HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Mr. Ripple, who made a brief splash on the 2023 Triple Crown trail only to have his 3-year-old campaign come to a premature end during the spring, will make his long-awaited return in Friday’s $91,000 allowance headliner at Gulfstream Park to be decided at one mile on the main track. Mr. Ripple has not started since finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Florida Derby here April 1, a super key race that produced six next-out winners, including Mage in the Kentucky Derby and from which the winner, Forte, came back to finish second making his next start in the Belmont Stakes. That start was just the fourth for Mr. Ripple, a son of Dialed In who began his career in the barn of trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. before being transferred to Christophe Clement late in the season. “He came to us last year and the owner [Legacy Racing LLC] has been very patient,” Clement said. “He’s training very well. This isn’t an easy race, but that’s the way it is around here. I’m excited to see him run.” Mr. Ripple, who received a career-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure for his effort in the Florida Derby, returned to the work tab with an easy three-furlong breeze Nov. 1 at Saratoga before shipping to Clement’s winter headquarters at Payson Park. He’s had eight works at Payson, two of those bullet five-furlong drills. Luis Saez will pick up the mount Friday. In 2021, Unbridled Honor finished fourth in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and third in the Grade 3 Lexington before finishing a well-beaten sixth in the Preakness for trainer Todd Pletcher. He had two no-factor starts in 2022, and has been sidelined since finishing far back in a first-level allowance race last May 27 at Gulfstream. The 6-year-old has worked six times at Palm Beach Downs since returning to the work tab in late November, the most recent of which came last Saturday, a sharp half-mile in 48.40 seconds on near even terms with his Pegasus World Cup Invitational-bound stablemate Aspen Road. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Endpoint was transferred to trainer Chad Brown’s barn following a career-best effort when a well-graded second behind Grand Aspen in a first-level allowance switched from turf to dirt on Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs. He looms among the other key contenders along with the Joseph-trained duo of Game Warden and Cape Trafalgar; the lightly raced but steadily improving Bourbon Resolve; and Shaq Diesel, who finished 12th and last in the 2023 Florida Derby. Shaq Diesel stretches out Friday off a game victory over graded stakes winner Dean Delivers in the seven-furlong Marion County Florida Sire Stakes on Dec. 9 at Tampa. Otello eyeing Holy Bull Clement is excited about bringing his undefeated, potential Kentucky Derby prospect Otello back locally in the Grade 3 Holy Bull on Feb. 3. Otello won the first 3-year-old stakes of the season when rallying from last to a hard-fought half-length decision over First World War in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man on New Year’s Day. A son of Curlin, Otello used similar tactics to register a game neck victory when launching his career over the same distance at Aqueduct five weeks earlier. “He looks well and is training well since his last start,” Clement said. “He seems to handle Gulfstream and he’s by Curlin, so you’d expect the extra distance to be a plus. We just have to take the chance and find out.” :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets.   Otello’s task won’t be an easy one, with the field for the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull likely to include Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and soon-to-be-named 2023 juvenile male champion Fierceness. ◗ The final invitation list for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jan. 27 was released Wednesday, with the only change being Ny Traffic moving from the reserve list to replace Newgrange, who is no longer under consideration for the event. Ny Traffic gives Joseph three potential starters in the race along with O’Connor and Skippylongstocking. National Treasure, First Mission, and Saudi Crown remain the biggest names expected to be in the box when entries are drawn Sunday for the entire Pegasus Day card that also features the $1 million Pegasus Turf Invitational. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.