HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer George Weaver said he was looking to find a spot where he wouldn’t be facing any “gorillas” when bringing his Grade 1-placed Dorth Vader back from an 11-month hiatus in Friday’s $97,000 allowance feature at Gulfstream Park. That plan may not have worked out quite the way he’d hoped, since the graded stakes-placed Grand Job is among the six other fillies and mares who signed on for the one-mile main event. Dorth Vader has been idle since finishing fourth after contesting the early pace over a sloppy track in the La Troienne at Churchill Downs on last year’s Kentucky Oaks undercard. The outing was the four consecutive Grade 1 start for Dorth Vader, who’d previously finished second in the Acorn, fourth in the Test, and fifth in the Kentucky Oaks during her 3-year-old campaign. The daughter of Girvin will be returning to a track over which she’s had plenty of success throughout her career. Dorth Vader has won three times on the local strip, including a victory in the 2023 Davona Dale – a Grade 2 race at the time – in her only previous start at a mile prior to Friday’s headliner. “I feel like she’s doing well. I’m happy with her,” Weaver said. “Fitness-wise, she should be fit enough, but a mile on the dirt off the layoff, you just never know.” :: Get Gulfstream Park Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. Friday’s return will mark the second time Dorth Vader has come back from a lengthy vacation. She was sidelined for 272 days following her fourth-place finish in the 2023 Test before returning in the La Troienne, and she will have had 329 days between starts when going to post Friday. “She wasn’t 100 percent the way she was moving after the Test. I felt like she had some things that were causing her not to perform like she was capable of, so we gave her time,” Weaver explained. “She was doing real well going into the La Troienne. We were looking forward to Saratoga, but after a couple of works, I felt like we needed to pass. The big question mark is whether she really wants two turns. Part of me thinks she’s better suited to one-turn races.” Dorth Vader will race with Lasix and without blinkers for the first time while having her regular rider, John Velasquez, aboard. Grand Job joined trainer Bill Mott’s barn last season after going winless in four turf starts in Ireland to launch her career in 2023. She became an instant success when switched to the main track to kick off her U.S. career with a pair of one-sided victories going seven furlongs and a mile, respectively, last fall. Grand Job stretched out around two turns for the first time here last month in the Grade 3 Royal Delta, setting the pace until late stretch before tiring to be second best behind the much-improved Dazzling Move. “Neither of her first two races surprised me,” Mott said prior to the Royal Delta. “But two turns is something we have to find out about.” Grand Job figures to be the one to catch turning back to a mile once again in a field that also includes Gallop d’Hermes, Uphill Dance, My Happy Holiday, Miles of Smiles, and the stakes-placed Dream Concert. Florida Derby facts Here are some Florida Derby facts to consider coming into Saturday’s key Kentucky Derby prep and the marquee race for 3-year-olds here each season: Mott has won just about every major race locally – except the Florida Derby. The Hall of Fame horseman sent out Blue Burner to finish second behind Harlan’s Holiday in 2002 and Hofburg to be runner-up behind the favorite Audible in 2018. Trainer Todd Pletcher, on the other hand, will shoot for his record ninth Florida Derby victory with Disruptor on Saturday. Pletcher has won three of the last four renewals of the Grade 1 event, including last year’s edition in sensational fashion with Fierceness. If Disruptor springs the upset, Mike Repole will become the first person to win the race three consecutive years, either in partnership or as a sole owner, having done so with both Fierceness and as Forte’s co-owner in 2023 along with St. Elias Stable. Jockey Manny Franco, who will replace the injured Junior Alvarado aboard favored Sovereignty on Saturday, has not ridden locally since the 2019-20 Championship meet, during which he won four races from 30 mounts. Those wins included the Florida Derby with Tiz the Law and the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile aboard Mr Freeze. Madaket Road will be only Bob Baffert’s second starter in the Florida Derby. He had previously sent out Spielberg to finish a distant eighth in 2021. Baffert has run only 12 horses here since the 2001 meeting, winning with five of those starters, including the Pegasus World Cup Invitational three times with Arrogate (2017), Mucho Gusto (2020), and National Treasure (2024). – additional reporting by David Grening :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.