Mike Welsch 14y

Noble's Promise puts in workout

Horse Racing

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- There is no shortage of big name 3-year-olds stabled at Gulfstream Park this winter. Three of them -- stablemates Noble's Promise and Beautician and Eclipse Award winner She Be Wild -- worked here on a frigid Friday morning.

Noble's Promise and Beautician worked in company for trainer Ken McPeek about 20 minutes after the first renovation break. After breaking a length behind Beautician, Noble's Promise drew even inside the eighth pole and hit the wire about a half-length ahead. He galloped out nearly two lengths clear into the clubhouse turn.

The pair posted splits of 24.36, 36.76, and 48.32, with Noble's Promise completing five-eighths in 1:00.26 and Beautician completing it in in 1:00.61. Noble's Promise galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.11.

"I thought he worked great," McPeek said of Noble's Promise. "He's really doing well right now."

Noble's Promise is scheduled to launch his 3-year-old campaign next Saturday in Oaklawn's Grade 2 Rebel.

"It came down between the Rebel and the Tampa Bay Derby, and I just thought he might not like that surface up at Tampa," said McPeek. "Some horses like it and some don't, and I just had a hunch he might not handle it. But the Rebel is a nice, solid race to get him back in the game. The biggest issue right now is firming up the shipping, but I'm hoping to have him on a plane for Arkansas on Tuesday morning."

Beautician was under some pressure to try to keep up with Noble's Promise at the end of the work Friday.

"I thought she hung in there pretty well with him until the eighth pole, and then she got a little tired, but I've been a little more conservative with her up to this point and kind of expected that," said McPeek. "I'll see how she comes out of this work, how she eats over the next couple of days, and if all is well I might put her on the same plane and run her in the Honey Bee on Saturday. If not, I could either look for an allowance race here or just train her into the Ashland."

Shortly before the McPeek pair worked, She Be Wild cruised five furlongs in 1:01.20. It was She Be Wild's third work since her fifth-place finish in the seven-furlong Forward Gal here Jan. 31. She Be Wild defeated Beautician by three-quarters of a length to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

"She's doing well," said Catalano. "I'll see how she comes out of this work, then meet with the owners and pick something out from several options we're considering at the moment."

Amen Hallelujah to Bonnie Miss

One race Catalano is probably not considering for She Be Wild is the Grade 2 Bonnie Miss on March 20, which will feature Amen Hallelujah, impressive winner of the Grade 2 Davona Dale here last week.

"We'll run her in the Bonnie Miss, and that gives us six weeks until the Kentucky Oaks," said Rick Dutrow, who trains Amen Hallelujah. "I'm not worried about sending her two turns on dirt in the least. She's got a ton of confidence in herself right now.

"Nothing went her way in the race the other day, and she still beat those fillies easily," he said, referring to the Davona Dale. "I'd hate to be running against her next time."

Dutrow also confirmed Radiohead as a starter in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 20 and did not rule out the possibility of D' Funnybone running in that spot.

"He's nominated to the Florida Derby and Swale," Dutrow said of D' Funnybone, winner of the Grade 2 Hutcheson in his last start. "If the Florida Derby comes up easy, like an allowance race, I can run him in there. If not, he'll go in the Swale."

Dutrow also said Court Vision will probably make his next start in the Grade 1 Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland. Court Vision was awarded the victory in the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap following the disqualification of Take the Points.

"Court Vision was invited to Dubai, but the owners chose not to go," said Dutrow.

Motovato sold to partnership

Trainer Marty Wolfson on Friday confirmed that Motovato has been purchased privately by the partnership of Team Valor and Gary Barber.

"He'll stay in my barn and run in the Gulfstream Park Handicap," said Wolfson.

Motovato, a Grade 3 winner, was previously owned by Edmund Gann, who died this winter.

Motovato finished a late-running third, a length behind the odds-on Munnings, following an eventful trip in the seven-furlong Gulfstream Park Sprint Handicap in his last start. The Gulfstream Park Handicap will be decided at a mile on Saturday

Wolfson said several other Gann horses are being purchased, including multiple-stakes-winning mare Eclisse as well as Ikigai and It's a Bird, who will be sold as stallion prospects.

Bambera has eye on Apple Blossom

Bambera, who won 16 of her 18 starts and earned over $900,000 while racing primarily against males in her native Venezuela, shipped here Friday from her Calder base and worked six furlongs in 1:14.51 under jockey Javier Castellano.

A 4-year-old daughter of Water Poet, Bambera could make her U.S. debut against champions Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta in Oaklawn Park's Apple Blossom on April 9, according to trainer Pablo Andrade.

"She's nominated to the Apple Blossom, and if she gets an invitation we'll run her there," said Andrade. "If not, we'll keep her here and go in the Rampart."

The Grade 2 Rampart will also be part of the Florida Derby undercard March 20.

"She was a superstar in Venezuela, and she's a very good filly, but it's a tough decision to run her against those two big fillies, because it's hard to tell just how good she is," said Andrade, who trains four horses locally for Bambera's owner, the Paula C. Stud.

Keeping tabs on an old pupil

Trainer Dan Miller was an interested spectator in Friday's third race at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. The race included a former pupil, Tahitian Warrior, who was purchased privately by Godolphin from former owner Frank Calabrese following his easy debut win here Jan. 3. Tahitian Warrior was unable to reproduce that effort, beating only two horses in the one-mile allowance race on the turf.

"I'm very disappointed," said Miller. "He's such a neat horse. I was really hoping he'd run well. But they changed a lot of things, such as the surface and distance, and I was really surprised he didn't show more speed."

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