TORONTO — By Matthew Lomon

 

Prospect Watch

Are you the person who loves to scour top prospect lists to grow your knowledge of the game and gain a competitive advantage over your peers?

If so, look no further than Gulfstream Park, which will play host to a pair of prospect showcases in the Royal Palm Juvenile and Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies Stakes (both $120,000) on Saturday.

Starting with the former (race 10), one name to keep an eye on is Texas-bred 2-year-old Raise the Bar. The colt made his pro debut on Apr. 10, cruising to a 2 ¼-length gate-to-wire victory. Although the sample size is small, Raise the Bar clocked the second-fastest of nine 2-year-old races during Keeneland’s 2024 Spring Meet.

On the fillies’ side (race 11), Mark Casse trainee Bullet will be lining up in the starting gate for the first time. Hopes are high for the 2-year-old, whose $425,000 price tag at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale exceeded the career earnings of her sire War Front ($424,205).

 

Play with Hart

It’s all about how you rebound.

While there’s no need to tell New York Knicks Guard-Forward Josh Hart, who’s reeled in 28 boards through the first two games of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, Thoroughbred star Nations Pride (IRE) may be more appreciative of the advice.

The 5-year-old’s first chance at avenging an out-of-character seventh in November’s Bahrain International Trophy (Group 2) comes this Saturday in the $400,000 Man o’War (G2T) at Aqueduct.

With over $2.5 million in career earnings and five combined group/graded titles to his name, all that’s left to accomplish for Nations Pride is to prove he’s still got it.

To do so, the Charlie Appleby charge will need to ward off a pair of Christophe Clement pupils and multiple graded stakes winners in Kertez (GB) and Tawny Port.

 

Miss Me?

Though not quite as long as the 22 months between starts for Los Angeles Dodgers Ace Walker Buehler, Straight No Chaser is set to make his return to the pro circuit in this Saturday’s $175,000 Runhappy (G3) after a nearly 12-month layoff.

Prior to his lengthy hiatus, the spirited 5-year-old knocked back consecutive wins, most notably a 7 ½-length romp in the Maryland Sprint (G3) last time out on May 20.

Straight No Chaser’s grand return comes at Aqueduct, a track the Dan Blacker charge has yet to compete at.

Altogether, the John Velasquez mount is 4-0-1 in seven starts across Del Mar, Santa Anita, Oaklawn, and Pimlico.

 

Right the Ship

It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for Amidst Waves in her first voyage at the graded level (10^th in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint), but the 3-year-old filly is charting course for slightly calmer waters this Sunday at Aqueduct.

Amidst Waves’ first action since the Breeders’ Cup debacle comes in the $175,000 Soaring Softly (G3T), a 6-furlong tilt for 3-year-old fillies. The George Weaver protégé has fared quite well overall, collecting three wins in six tries (3-0-1), including two stakes’ scores (Colleen and Bolton Landing).

While the Soaring Softly is a step up from her previous stakes’ attempts, it appears more manageable, on paper at least, than the $1 million BC contest.

 

Stringin’ Hits

The anemic Toronto Blue Jays offense is in desperate need of a spark, and perhaps 3-year-old filly Nice as Pie, whose four for her last four (5: 4-0-0 overall), can be the one to provide it.

While a streak such as that would be a foreign concept to the 2024 Blue Jays, the team could take a few notes from the Kelsey Danner trainee ahead of her next start in Saturday’s $225,000 Mamzelle Stakes at Churchill Downs.

After dropping her professional debut on Aug. 2, 2023, Nice as Pie rattled off four consecutive wins, two of which came at the stakes tier (Valdale and Serena’s Song).

No stranger to competing inside crowded fields, the Adam Beschizza mount is currently lined up to meet 13 other challengers in the Mamzelle.