Park City edges Declan's Warrior in Gulfstream allowance race

Park City, making his first start since breaking his maiden first-time out at Saratoga last summer, rallied along the rail to edge Declan's Warrior by a neck in a 6-1/2 furlong allowance optional claiming race at Gulfstream Park.

Ridden to victory by John Velazquez, Park City broke just a step slowly, and soon found himself racing along the rail in fourth place as 50-1 shot Cat Five Hurricane led the way through fractions of :22.10 and :45.30. Jay Eye See and Red Hot Randy were tracking the pace in second and third, while favored Little Distorted raced on the far outside in fifth. Declan's Warrior, John Gordon, and Dighton were the trailers.

Rounding the final turn, Cat Five Hurricane began to open up on the field, and the longshot entered the homestretch in front by about three lengths. In the meantime, Park City had stayed on the rail and was making up ground rapidly, while Declan's Warrior had threaded his way in between horses to commence a strong challenge on the outside. Coming down to the finish, any one of the three colts could have won, but the wire came just in time for Park City, who stuck his head in front of Cat Five Hurricane a few strides before the finish and held off the charge from Declan's Warrior to win by a neck. The final time was 1:17.53 seconds.

Declan's Warrior edged Cat Five Hurricane by a similar margin for second, while Jay Eye See, Dighton, Red Hot Randy, Little Distorted, and John Gordon completed the order of finish.

The winner is trained by Todd Pletcher and owned by Starlight Racing. A son of Harlan's Holiday out of the Pleasant Colony mare Light Show, Park City is now unbeaten in two starts.

-Keelerman

Majestic Hussar turns back Palace Malice in Gulfstream allowance race

Majestic Hussar turned back a determined bid from 4-5 favorite Palace Malice to win a seven-furlong allowance race at Gulfstream Park in excellent fashion on January 19th.

Over a track labeled sloppy, the speedy Majestic Hussar got off to a very quick beginning at the start of the race and quickly assumed command of the lead, setting fractions of :22.65 and :45.62 while being tracked by Palace Malice and Road Agent. City of Weston, Jay Eye See, and Pepe were also close to the pace, while All Keyed Up and D'nied Permission were the trailers by a large margin.

Rounding the far turn, Majestic Hussar began to open up on the field, while Palace Malice gamely tried to stay with him. Turning for home, Majestic Hussar had a lead of several lengths, and while Palace Malice was able to close some of the gap in the final eighth of a mile, Majestic Hussar held on gamely to win by 2 1/4 lengths in 1:22.53 seconds.

City of Weston finished third, many lengths behind the top pair, while Road Agent rounded out the superfecta. D'nied Permission, All Keyed Up, Jay Eye See, and Pepe completed the order of finish.

The winner is trained by Eddie Keneally and was ridden to victory by Jose Lezcano. Owned and bred by Joseph Witek, Majestic Hussar is a son of Majestic Warrior out of the Distorted Humor mare Distorted Blaze.

-Keelerman

Palace Malice entered to race on 1-19-13

Palace Malice, who broke his maiden impressively at Saratoga last summer before going to the sidelines with sore shins, will make his much-anticipated return on Saturday in the first race at Gulfstream Park, a seven-furlong allowance optional claiming event.

Trained by Todd Pletcher and owned by Dogwood Stable, the son of Curlin defeated a number of good horses in his maiden victory, including Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint winner Hightail; Nick Zito's promising allowance winner Flying Bird; recent Gulfstream allowance runner-up Gunderman; and Bill Mott's good colt Gunderman.

Palace Malice will be ridden on Saturday by Javier Castellano, who was aboard the colt at Saratoga.

Other prominent entrants include City of Weston, who was most recently beaten a half-length in the Spectacular Bid Stakes; 7 1/4-length maiden winner Jay Eye See; and allowance optional claiming race runner-up Majestic Hussar.

Post Positions:
1 D'nied Permission
2 All Keyed Up
3 Pepe
4 City of Weston
5 Road Agent
6 Palace Malice
7 Majestic Hussar
8 Jay Eye See

-Keelerman