The Lead:
Trainer Brian Lynch looks to continue to shred the competition during the Gulfstream Park Championship Meet when he sends out the headliner in the Race 11 Royal Delta Stakes. The intriguing mix has a few rising stars, the race's defending champion, a Kentucky Oaks runner-up and a west coast export. The 1-1/16 miles test for fillies and mares is named for the 2-time Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Royal Delta, who had a win and a second in this race when it was previously named the Sabin Stakes.
Saturday's Royal Delta will be part of the Sunset 6 wager between Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita (final 3 races at each track daily). Note the Sunset 6 has a $33K carryover heading into Friday's card. And for those looking ahead, Gulfstream will offer a mandatory Rainbow 6 payout on Sunday to close out the weekend.
Field Depth:
Grade 2 winner NOTHING LIKE YOU is joined by Grade 3 winners ALPINE PRINCESS, SHRED THE GNAR and DAZZLING MOVE. DREXEL HILL is Grade 1-placed.
Pace:
SHRED THE GNAR has wired 3 straight fields and figures to make the front once again. The pressure doesn't look overwhelming and it's likely this race is controlled on or near the front with a short run to the first turn and sixteenth-pole finish line in play.
Our Eyes:
Here are my horse-by-horse notes.
#1-ALPINE PRINCESS: Consistent and well-placed 2025 season was capped with career-best in Grade 2 Falls City. Not a blazer, but should be able to hold position with advantageous rail draw. First start at Gulfstream so note an average 13% win rate for sire Classic Empire offspring over the surface. Corey Lanerie won this race in 2021 with Queen Nekia and replaces Irad Ortiz Jr., who will be overseas for the Saudi Cup.
#2-SENZA PAROLE (pictured): Blowout local allowance winner January 15 has hinted at future stardom a few times now in a stop-and-start career. Typical bullet worker came out of that win with her customary morning zip as the Chad Brown trainee looks to navigate 2 turns for the first time. Gun Runner filly bred to handle it and benefits from the sixteenth-pole finish line at this trip. Expect inside speed under Miguel Vasquez, another deputy for the traveling Irad Ortiz Jr.
#3-EUNOMIA: First of 3 Saffie Joseph Jr. trainees in the lineup as he aims for a third straight score in this race and fifth in the last 7 years. Stakes debut for this Tiz the Law filly who has battled in turf and dirt allowance tests for the bulk of her 11 starts. Edwin Gonzalez rides the Keeneland and Tampa winner who aims for a third straight score. Bullet works of late at Palm Meadows as she tries Gulfstream for the first time (sire Tiz the Law 14% local winners). A cut below these unleash she’s vastly improved.
#4-SHRED THE GNAR: Rising star announced her presence here last winter when blowing away maidens in March. She added a Derby Week allowance romp at Churchill before going to the sides and returned in November to win the Grade 3 Chilukki at CD by daylight. Trainer Brian Lynch has a meet-best 7 stakes wins at the current Championship Meet and is winning everything in sight. Into Mischief filly has won around 1 turn and 2 and figures to be a major threat up front throughout the Royal Delta. Mario Gutierrez (13-for-25 with Lynch at GP!) replaces Luis Saez, who will be at Fair Grounds on Saturday.
#5-DAZZLING MOVE: Defending Royal Delta heroine will try to keep Saffie Joseph Jr. rolling in a race he’s won 4 times in the last 6 years. Since its 1991 debut, only Awesome Maria in 2011-’12 has managed repeat victories in this race. She’s lost 8 straight since her Royal Delta score and her 2 starts at the current meet don’t inspire a turnaround. Tyler Gaffalione takes over for traveling John Velazquez.
#6-NOTHING LIKE YOU: Former Bob Baffert trainee went through the sales ring in November and brought back to training instead of embarking on a broodmare career just yet. New connections sent her to Brendan Walsh and he’s had the 2024 Santa Anita Oaks winner training right on cute at Palm Meadows, capped by a bullet work Feb. 4. She was a cut below the good ones at age 4 and I’ll make her prove it to me at Gulfstream for the first time. Malibu Moon offspring win 13% at Gulfstream on dirt.
#7-DREXEL HILL: The 2025 Kentucky Oaks runner-up missed most of the second half of her sophomore season. The Whit Beckman trainee returned on par where she left, but will need a move forward off her listed Wayward Lass score last month at Tampa Bay Downs to best some of these. Jockey Javier Castellano has 3 wins in the Royal Delta (2007, 2008, 2014) and can match John Velazquez’s race record of 4 if successful Saturday.
#8-CLARET BERET: Final of 3 entrants for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who bids to surpass Todd Pletcher and become the first 5-time winner of the Royal Delta. This primarily sprinter did win a 2-turn allowance at Oaklawn against entry-level rivals a year ago. The wide draw and immediate left-hand turn at this 1-1/16 miles trip can be confounding for a sprinter. She’s run well to be third in the Rampart and Inside Information this meet and a third minor check might be her ceiling.
Most Likely Exotics Contender:
SHRED THE GNAR is a neck from perfection in 4 starts and has separate wins over the track and at the distance.
Best Longshot Contender:
None projected in the exacta, but DREXEL HILL at 20-1 morning line has been first or second 7 times in 10 starts and her ceiling isn't as well-known as some of these.
Sending it in ($100 bankroll):
$100 exacta SHRED THE GNAR over SENZA PAROLE.
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