HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Ron Spatz is pointing Loco Abarrio to the $125,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint a week from Saturday. The question is which Loco Abarrio will show up – the one who defeated multiple stakes winner Super Chow while earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure in his 2023 finale? Or the one who finished last, beaten nearly a dozen lengths as the 2-1 favorite when switching to the Tapeta track in his 2024 debut? If Loco Abarrio’s final work here Wednesday for the six-furlong Gulfstream Sprint is any indication, it’s likely going to be the former after he sped four furlongs in 47.06 seconds before galloping out with tons of energy, easing up six panels in 1:13.79. “I usually don’t work him that fast, but he did it nicely and came back well,” Spatz said. “This morning will either put some speed in him or take some out and in light of how fast he went, I’m glad I worked him 10 days out.” Spatz said he has no real excuse for Loco Abarrio’s uncharacteristically subpar effort here in his last outing. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports “The only thing I can say is he just didn’t want to extend himself over the Tapeta,” Spatz offered. “He ran on it okay when he was younger, but he just didn’t want any part of it this time.” Spatz also downplayed Loco Abarrio’s performance in his previous start for which he earned a career-best 96 Beyer when outgaming the 1-2 Super Chow, who flattered the race and then some returning to win the Grade 3 Toboggan by 4 1/4 lengths last week at Aqueduct. “He beat that other horse that day because [Super Chow] got off bad and coming from behind is not his style,” Spatz said. “But my horse does seem to be elevating his game a little at a time and I do think that was his best race so far.” The nomination list for the Gulfstream Sprint is a good one, led by last year’s winner, Candy Man Rocket. Candy Man Rocket “is definitely the one to beat if he comes,” Spatz said. “The race is at six furlongs and I think my horse is better at either six and a half or seven, although with the proper post position, I think he will handle six.” Bird Wildcat steps up in class The featured event on Friday’s nine-race card is a modest one, a $37,000 starter and optional-claiming dash going seven furlongs on the main track that lured a familiar group of eight, including the Spatz-trained Bird Wildcat, who steps up in company off a 1 3/4-length victory in an optional-claiming and allowance test restricted to Florida-breds on Jan. 28. Three of the leading contenders in the headliner, Lightning Tones, Zydecaux, and The Distractor, finished second, third, and fifth, respectively, in a similarly conditioned starter test going six furlongs on Jan. 17. That race was won by the late-striding Scoot Daddy in a career-best effort. Lightning Tones fell a neck shy of the winner after having his best compromised by trouble at the break. Zydecaux finished another neck farther back after contesting much of the early pace with The Distractor, who faded to fifth as the even-money favorite. Concrete Glory, who wired slightly softer starter opposition while registering a lifetime-best 93 Beyer in his 2024 debut, is likely to be favored and looms the one to catch once again for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. while seeking his fourth victory in his last five starts. The remainder of the field consists of Thought off a game win against virtually the same kind at Tampa Bay Downs on Jan. 12, along with Morgan Point and Celestial Glaze, a couple of hard-knockers coming off recent claims. Joseph has four for Royal Delta Saturday’s main event is the Grade 3 Royal Delta, for older fillies and mares, which drew a field of 11, four of whom hail from the barn of leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Joseph entered Honor D Lady, Rosie’s Halo, Imonra, and Libban in the one-mile fixture. They will take on a group that features local favorite and stakes winner Maryquitecontrary, who is a question mark around two turns; Tizzy in the Sky, runner-up in the Grade 3 Go for Wand in her 2023 finale; the graded stakes-placed Opus Forty Two; and Grade 1-placed Nostalgic. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.