HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Something will likely have to give when speedsters Guns Loaded and Rolando square off in a field of just six 3-year-olds entered for Saturday’s $115,000 Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The tradition-rich six-furlong dash is the first of two stakes to be decided on the card along with the $115,000 Captiva Island for older fillies and mares going five furlongs on turf. The Hutcheson has been run annually here since 1954 and boasts a roster of past winners that includes Shecky Greene, Holy Bull, Swale, and Spectacular Bid. The last two named used the race as a stepping-stone to victories in the 1979 and 1984 Kentucky Derbies, respectively. It’s been a long while since the event has served as a Derby prep of any kind, and this year’s edition is no exception, with two of the six entrants, Tapirs Valor and first-time starter Corta Fuego, having been supplemented into the lineup. Guns Loaded was briefly on the Derby trail earlier this season after capturing the one-mile Mucho Macho Man in his 3-year-old debut. The son of Gun Runner’s Derby dreams came to an end after he stopped badly to finish seventh and last, 33 1/4 lengths behind winner Burnham Square, in the Grade 3 Holy Bull. Trainer Jose D’Angelo has returned Guns Loaded to what he does best – sprinting – for the Hutcheson in hopes of getting him back on track for the remainder of his campaign. Guns Loaded has been on or with the lead from the outset in all four previous starts but figures to receive a major challenge on the front end from the equally fleet Rolando, who exits an impressive, wire-to-wire, 4 1/2-length allowance win going six furlongs just 13 days ago. Rolando received a career-best 89 Beyer Speed Figure for that win. Whether he can repeat that kind of effort returning on relatively short rest could be key in determining the outcome of the race. Multiverse figures to be the major beneficiary of a hotly contested pace coming off an explosive, come-from-behind, 4 1/2-length maiden victory at six furlongs on Feb. 8. He posted a lifetime-best 85 Beyer for the effort while racing without blinkers for a second consecutive start. In his previous outing, Multiverse finished third behind Holy Bull runner-up and Florida Derby-bound Tappan Street in one of the most productive 3-year-old maiden races of the meet. :: Play Gulfstream Park with confidence! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. “He always struck me as a horse that would get better with racing, and it looks like that’s the case as he’s improved with each start, numbers-wise,” said Riley Mott, who trains Multiverse for Pin Oak Stable. Joey Muscles, stakes-placed at 2 in the Proud Man but winless in his last six starts, completes the field. Captiva Island The Captiva Island could come down to a rematch between Epona’s Hope and Just a Care, who finished first and second, respectively, just heads apart, in the Ladies’ Turf Sprint here five weeks earlier. Epona’s Hope used her speed to good advantage in the Ladies’ Turf Sprint, controlling the pace under clever rating by jockey Joel Rosario before holding safe a late bid by Just a Care to register her second consecutive well-graded victory for trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. Just a Care, the 4-5 favorite in the Ladies’ Turf Sprint, took the worst of the trips getting shuffled back in the opening furlong and forced to race wide throughout. Despite the trouble, Just a Care was able to gain gradually on the winner through the final furlong only to fall short with her bid while never switching off her left lead in the stretch run. Junior Alvarado, who guided Just a Care to victory in the Abundantia Stakes early in the Championship meet, was unavailable for her most recent start but will be back in the saddle Saturday. The two likely favorites will take on five rivals that include the multiple stakes winner Dancing Duchess, who returns off a six-month hiatus for trainer Mark Casse; European Group 3 winner Tiger Belle, making her first start since transferring to trainer Bobby Dibona’s barn for her 4-year-old campaign; Weekend Rags, a late-running fourth in the Ladies’ Turf Sprint; recent Tapeta allowance winner Bandonarun; and the speedy R Harper Rose. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.