Any Limit Looks for Repeat of Last in 'Bertie

Joseph V. Shields Jr.'s Any Limit, a convincing winner of the First Lady Handicap (gr. III) Jan. 20, tries to do it again in Saturday's $150,000 Hurrican Bertie Handicap (gr. III) for older fillies and mares at Gulfstream Park.

Jockey Rafael Bejarano has a return engagement on the Allen Jerkens-trained Any Limit, who drew off for a 2 1/2-length win over Contrast, who also is back in 6 1/2-furlong Hurricane Bertie.

Any Limit, the 4-year-old homebred daughter of Limit Out earned her first stakes victory in the six-furlong First Lady. Any Limit has five wins in 13 lifetime starts and earnings of just over $200,000.

A field of 10 is set for the Hurricane Bertie, one of two grade III stakes, along with the Sabin Handicap, for older fillies and mares at Gulfstream Park Saturday.

Jayeff B Stable’s Contrast set the pace in the First Lady in her first start since capturing the Candy Éclair Stakes at Delaware Park on June 20, and likely needed a race returning from the lengthy layoff. Eddie Castro rides the 5-year-old homebred daughter of Unbridled for trainer Alan Goldberg. Contrast has won four of six starts and was produced by the mare Safely Kept, the 1989 Eclipse champion sprinter for the same connections.

The Argentine-bred Stormy Kiss, owned by Lael Stables, won last season's Honorable Miss Stakes (gr. II) at Saratoga in front-running fashion and carries top weight of 118 pounds. Barclay Tagg trains the 5-year-old Bernstein mare who will be ridden by Javier Castellano from the rail.

Completing the field are Runnin Cardinal Stable and C.E. Glasscock’s My Lucky Free, Nick Cimino and Steve Klesaris’ Coli Bear, Randall Bloch and partners’ Atlas Valley, Walter New’s Flying Circle, Bea Oxenberg and partners’ Stolen Prayer, Buckingham Farm’s A Sea Trippi, and KZ Stable’s Actslikealady.

$150,000 Hurricane Bertie Handicap (gr. III, Race 9, 4:54 p.m.)
Fillies & Mares 4 & Up, 6 1/2 Furlongs
PP. Horse, Weight, Jockey
1. Stormy Kiss (ARG), 118, Javier Castellano
2. My Lucky Free (KY), 115, Joe Bravo
3. Coli Bear (FL), 115, Rajiv Maragh
4. Atlas Valley (KY), 115, Manoel R. Cruz
5. Flying Circle (KY), 113, Elvis Trujillo
6. Stolen Prayer (FL), 114, Kent J. Desormeaux
7. A Sea Trippi (FL), 116, Rene R. Douglas
8. Any Limit (KY), 116, Rafael Bejarano
9. Contrast (KY), 116, Eddie Castro
10. Actslikealady (KY), 113, Eduardo O. Nunez