MIAMI – It’s been five years since trainer Linda Rice has had a regular presence in South Florida. But that streak will come to an end this winter, with Rice having decided to send down a small portion of her large and successful New York-based stable to Gulfstream Park for the 2018-19 championship meet, which opens on Dec. 1. Rice actually tested the local waters for the first time last weekend at Gulfstream Park West and will do so again in Friday’s fifth event, a six-furlong dash on the main track that is one of three optional-claiming races on the card. Rice will send out Polar Jet as one of the key contenders in the fifth race, for Florida-breds, and he will face I Idolize You, So Long Chuck, Kantharos’ Image, Sum Overture, Trio of Champions, Scotuscare, and Game Day Drama. “I’ll still be keeping the bulk of my stable in New York,” Rice said on Wednesday. “But I’ll have about a half-dozen to 10 horses down there at Gulfstream. I’ve decided to come back down for the winter for several reasons, partly to accommodate my turf horses and also just to change things up a little.” Rice also hopes to take advantage of the Florida-bred program for horses like Polar Jet, who seeks to snap an eight-race losing streak dating to January. “We gave him some time off this summer, freshened him up, thinking he’d be a better winter horse,” Rice said. “He’s also a Florida-bred, and [owner Louis Corrente] wanted to capitalize on the program down there, partly with the thought that the competition would be easier for him than up in New York.” Polar Jet has made two starts since returning to action this fall, most recently finishing third in an entry-level allowance race at Laurel Park on Oct. 25. Polar Jet will break from the rail in his local debut under jockey Miguel Vasquez. Trainer Jason Servis, who had great success in this area last winter, will counter Rice with I Idolize You and Sum Overture. I Idolize You figures to be favored while coming off a couple of one-sided victories this summer at Monmouth Park. The 3-year-old son of Awesome of Course, a homebred owned by Mr. Amore Stable, has been given a breather since then and will face statebred company for the first time on Friday. The lightly raced Sum Overture, who’ll make his main-track debut, has also been away since the tail end of the Monmouth meet, having most recently finished third under optional-claiming conditions in just his second start. Sum Overture won his career debut going five furlongs on turf earlier in the Monmouth session. So Long Chuck has been transferred from trainer Jamie Ness to Saffie Joseph Jr. for his return to the local area and seeks his first victory since capturing a midlevel conditioned claimer at Delaware Park on Aug. 22. So Long Chuck, whose best weapon has been his early speed, worked a bullet half-mile in 46.63 here last Sunday. ◗ More than a half-dozen of the Latin American horses who have shipped locally for the Clasico del Caribe Internacional program at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 8 were on the work tab Wednesday, including El Salsero, who’ll take on the odds-on Mexican invader Kukulkan in the main event, the $300,000 Clasico del Caribe Stakes. El Salsero, among the large Puerto Rican contingent scheduled to compete on the card, worked from the gate along with the filly Regalada, going four furlongs in 49.63 while finishing a couple of lengths behind his older stablemate. :: Want to get the latest news with your past performances? Try DRF’s new digital PPs