‘Thread’ a Threat in Palm Beach

[Wandering Eyes]

Three of the top four finishers in Gulfstream’s Dania Beach S. look to renew their rivalry in the GIII Palm Beach S. Chief among them is Leonard Green’s A Thread of Blue (Hard Spun), a comfortable winner of the eight-furlong test Feb. 3. Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, who is winning at over 25% at the Championship meeting, A Thread of Blue finished third in the Awad S. over Aqueduct’s yielding turf Nov. 4 before resurfacing in Southern Florida with a score in a $75,000 optional claimer Dec. 22. Luis Saez, aboard for the last two wins, gets back on this time. Mark Casse sends postward lightly-raced King Ottokar (Temple City). A modest fifth while breaking a step slow while trying five furlongs at Gulfstream Park West Oct. 28, the dark bay was accompanied by Julien Leparoux for his latest, a front-running score while extending to a mile here Jan. 9. The French-born horseman gets the return call. Louder Than Bombs (Violence) has proven consistent over the Gulfstream turf, finishing in the money in four of six starts. Victorious in the Hallandale oval’s one-mile Armed Forces S. Sept. 29, the David Fawkes trainee finished sixth trying the dirt in Churchill’s Street Sense S. Nov. 2, but showed improvement when getting back to his favored surface in Florida. In the most recent of his efforts, the colt finished a close-up fourth in the Jan. 5 Kitten’s Joy S. before closing to be second behind A Thread of Blue last out. The 2018 Eclipse Award winning rider Irad Ortiz Jr. partners the colt for the first time.

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