Veteran trainer Gerald Bennett will have the horse to beat in the eighth race Sunday at Gulfstream Park, a $56,000 allowance going a mile on dirt. U Lite Up My Life, a 4-year-old filly, has won two races in commanding fashion at Tampa Bay Downs since returning from a long layoff in February. “She’s what I thought she would be when I got her and she’s growing up a lot now,” Bennett said. “Hopefully, she’ll keep going forward.” Bennett purchased U Lite Up My Life for $30,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. spring sale in 2023 through his personal stable, Winning Moves Inc. The filly has had to work through several setbacks, including an abscess in her foot that required significant time off, but she is now beginning to live up to Bennett’s expectations. Returning from a long layoff in a $25,000 claiming race in February, Bennett cut her back to 6 1/2 furlongs and she made the most of a perfect stalking trip to win by 3 3/4 lengths. Last month, she stepped up to allowance competition at a mile and kicked clear again to win by six lengths. She earned an 83 Beyer Speed Figure for the victory. :: Play Gulfstream Park with confidence! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. Bennett didn’t plan on entering her at Gulfstream on Sunday but eventually decided to take advantage of his filly’s sharp form and eligibility for the race. “She’s run some huge races and she seems to be getting better,” Bennett said. Broderie, a 5-year-old mare trained by Fernando Abreu, figures to be U Lite Up My Life’s biggest challenger, as she is the only horse in the race who has been running at this level on dirt recently. She has made three straight starts in this allowance condition at Gulfstream and finished in the money in her two most recent tries. Two runners, the 5-year-old mare Starship Aurora and 4-year-old filly Awesome Spirit Gal, both move from turf to dirt in search of a softer allowance field. Starship Aurora, trained by Steven Dwoskin, has raced just once since the start of 2024 and will be returning after nearly a year off. Awesome Spirit Gal, a French-bred runner trained by Roger Attfield, won a race on dirt at Fort Erie last year but has seemed more comfortable on turf and synthetic surfaces to this point in her career. Though they aren’t quite as sharp as U Lite Up My Life, Timely Reward and Nerazurri also will step up in class Sunday and round out the field of six. They are the likeliest candidates to set the early pace. Timely Reward, a 4-year-old filly trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., has finished third in two statebred allowances at Gulfstream this year. Nerazurri, trained by Angel Quiroz, is the only 3-year-old in the field and returned from a winter layoff last time out to win a $25,000 maiden-claiming race. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.