Pauline Needs Dream Trip in Sugar Swirl at Gulfstream

Five garded stakes are on tap at Gulfstream park on Saturday afternoon. (Photo credit: Gulfstream Park).

Five graded stakes are on tap at Gulfstream Park on Saturday including Dream Pauline looking tough in the $100,000 Sugar Swirl (G3).

The six-furlong test for fillies and mares on the main track drew a field of eight. Dream Pauline is coming off a troubled trip in a third-place finish in the Dream Supreme at Churchill Downs in her last outing.

“She won the a-other-than at Saratoga and then she didn’t get in the Breeders’ Cup. We were hoping to get in and then she ran the next day against older fillies. She just had a rough trip,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. “She got checked pretty hard a couple times down the backside. She’s a nice filly, better than that. We’re looking forward to the race. She’s very talented and very well-bred.”

The Rusty Arnold trained Awestruck is the 2-1 morning line favorite. She had had a less than stellar trip in a runner up finish in the Dream Supreme.

Stormy Embrace (3-1) is coming in off a 11^th place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at Churchill Downs.

“She came out of the Breeders’ Cup really good,” her trainer Kathleen O’Connell said. “It was just a rough trip. She was wide and there were a lot of horses. With that many horses, you had to have the trip.”

The marquee name on the Gulfstream Park card on Saturday is Audible, the 2-5 morning line favorite for the $100,000 Harlan’s Holiday (G3). The Florida Derby (G1) winner and third place finisher of the Kentucky Derby (G1) is using the race as a springboard to the $9 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) next month.

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My Best Plays Report for Saturday includes my strongest plays from Aqueduct and Gulfstream Park.

Let’s head out to Gulfstream Park for Saturday’s featured race of the day.

Gulfstream Park Race 10 The Sugar Swirl G3 (Post time 4:36 ET)

#7 Dream Pauline 4-1

#2 Awestruck 2-1

#3 Bronx Beauty 7-2

#4 Stormy Embrace 5-1

Dream Pauline

This filly had a rough trip last out in her stakes debut in the Dream Supreme at Churchill Downs. The filly had to steady in traffic down the backstretch and into the turn, angled out five wide and picked it up late in a third-place finish. The winner Vertical Oak came back to win the Garland of Roses in her next outing on Dec. 8. The filly won her first two starts, a six-length maiden score in her debut over the main track at Aqueduct and then she beat Alw-1 foes at the Spa in a good looking effort.

McLaughlin was thinking Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) with her but she did not get into the race. She has the pedigree, by Tapit out of the stakes winner Dream Rush ($779,364) who has dropped four other winners including stakes winner Dreaming of Julia ($874,500). This gal still has a ton of upside.

Awestruck

The Rusty Arnold trainee also exits the Dream Supreme where she ran second at 6-1 and she had some trouble as well. The filly was put in tight quarters and had to steady on the backstretch, came with a five wide bid and could not get to the winner late. She makes her third start of her current form cycle and a clean trip here puts her right in the mix.

Bronx Beauty

The filly cuts back to six furlongs after tracking the early pace and weakening to finish fourth last out in the Raven Run (G2) at Keeneland. The winner of the race was Shamrock Rose, the 25-1 upset winner of the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in her start. The runner up in the Raven Run was Blamed, who came back to win the Comely (G3) at Aqueduct in her next outing on Nov. 23.