Promising 3-year-olds Dewey Square and Bambazonki each worked five furlongs at Gulfstream Park Feb. 24 in preparation for the upcoming Palm Beach Stakes (gr. IIIT) at 1 1/8 miles on turf.
Siena Farms' Dewey Square was timed in 1:00 4/5 over the Gulfstream turf course and Lothenbach Stable's Bambazonki clocked 1:01 flat for the same distance. They are both pointing to the $150,000 Palm Beach March 3.
"He's breezed on turf several times now and I'm pretty confident he likes it," said trainer Dale Romans of Dewey Square, who will make his turf debut in the Palm Beach. "He's not off the Derby Trail. If things go well in the Palm Beach we'll run in the Blue Grass at Keeneland."
The $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass (gr. I) is to be run over the Polytrack surface at Keeneland April 13.
A Kentucky homebred son of Bernardini , Dewey Square came to Gulfstream this winter with high expectations as a prospect for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) after three starts as a 2-year-old. Following his debut win at Hoosier Park in September by 11 lengths, Dewey Square took an allowance race at Churchill Downs in late October, then finished a good third in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (gr. II) at Churchill Nov. 24.
However, Dewey Square threw in a bad race in his 3-year-old debut when finishing a distant seventh behind Itsmyluckyday in the $400,000 Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III) at Gulfstream Jan. 20. The performance convinced Romans to change his plans while not losing confidence that Dewey Square was a good colt and still a potential Derby prospect.
Bambazonki is already a proven stakes-class performer on turf for trainer Chris Block, breaking his maiden over the Arlington Park course in September last year after a runner-up debut on Polytrack. The son of Hard Spun won a Keeneland allowance on turf and finished a game second by a half-length behind odds-on favorite Charming Kitten in the Kittens Joy Stakes over the Gulfstream course in his 3-year-old bow Jan. 20.
Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Kentucky homebred Charming Kitten, a son of Kitten's Joy , won the race named for his sire for trainer Todd Pletcher after losing a half-length decision as the favorite in the Dania Beach Stakes over the course Dec. 15. He will likely be the favorite again in Sunday's Palm Beach.