Coalport Tries Gulfstream Stakes

From snowy Illinois, racing fans looking for a good bet on simulcast wagering will look to sunny Florida on Saturday, with the running of the $100,000 El Prado Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The one mile turf race is open to three-year-olds and up, and has dawn a field of 14, with two more on the Also Eligibles list.  In the wide-open field as the 6-1 co-third morning line choice is the well-traveled Illinois-bred Coalport, who was last seen at Arlington winning at the AOC level before shipping to Kentucky Downs to win the Franklin-Simpson Mile.

 Nikki's Sandcastle back to defend his title

Favored in the ML at 3-1 is the Kentucky-bred Nikki’s Sandcastle, the defending race champion. Having run only five times so far in 2013, he appears to be rounding into form just in time to defend his title, having won the Grade II Hagyard Fayette Stakes at Keeneland in a 12-1 upset. Second ML choice is Irish-bred Salto at 4-1. Since finishing third in this event last year, his 2013 campaign has only included two starts. He was fourth in the Grade I Gulfstream Park Handicap in February, and only just came back to the track to win an allowance event just over two months ago.

Lea needs to turn around declining results

Besides Coalport, the other at 6-1 is Bill Mott’s Lea, who has been competitive but who has yet to score a win in his last four, all at graded-stakes level. He was second in the Grade II Firecracker Handicap, third in the Grade II Fourstardave, fourth in the Grade I Forego in late August, and most recently fifth in the Hagyard Fayette. This step down in level might be just what he needs.  An interesting long-shot could be 15-1 Riding the River, who has struggled at Woodbine this year, but who has multiple graded stakes wins in his past.