Gulfstream News & Notes: Malleymoo Set for U.S. Debut in Saturday’s Wait a While

By David Joseph —-

Gulfstream News & Notes

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Rockingham Ranch, David Bernsen LLC and Magnolia Racing LLC’s Malleymoo, an impressive debut winner in Ireland in October, is scheduled to make her U.S. and stakes debut in Saturday’s $75,000 Wait a While.

The Wait a While, a 7 ½-furlong turf stakes for juvenile fillies, will co-headline Saturday’s 10-race card with the $75,000 Pulpit, a 7 ½-furlong turf stakes for 2-year-olds.

Malleymoo, a Kentucky-bred daughter of English Channel, came to trainer Jack Sisterson with good reviews following a private purchase.

“We haven’t had her for a long time, but she came in fantastic shape. She came with very high praises from Joseph O’Brien, who texted me when she arrived and said, ‘I think you’re going to like her. The work she’s done has been very professional,’” Sisterson said. “I’ve never been around a European horse that has acclimatized so quickly.”

Malleymoo enters the Wait a While off a pair of half-mile workouts on the turf at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.

“She was very professional. She looked like she had a turn of foot. We looked for Julien just to cover her up and produce a late kick at the end,” said Sisterson, who named Julien Leparoux on Malleymoo for the Wait a While.

Malleymoo graduated at first asking at Dundalk by 1 ¼ lengths as the favorite in a seven-furlong maiden race on Tapeta.

“I always try to make it a point to go over the results in the United Stakes and Europe as well. We’ve bought quite a few from Europe. She won impressively at Dundalk,” Sisterson said. “I reached out to the connections to see if she could be bought. We went back and forth a few times and we’re happy to have her in the barn.”

Delight Seeks Breeders’ Cup Rebound on New Turf

Instead of shutting down Delight for the season following her disappointing Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) showing, trainer Jonathan Thomas has opted to bring the daughter of Mendelson back for one more start in Saturday’s $75,000 Wait a While at Gulfstream Park.

Augustin Stable’s filly earned a berth in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland with an impressive five-length front-running victory in the Jessamine (G2) over the Keeneland turf. In the Breeders’ Cup, she stalked the pace during a wide trip before faltering to 10th.

“Honestly, I didn’t think the trip was that bad. She didn’t really fire like we expected her to do. There was a little bit more cut in the ground than I think she appreciated, and then again, she was in with a lot of super good fillies,” Thomas said. “We were left scratching our heads a little bit, but she came out of it well. We’ll regroup and try again.”

She certainly took to the Keeneland turf during her romp in the Jessamine romp.

“The ground was quite a bit different that day. It was a firm top of the ground, which I think she liked,” Thomas said. “She broke well and I think Luis gave her a clever ride. She was able to switch off and slow things down, but she showed a good turn of foot late in the race. It was to date her best performance. It was indicative of a quality filly.”

Delight was purchased for $400,000 at the OBS March sale.

“Her breeze was very good, the time of it and her gallop-out. The way she moved, we felt she was a filly with natural speed and she looked like she got over the ground really well,” Thomas said. “We were intrigued by her pedigree. She’s from the first crop of Mendelsohn, who we quite like, out of a young Medaglia [d’Oro] mare, so we were struck with her pedigree.”

Augustin Stable and Thomas will also be represented in the Wait a While by Born Dapper, who is coming off a pair of victories, a maiden score over Monmouth’s turf and a solid triumph in the off-the-turf Selima over a sloppy Laurel track.

“She’s been a really genuine filly. We’ve tried her in some different scenarios and she’s basically shown up each time and give a good effort. She’s not as flashy as Delight, but she seems to be very reliable,” Thomas said. “Even in her workouts, she’s worked well with Delight. She’s done little wrong on her own.”

Born Dapper, a daughter of Union Rags, and Delight are scheduled for a break before preparing for their 2023 seasons.

Saturday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $250,000

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $250,000 for Saturday’s 10-race program at Gulfstream Park.

The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for 12 consecutive racing days.

Saturday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 5-10, headlined by the $75,000 Wait a While in Race 8.

Irad Ortiz Jr. and Tyler Gaffalione will ride Saturday for the first time during the Sunshine Meet, gearing up for the Championship Meet that gets underway Dec. 26.

Ortiz has five mounts, including Junipermarshmallow in the Wait a While and Sendero in the co-featured $75,000 Pulpit in Race 4. Gaffalione has six calls, including Personal Pursuit in the Wait a While and Dangerous Ride in the Pulpit.

Todd Pletcher-trained Favor withstood intense pressure before drawing clear to a two-length victory in Friday’s Race 7 feature to remain undefeated in three starts at Gulfstream Park.

Stonestreet Stable’s 3-year-old daughter of Pioneerof the Nile romped to victory in back-to-back race at Gulfstream during the Championship Meet before finishing third in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) and fifth in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2). She was given a break after finishing fifth in a restricted stakes July 14 at Saratoga.

Favor, the 4-5 favorite, covered seven furlongs in 1:23.32 to give Luis Saez his second of three wins in a row for Races 6-8.

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