Race of the Week Review & Analysis: Race No. 9 at Gulfstream Park

by Bodog Racebook | Feb 7 2011

On Feb. 2 at Gulfstream Park, 12 3-year-old fillies contested Race No. 9, a $24,000 turf-run  maiden claimer going 1 mile. Cartier Lady was the morning line favorite and was ridden by Eibar Coa.

Float in the Air, ridden by Eduardo Nunez, set the pace with a ground-saving trip along the rail. At the quarter-mile marker, Float in the Air was hanging on to her lead but she was closely followed by the pairing of Do It Baby and Paco Lopez. Vital Victory was in third by 1 ½ lengths. Cartier Lady was next in fourth by a length. Well back in 11th place was Dracup, piloted by Alex Solis – more than seven lengths off the lead. But Dracup began to gain ground on her rivals despite being checked while entering the first turn. As Float in the Air relinquished her lead at the ¾ mile marker to longshot Vital Victory, Dracup had moved up to eighth. As the field entered the stretch, Dracup had moved into fifth place, angling towards the outside. By that time, the lead had changed hands once more and Do It Baby was out in front by a mere half-length. But Dracup was moving well and overpowered Do It Baby in the final sixteenth to win by half a length. Pedroia, fourth going into the stretch run, rallied for second, while Do It Baby faded to fourth. Cartier Lady and Pick Me rounded out the top five finishers. Rounding out the order of finish: Pick Me, Gamecents, A Perfect Squeeze, Vital Victory, Lady Bluegrass, Odds Defied, Dancinginthewings and Float in the Air.

Trained by Lisa Lewis, Dracup won the race over a firm track in 1:37.77 and collected $11,400 for the victory for owner William C. Schettine. The Kentucky-bred filly is a daughter of Rock Hard Ten. This maiden claiming race marked Dracup’s first race of 2011.

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