Finale will be looking to redeem himself in the Dania Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park
The $100,000 Dania Beach Stakes have come early this year since Gulfstream began its current meet a month earlier, and now the race is carded for 2-year-olds which was back in January 2011 carded for 3-year-olds.
Dania Beach is run over a distance of a mile on turf, and this time around it has reeled in a field of 11 juvenile runners and to head the field of 11, 2-year-old Todd Pletcher trained colt, Finale, has been declared the favourite.
After his disappointing run in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, where Finale was sent off as the favourite, the Kentucky bred son of Scat Daddy, out of mare Twinkle by Lively One, Finale will look to bounce back in the Dania Beach Stakes.
Prior to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Finale was on a 3 race winning streak which included a maiden special weight race, a stakes race and grade 3 stakes race.
The juvenile colt broke his maiden in third asking at Belmont Park on 15 July, 2011, at about six furlongs. Ridden by John Velazquez, Finale romped on the Belmont Park’s turf course to defeat Two Months Rent and Skorton , who finished second and third, respectively,
as he took the race in 1 minute and 8.70 seconds.
It was time for Finale to get stretched out in distance and prepare for the Breeders’ Cup, and he got served with a mile on turf at Monmouth Park. Finale obliged and won the race in style over Channel Quest in second and No Play in third.
Finale covered the distance of a mile on turf in the Continental Mile in 1 minute and 35.24 seconds on 20 August, 2011.
Distance was out of the way, but the company still mattered as Todd Pletcher got Finale to run in the Grade 3 Summer Stakes at about a mile at Woodbine on 17 September, 2011.
Finale was awesome that day, as he pulled clear in the stretch to down Excaper and Daddy Nose Best, in second and third, respectively, to top the mile in 1 minute and 35.51 seconds.
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