Liza Star Looks to Start New Streak in $110,000 Glass Slipper
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Joseph Besecker’s Salsa’s Return, freshened up since mid-September with the Claiming Crown in mind, looks to be in good form heading into his title defense in the $110,000 Kent Stirling Memorial Iron Horse Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
The one-mile Iron Horse for 3-year-olds and up which have started for a claiming price of $8,000 or less lifetime is among nine stakes that help comprise the $1.11 million Claiming Crown.
This marks the eighth straight year in South Florida and 21st overall for the Claiming Crown, created in 1999 to honor the blue-collar horses that are the foundation of the racing industry nationwide. Total handle for the Claiming Crown has surpassed $10 million each of the past five years, topped by a record $13.612 million in 2018.
First race post time for Saturday’s 11-race program is 11:50 a.m.
Salsa’s Return is a 9-year-old gelding who rallied from far back between horses to spring a 16-1 upset of last year’s Iron Horse by three-quarters of a length in his first start for Jorge Navarro, the 2018-19 Championship Meet’s leading trainer who claimed him for $16,000 last October.
This year, Salsa’s Return has won two of nine races, both coming over his last four starts, but he has gone unraced since running third in the 1 1/16-mile Parx Hall of Fame Starter Handicap Sept. 14. He has worked five times since returning to South Florida, four at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.
In his most recent work, Salsa’s Return went four furlongs in 47.40 seconds Dec. 1 at Gulfstream Park West. Overall, he has a record of 15-10-10 and purse earnings of $443,045 from 60 starts.
“We kind of backed off with him. He was getting a little sour. He needed some time off,” Navarro said. “He’s coming around at the right time. His last work was a half in 47-and-change. Victor Lebron worked him and said he felt awesome. I think he’s turned corner right at the right time.”
Navarro is also running 6-year-old gelding Peppi the Hunter, a horse he owns that has won 10 career races but will be making his first start at Gulfstream. He enters on a two-race win streak, claiming events on the dirt at Penn National and the turf at Meadowlands, by a combined 11 ¼ lengths.
“He’s a family horse,” Navarro said. “He’s a pretty cool horse, so I’m going to take my chance. Why not?”
Trainer Peter Walder entered the trio of Dizzy Gillespie, Sensational Ride and Yes I See, who together have won 43 races and more than $600,000 in purse earnings. Seven of Dizzy Gillespie’s wins have come at Gulfstream, where Walder claimed him for $6,250 Jan. 13. He exits a one-mile starter optional claiming victory Nov. 1 at Gulfstream West.
“He’s been a very consistent horse. I got lucky, I won a 15-way shake or something like that for him,” Walder said. “He’s a cool horse. He’s doing great and he looks awesome. He worked unbelievable the other day, which he’s usually not a good work horse. The track was really fast but I believe when a horse works good they’re touting themselves. I’m kind of hoping that means he’s sitting on his game and ready to go.”
Ron Paolucci owns both Sensational Ride and Yes I See. Sensational Ride is a 19-time winner that will be making his Gulfstream debut after having an eight-race win streak snapped last time out Oct. 9 at Thistledown. Walder said the 6-year-old gelding has settled in well since arriving the first week of November.
“The horse has a great personality. He’s a beautiful, gray horse. I have him in the second stall and he loves the attention he gets. He worked good both times for me and Ron was telling me the horse doesn’t usually work that quick, so that must be a good sign,” Walder said. “I usually don’t work my horses fast. If they work fast, they do it on their own. I don’t know a whole lot about the horse other than he just knows where the wire is and gets there first, and he’s been training really good.”
Yes I See, winless in four starts since being claimed by Paolucci for $25,000 in August at Saratoga, joined Walder’s string at the same time as Sensational Ride. The 8-year-old gelding won each of his two previous starts, making him 13-for-47 lifetime including a 10th-place finish in last year’s Iron Horse.
“He’s not as flashy and didn’t work that good the first time I worked him, but he actually worked unbelievable the other day. I guess he took a little longer to settle into my program,” Walder said. “The way he worked, if he runs that way I imagine he’ll give a good account of himself. Looking at his foal papers, he has so many wins that you have to turn his papers over. I respect any horse that has that many wins.”
John Rigattieri owned-and-trained Twocubanbrothersu will be making his 67th career start and fourth in the Iron Horse, having won it in 2017 and finished second in 2015 and sixth last year. The 9-year-old gelding owns 26 wins and nearly $480,000 in purse earnings, most recently finishing third in an optional claiming allowance going about 1 1/16 miles Oct. 18 at Laurel Park
Donji, the 2018 Iron Horse runner-up, Bobby G, French Quarter, Ruler of the Nile, Spin Cycle and To Dare are also entered, with Mr Chaplin on the also-eligible list.
Liza Star Looks to Start New Streak in $110,000 Glass Slipper
Ron Paolucci’s Liza Star, who lost for the first time in six starts while making her stakes debut last time out, seeks a return to her winning form in the $110,000 Glass Slipper, a 1 1/16-mile event for fillies and mares 3 and up that have run for a $12,500 tag or less since Jan. 1, 2018.
Liza Star strung together five straight wins at Gulfstream this spring and summer, starting with a half-length triumph May 18 where she was claimed by Paolucci and trainer Peter Walder for $6,250. Her next four wins, all on or near the lead, came by 21 combined lengths.
“She loves this track, and she turned out to be awesome. I’d be lying if I said I thought she’d roll off that many in a row and end up in the Claiming Crown,” Walder said. “I’m not overly concerned about [the distance]. Yes, she has speed but I think she’ll carry it. She’s doing great. She worked great the other day. I think for that kind of money it’s worth the shot. I can’t imagine anybody in this race being any tougher than what she faced last time.”
Liza Star was third behind multiple stakes winner Wildwood’s Beauty, beaten three lengths, in the seven-furlong Millions Distaff Preview Nov. 9 at Gulfstream Park West. Still, Liza Star was 1 ¾ lengths ahead of two-time Grade 2 winner Stormy Embrace in fourth.
“That was a pretty tough field, and she still ended up beating [Stormy Embrace]. I’m not going to blame her finishing third on the track or the competition, because I thought she handled both of them very well,” Walder said. “She’s definitely one of the horses to beat.”
Walder will also send out She’s Right Again, a 5-year-old mare he co-owns with Perry Harrison. She’s Right Again has made 21 of her 25 starts on turf, but was a front-running 6 ¼-length winner of an off-the-turf optional claiming allowance Nov. 15 at Gulfstream West.
“I told my client I actually nominated her for the Claiming Crown before the [last] race. He thought I was nuts,” Walder said. “Obviously we’re stepping it up with her, but she’s been very consistent this year. But, off that last race and the way she worked on the dirt and her consistency, why not?”
Sending out three Glass Slipper starters is trainer Jorge Navarro in Cuddle Kitten, Picasso Moon and Potra Liza. Flying P Stable’s Cuddle Kitten has won four straight races and five of her last six dating back to May 2, but is winless with two seconds from four career starts at Gulfstream. She captured the Parx Hall of Fame Filly & Mare Starter Handicap by five lengths Sept. 14 in her most recent outing.
“Cuddle Kitten has been screaming to run for the last two months,” Navarro said. “Every time we work her she wants to run off and do too much.”
Imaginary Stables’ Picasso Moon is also coming off an easy win, going gate to wire to score by 5 ½ lengths as the favorite Sept. 12 at Penn National. By Elusive Quality, the 5-year-old mare will be making her Gulfstream debut.
“The first time after we claimed her, we decided to take back. She didn’t want any part of that,” Navarro said. “She’s more of a free runner – ‘Let me do my thing.’”
Joseph Besecker’s Potra Liza began 2019 on a six-race win streak, the first two coming at Gulfstream, where Navarro claimed her for $6,250 Feb. 24. After winning at Monmouth Park and Parx, she was third in the starter handicap stakes behind Cuddle Kitten and fourth in a seven-furlong starter Oct. 13.
“After we claimed her she won four in a row. Then she showed us she wanted us to take it easy on her, so we gave her some time. She’s also coming around now,” Navarro said. “You can’t ask me which one I like. They’re all doing really good. All three fillies are doing very, very good.”
Completing the field are All Good Times, Expect Indy, Final Flurry, Kodiak Katie and Lucy’s Town.