The late Pick Four Sunday at Gulfstream Park ends with a maiden event, but what a maiden race it is.

The distance turf races for 3-year-olds generally come up quite interesting, and Race 11 (5:48 p.m. ET, maidens) is no exception.

It’s the fourth leg of the sequence, which begins in Race 8 and includes a pair of good claiming races and an inviting allowance optional claiming.

The suggested Pick 4 ticket totals $64 and the final leg has four fillies included on the ticket. The maiden races at Gulfstream often produce future stakes stars, and these runners are nothing short of promising. Alwayz Late (from trainer Bill Mott), Deemed Essential and Cadencia (each from Todd Pletcher) and Victorian Gold (a promising first-timer from Rusty Arnold) get their buttons pushed on this Pick 4. Here’s a look at their chances:

ALWAYZ LATE rallied for third against slow fractions on a “good” turf course at Churchill last out and is first-time Lasix for this affair.

DEEMED ESSENTIAL tries the turf after a pair of seconds and most recently a fifth. Has good speed and can be a factor from the get-go.

CADENCIA was so close in breaking her maiden last time that she will get a ton of support here. She has been in spots that looked very good for her but she came up slightly short. Her very best could get it done today.

VICTORIAN GOLD is a first-time starter for Rusty Arnold and has been impressive during the mornings at Palm Meadows. Impressively bred Ireland native could have a strong showing at first asking.

Here’s a capsule peek at the contenders in the first three races on the late Pick 4:


Race 8 (4:12 p.m. ET, claiming)

MEMPHIS SHOWBOAT hasn’t won in nearly a year but with a break or two could’ve stacked up a few more successes last year. She does her best following a fast pace and can close well on occasion.

ALOHA KITTEN was claimed by Bob Hess, Jr., last out when she just missed. She’s tuning up her game and is a logical contender.

COME STORMING changed her running style last out and make a strong run for second. Has responded to trainer Mike Maker’s touch since being claiming three back.

KELLEYCANRUN comes off her best effort in quite a while when Paco Lopez rode her to a third-place finish. Can finish with a great deal of interest in this spot.


Race 9 (4:44 p.m. ET, claiming)

TWIRLING FAITH comes out of better races and in two or three of those was a strong player on the front end. Gets Lopez for her first Gulfstream appearance.
SHADILEE was a $75,000 claim by Maker in her first start and has been in some challenging races. Drops to her lowest level and can respond with a big effort.


Race 10 (5:16 p.m. ET, allowance optional claiming)

LINNY KATE closed well in both races, including a maiden win over this course a year ago. Hasn’t raced much but often that’s not a huge factor for Brown runners.

NOPE could be saying yep if she can improve off her first U.S. start, which produced a fourth-place finish. She broke her maiden in Ireland and barely missed at Newmarket in her last start in Europe. Has been off since April but has a group of useful works since the first of the year.

SETTING THE MOOD was fourth in the G1 Belmont Oaks Invitational in September and was fourth in her first here. Is a good bet to improve off her latest.

DIAMOND SPARKLES was a closing third in a Grade 3 on the turf at Woodbine and has run in three countries in nine starts.

My Ticket

Race 8) #1 Memphis Showboat, #3 Aloha Kitten, #4 Come Storming, #7 Kelleycanrun,

Race 9) #1 Twirling Faith, #2 Shadilee.

Race 10) #1 Linny Kate, #2 Nope, #8 Setting the Mood., #10 Diamond Sparkles.

Race 11) #1 Alwayz Late, #2 Deemed Essential, #5 Cadencia, #7 Victorian Gold.

Total Ticket Cost) 1,3,4,7/1,2/1,2,8,10/1,2,5,7 = $64 for $0.50