BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Gulfstream Park will host the first race of the year in South Florida for 2-year-olds Thursday as an overflow field of 11 fillies, including one on the also-eligible list, are set to go four-and-a-half furlongs in a $70,000 maiden special weight. 

Among the seven Florida-bred fillies entered are two homebreds for Arindel. Mythical is the 8-5 morning line favorite while Drama is 6-1 in the program.

Jorge Delgado trains Mythical, a daughter of St Patrick’s Day and the first foal out of Lailoni, by Brethren.

Mythical most recently worked three furlongs from the gate in :35.28 on April 10, the second fastest of four moves at the distance that morning. She had four bullet works previously, including three furlongs in :35.60 at Arindel Farm in Ocala, Fla., on March 15, the fastest of 16 efforts.

“We are very confident with her. She has done everything really good since she came to the barn. It’s amazing how smart she is at this stage of her life,” trainer Jorge Delgado said. “She’s a very quiet filly in the stall. She’s very game and professional in her breezes. She does everything real easy when she breezes. She hasn’t been asked and she’s breezed really good times.

“I don’t have one horse at this stage that is smarter than that one,” he added. “That being said, that’s the reason she’s in the first race of the season. She’s a little filly. She’ll need to grow more down the road to be in the big leagues, but for the race tomorrow I think she’ll be more than fine.”

Mythical will break from post two with Emisael Jaramillo in the saddle. 

Breaking from post seven with Miguel Vasquez named to ride is Drama for trainer Carlos David.

Drama has produced several solid works including a four-furlong breeze from the gate in :49.15 on April 5 at Palm Meadows, the 16th fastest of 56 at the distance that morning. She also had several bullet works at Arindel Farm including a three-furlong breeze in :35.50, the fastest of 16 on March 15.

Drama is by Arindel’s productive stallion Brethren out of the Congaree mare Conga Bella, who has produced five starters, all winners, from six foals.

First crop sire Chance It will be represented by Florida-bred Tosca for owner and trainer Mary Lightner, who bred the filly in the name of her Shooting Star Thoroughbreds in partnership with Billy Ballard. Tosca is out of the Florida-bred mare Lirica, by Kantharos.

A multiple stakes-winner, Lirica won the one-mile Hut Hut in 2016 as a 2-year-old at Gulfstream, and the seven-furlong Millions Distaff Preview the following year at Gulfstream Park West. 

Tosca has three published works at Oakridge Training Center in Morriston, Fla., including four furlongs in :51.89 on April 9, the third fastest of four that morning.

Tosca is 15-1 on the morning line and will be ridden from post four by Leonel Reyes.

Ramon Minguet will saddle Florida-bred Willow Case for owner Amanda Hernandez.

Willow Case is by Pleasant Acres Stallions’ Neolithic out of Pillow Case, by Drosselmeyer and was bred in Florida by the late Sherry R. Mansfield and Kenneth H. Davis. Pillow Case has produced two winners from three starters, including The Biggest One, by Gone Astray, an earner of $94,790 and a winner in his second start as a 3-year-old.

Willow Case has three published works at Equels Training Center in Ocala, Fla., including a three-furlong breeze from the gate in :39.60 on April 4. She is 20-1 on the morning and has jockey Edgar Perez from post five.

Freshman sire Essential Quality will be represented by Bohemian, a gray or roan filly owned by MHM Stables LLC and JWS Racing LLC and trained by Jack Sisterson.

She is out of the unraced Kitten’s Joy mare Eileen’s Song, who has produced three winners from four starters including Trikitraki, by Maclean’s Music and an earner of $140,328; and Mean Eileen, an earner of $130,777 by Twirling Candy. Mean Eileen is a graduate of the 2024 Ocala Breeders’ Sales March Sale where she was purchased for $50,000 by trainer Joe Sharp out of the Richardson Bloodstock consignment.

“We haven’t had her long,” Sisterson said. “Since we got her to Palm Meadows she’s done everything right and showed us signs she’s forward. She’s been good at the gate so we decided to go ahead and run her. We don’t want to take anything away from her but she strikes us as forward enough to run 4 ½ [furlongs], I think. It’s all about the break in those baby races.”

Bohemian was an $85,000 purchase by JWS Racing out of the Top Line Sales Consignment at this year’s OBS March Sale.
(Bohemian’s Under Tack Video)

“We liked her physically. She didn’t breeze extremely quick, but we spoke to the people at [consignor] Top Line [Sales] and they were very positive about her training the whole winter,” Sisterson said. “Being by Essential Quality we thought she had a good mind at the sale. Speaking with the majority owner, he liked her, too, so we decided to try and get her.”

Bohemian has drawn post six and is 4-1 in the program. Edwin Gonzalez takes the riding assignment.

“We breezed her once on the turf and she went very well. She’s by a Kitten’s Joy mare so I think long-term she might wind up on the turf and you might see a better performance there,” Sisterson said. “But, she’s forward enough tomorrow. It looks on paper like Jorge Delgado’s filly is very quick from the inside. Obviously she’ll be the one to beat, but we’ll just play the break and go from there.”

Rounding out the field are Goldie Glory and jockey Hector Berrios, Rumpus in Paradise with Joe Bravo named to ride, Skyler Spanabel rides her first career race on Florida-bred A Rose for Skyler, Jose Lopez has the call on Instapurchase and Florida-bred Deborahprophetess will have Ferley A. Infante aboard. Florida-bred Ruth the Moabitess is on the also-eligible list.

Return to the April 16 issue of Wire to Wire