Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Gulfstream Today: 2.1.12

Endorsement, a prominent candidate for the 2010 Kentucky Derby before being sidelined by injury, took a giant step on the comeback trail Wednesday at Gulfstream Park.

The 5-year-old son of Distorted Humor coasted to an easy front-running score in the fourth race, a $56,500 optional claiming allowance event. While never having to be asked to extend himself by jockey Julien Leparoux, Endorsement covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.35 to prevail by 2 ¼ lengths as the 4-5 favorite in a field of nine.


The victory came in his third start back after being away from races for more than 20 months. Making his first start since winning the $800,000 Sunland Park Derby on March 28, 2010, Endorsement finished second in a six-furlong sprint at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 10. He finished second again at a mile on Jan. 1 after breaking through the starting gate before the race.

Endorsement was sent around two turns Wednesday for the first time in his current comeback.

Quote of the Day: “That was the race that we were looking for, the race we thought he was capable of. We’ve always felt that this is a very high-level horse. We’ll start looking at graded races now,” said owner Bill Casner following Endorsement’s victory in the fourth race.

Work of the Day: Richard Dutrow-trained Redeemed worked five furlongs in 1:12.50 at Gulfstream Park in preparation for a start in the $500,000 Donn Handicap (G1) on Feb. 11.

Who’s Hot: Julien Leparoux and Rajiv Maragh both rode a pair of winners. Leparoux visited the winners circle with Harbor Breeze ($6) in the first and Endorsement ($3.60) in the fourth race. On the eighth anniversary of his first career score, Maragh guided Abdel’s Ghost ($9.80) and Film Shot ($39.80) to victories in the sixth and ninth races, respectively.

10-cent Rainbow 6 carryover: $105,465.14

50-cent Pick 5 carryover: $36,953.94