The third annual Royal Palm Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies share the spotlight Saturday at Gulfstream Park with automatic bids to Royal Ascot races on the line. Winners of both races will receive travel stipends and entry into their choice of 6 potential Royal Ascot stakes held June 17-21 in England.
Let’s meet the contenders for the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies (Race 6):
#1-ROYAL TESTAMENT: Debut filly for trainer George Weaver, who two years ago swept both Royal Palm races at Gulfstream. She’s loaded with Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winners Midshipman, Unbridled’s Song and Hansen in the first 2 generations of her pedigree.
#2-BIBI DAHL: $1,350,000 yearling purchase by American Pharoah makes her first start. She’s bred to win early as her dam Just Louise started 2-for-2 in 2010 and won the Grade 3 Debutante at Churchill Downs. Jorge Delgado trains the fast-working Palm Meadows and Gulfstream rookie.
#3-STRADA DEL SOGNO: Tareq Moubarak unveils this Street Boss filly off a string of 6 dirt workouts at Gulfstream Park. She’s out of the unraced Violence mare Line Up and cost just $25,000. Her name is Italian for Dream Road.
#4-SATISFIED MIND: Runway Keeneland debut winner April 26 for trainer Wesley Ward, who surprisingly has been shut out the first 2 years of the Royal Palm races. $25,000 daughter of First Samurai shares some of the precocity of her father, who went 4-for-4 to open the 2005 season with a pair of Grade 1 wins. Emisael Jaramillo rode both Royal Palm winners in 2024 and pilots here.
#5-NONNA’S LOVE: Half-sister to 2013 Champion 2-Year-Old and 2024 Florida Derby winner Fierceness, she’s coming off a third-place finish April 23 on dirt at Keeneland. Todd Pletcher trains the home-bred as well as several generations of both the male and female femalies. Sire Caravaggio brings the turf sprint to the pedigree as he won the first 6 starts of his career in the UK for Aidan O’Brien, including 2 Group 1s.
#6-LENNILU (pictured): Keeneland’s first baby dash winner of the 2025 Spring Meet already has had her form franked. Runner-up Kadabra scored May 3 at Aqueduct for Todd Pletcher in her reappearance. Lennilu is by elite grass sprinter Leinster, who won the 2021 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint over this course and was third in the ’20 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Patrick Biancone trains and Luis Saez sticks with the mount.
#7-AUTHENTIC GUITAR: Debut runner sports 4 dirt workouts at Palm Meadows. Dante Zanelli trainee cost just $12,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She’s by Kentucky Derby winner Authentic and out of multiple NYRA listed turf sprint stakes winner Lead Guitar, who won 6 of 10 starts.
#8-EMERALD EMBER: Second Patrick Biancone entrant in the lineup, joining Lennilu, but unlike that one does not have the benefit of a race under her belt. Both stablemates are by elite grass sprinter Leinster, who won the 2021 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint over this course and was third in the ’20 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Florida-bred has 3 Palm Meadows works showing, 2 on the turf.
#9-RUMPUS IN PARADISE: Trainer Luis Mendez has been known over the years for some early season juvenile success in Southern California. He tries this $10,000 bargain Cal-bred by Rumpus Cat who has been training at Ocala and Palm Meadows, but yet to test turf. Sire Rumpus Cat wasn’t much of a racehorse but is the product of Champion 2-Year-olds Street Sense (2007 Kentucky Derby winner as well) and Sweet Catomine.
#10-BOHEMIAN: The only locally experienced entrant, this Jack Sisterson trainee was a well-beaten fifth of 10 in his April 17 Gulfstream debut. Purchased for $85,000 at Ocala in March, he has worked on both turf and dirt since arriving at Palm Meadows. He’s a son of 2YO Champion Essential Quality, a Belmont Stakes winner.
#11-KITTY CLEO: Irish-bred makes her career debut in the colors of Stonestreet Stable and trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. She shows a drill on the Gulfstream dirt and Tapeta for this first test. Sire Cotai Glory was a multiple Group 3 winner in the UK and Group 1-placed and best known in the US for a runner-up in Woodbine’s Nearctic and ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint of 2017.
#12-LE SUNSHINE: Trainer Mark Casse found the winner’s circle in last year’s Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies with Bullet and looks for an encore. Le Sunshine is a thrifty $10,000 daughter of Tathqeef. She has trained at the Casse farm in Ocala as well as Gulfstream on the dirt.
(AE) #13-JUST A LITTLE BIT: Stanford filly for trainer Luis Mendez, who also has Rumpus in Paradise entered. She’s had a turf work at Palm Meadows. Luca Panici is named on both barnmates.
(AE) #14-DIVINELY INSPIRED: Arguably the more appealing of the Mark Casse entrants, though Le Sunshine drew into the main body of the field. Miguel Vasquez named on this $35,000 Constitution filly who has a more pronounced morning workout regimen than her stablemate.
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