Three Turf Sprints Highlight Friday's Stronach 5

Three Turf Sprints Highlight Friday's Stronach 5

Four Tracks, Industry-Low 12-Percent Takeout

LAUREL, MD – Races from Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park, Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields, including three turf sprints, will highlight Friday’s Stronach 5.

The popular wager with an industry-low 12-percent takeout will begin with Gulfstream’s seventh race at 4:15 ET.

A dozen 4-year-olds and up have entered the five-furlong turf sprint for claimers to kick off the Stronach 5. Raymond Murphy’s French Reef, the 3-1 favorite, enters off a troubled trip last time out for trainer Rohan Crichton. Ron Paolucci Racing, LLC’s Going for Gold draws the 12 post and drops from allowance company.

Laurel’s ninth race will serve as the second leg of the Stronach 5. A claiming event at 6 ½ furlongs for non-winner of three lifetime has a 2-1 favorite in Pascal Chant for Dale Capuano and a 5-2 choice in Extra Medium for leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez.

Santa Anita’s third race, the third leg of the sequence, is a wide-open, $50,000 maiden claiming event for 3-year-olds at five furlongs on the turf. The morning-line favorites are Amanofmystature (5-2), Cross Indian (7-2) and Soulong (4-1). Peter Miller trains Amanofmystature, a gelded son of Into Mischief, and Soulong, a son of Perfect Soul. Cross Indian returns from a seven-month layoff after finishing second by a nose in maiden special weight company at Del Mar.

Golden Gate’s third race, a maiden special weight event for California-bred 3-year-olds, will serve as the fourth leg of the sequence. The mile event has a 2-1 favorite in Tribal Nation, coming off two second-place finishes at Golden Gate and Los Alamitos.

The Stronach 5 wraps up at Gulfstream with a five-furlong turf event for 3-year-olds with a $25,000 maiden tag. It’s a wide-open finale with Supplication a 3-1 favorite dropping in company for trainer Mark Casse. George Weaver will saddle a first-time starter in Gael Power, a son of Soldat to be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione. Leading rider Irad Ortiz Jr. has been named on 6-1 shot Congrats Again for trainer Michael Yates.

Friday’s races and sequence
 

  • Leg One – Gulfstream Park 7th Race: (12 entries, 5 furlongs turf) 4:15 ET, 1:15 PT
  • Leg Two –Laurel Park 9th Race: (9 entries, 6 ½ furlongs) 4:29 ET, 1:29 PT
  • Leg Three –Santa Anita Park 3rd Race: (10 entries, 6 furlongs turf) 4:35 ET, 1:35 PT
  • Leg Four –Golden Gate Fields 3rd Race: (7 entries, 1 mile) 4:53 ET, 1:53 PT
  • Leg Five –Gulfstream West 9th Race: (8 entries, 5 furlongs turf) 5:17 ET, 2:17 PT
Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.comSantaAnita.comGulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.
 
The Stronach 5 In the Money podcast, hosted by Jonathan Kinchen and Peter Thomas Fornatale, will be posted by 2 p.m. Thursday at InTheMoneyPodcast.com and will be available on iTunes and other major podcast distributors.
 
The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.
 
If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.
 
The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.