Joseph —-

April 19, 2024

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Nolan Ramsey will saddle his first starter since going out on his own Saturday at Gulfstream Park with the benefit of the extremely well-rounded education he received while serving as trainer Mike Maker’s longtime assistant.

“One thing I was really grateful about working for Mike is he had horses in the Grade 1 Stakes on Saturday and the nickel claimers on Wednesday afternoons. We had a little bit of everything. We had dirt, turf, long, short. We had everything in between,” Ramsey said. “Being able to work with Mike was a big step up for me and a good thing to have in my back pocket – the experience with different types of horses. Even though you’d like to have a barn full of Grade 1 winners, the reality is it’s not going to happen. Experience with the lower-level horses can help your horsemanship and help you when a good one comes along.”

Ramsey will be represented in Saturday’s Race 11, a 1 1/16-mile $35,000 maiden claiming race for 3- and 4-year-old fillies on turf, by Corrin Peak, a 3-year-old filly owned by his grandfather Ken Ramsey, the 2023-2024 Championship Meet’s leading owner who has been honored with the Eclipse Award as Outstanding Owner with his late wife Sarah four times.

“She came in in good condition, so no complaints with her. It’s just the way the [condition] book fell that she was the first to be entered,” Ramsey said. “I think we have a pretty good shot. I see that we’ve been installed as the 9-5 favorite. It might be a little bit excessive, but she’s ready to run.”

Corrin Peak, a daughter of City of Light, lost a photo finish for win March 29 against $20,000 maiden claimers for trainer Rohan Crichton.

Ramsey has 30 horses with another 10 in Ocala ready to join his Gulfstream barn. The 27-year-old Lexington, KY native will also have a string in Mid-Atlantic.

A Closer Look at Saturday’s Coast-to-Coast Pick 5

The Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 offers multi-race-wager fans ‘fast’ action Saturday when the five-race sequence is scheduled to cover just an hour and 10 minutes.

Leg A of the $1 wager with a 15-percent takeout is scheduled to go to post at Gulfstream Park at 5:20 p.m. [Eastern] with Leg E slated to wrap things up a Santa Anita at 6:30 p.m. [Eastern]

A mile optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares on turf in Gulfstream Park’s Race 9 will kick off the proceedings. Chad Brown-trained Party On Girl, who finished a troubled third behind next-out winner Ro Town at this level in her last start, is the 9-5 morning-line favorite. Storm Miami, a stakes-placed 3-year-filly in Ireland, is set to make her U.S. debut for always dangerous trainer Brendan Walsh. Me and My Shadow, an Ontario-bred stakes force at Woodbine during her career for Hall of Famer Mark Casse, has been working well at Palm Meadows for her 2024 debut.

Leg B will be Santa Anita’s Race 4, a six-furlong maiden special weight for California-breds, 3, 4 and 5-year-olds, on turf. The 10-horse field will include Steve Miyadi-trained Mucho Suerte, a debuting son of Mucho Macho Man who is a half-brother to multiple stakes-placed Bully Pulpit. Antonio Garcia-trained Datsyuk, who finished third in his second career start at Los Alamitos last year, returns as a gelding and with Lasix. Peter Miller-trained Motivating Force who has raced evenly in four career starts, will run with blinkers for the first time.

A stakes-quality seven-furlong optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up will be run as Leg C in Gulfstream Park’s Race 10. Eddie Owens Jr.-trained Great Navigator, who finished third behind Cody’s Wish in the Vosburgh (G2) in October, is coming off a March 10 optional claiming allowance win following a pair of graded-stakes runs. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Lord Miles, the 2023 Wood Memorial winner (G2), makes his first start since finishing second in the Robert Hilton Memorial at Charles Town Aug. 29. Great Navigator is rated as the 7-2 morning-line favorite in a deep 10-horse field.

Leg D will be contested in Race 11 at Gulfstream, where Nolan Ramsey will saddle his first starter since going out on his own in the 1 1/16-mile claiming race for 3- and 4-year-old fillies on turf. The longtime assistant to trainer Mike Maker will be represented by Corrin Peak, a 3-year-old daughter of City of Light who was a neck shy of graduating against $20,000 maiden claimers last time out. Corrin Peak is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in a full field of fillies. Gossiper, a 3-year-old daughter of English Channel who is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, will drop down from maiden special weight company after three off-the-board finishes. Jack Sisterson-trained Little Miss Munny will race with blinkers on after finishing an even fourth at this level.

The Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 will be closed out in Leg E by a six-furlong maiden special weight race for state-bred 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds in Santa Anita’s Race 6. Phil D’Amato-trained Charlie Pride, a 4-year-old gelded son of Arrogate out of Enola Gray, is scheduled to make his debut. Enola Gray is a Grade 3 stakes winner who dominated state-bred company for D’Amato in 2016 and 2017. Charlie Pride is the 3-1 morning-line favorite in a 10-horse field.

Saturday’s Rainbow 6 Pool Estimated at $325,000

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 pool is expected to grow to an estimated $325,000 Saturday at Gulfstream Park, where the popular multi-race wager went unsolved Friday for the 10th consecutive racing day of the Royal Palm Meet.

Saturday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 6-11, headlined by a well-stocked seven-furlong optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up in Race 10, Eddie Owens’ Jr.-trained Great Navigator, who finished third behind Cody’s Wish in last fall’s Vosburgh (G2), is the 7-2 morning-line favorite. The son of Sea Wizard, who made his first two starts of the Championship Meet in graded stakes, is coming off an optional claiming allowance win March 10.

The carryover jackpot is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

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