Staff reports

Here’s what’s on tap for the Midlantic racing weekend:

Top Midlantic-breds in Action

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Midlantic-breds in graded stakes

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  • Pennsylvania-bred Jacopone is 50-1 on the morning line for the Grade 3 Carry Back at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.  The Bring the Heat colt, bred by owner Casey Seaman, is unraced.  He is trained by Robert Posada and will be ridden by John Cruz.
  • Storming Inti, another PA-bred, is 30-1 on the morning line for the Grade 2 Smile Sprint Handicap Saturday at Gulfstream.  The Jena Antonucci trainee, bred by Brushwood Stable, is a graded stakes-placed stakes winner on the turf, which won’t do him much good in this six furlong test on the main track.  Jesus Rios will ride.
  • Spelling Again is the 3-1 second choice in the Grade 2 Princess Rooney Stakes at Gulfstream Saturday.  The Pennsylvania-bred, trained by Brad Cox, was bred by George Strawbridge.  She won the Grade 2 Chilukki last November at Churchill Downs and has subsequently placed in three other graded events.  Luis Saez will ride.
  • Also tackling the Princess Rooney is Maryland-bred Kiss to Remember (5-1).  Emisael Jaramillo will ride for trainer Marty Wolfson.  The daughter of Big Brown, bred by Big Brown Syndicate & Mr. & Mrs. Charles McGinnes, was third in this event a year ago.
  • New Jersey-bred Green Gratto (20-1) will hope there’s no place like home in Saturday’s Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park.  Dalton Brown will ride the son of Here’s Zealous for owner/trainer Gaston Grant.  Bred by Kaz Hill Farm, Green Gratto won last year’s Grade 3 Fall Highweight and has earned nearly $700,000.
  • Trainer John Servis will send out multiple stakes winner Res Judicata (6-1) in the Salvator Mile.  The Smarty Jones gelding was bred in Pennsylvania by Patricia Chapman and is owned by her Someday Farm.  Nik Juarez will ride.
  • Virginia-bred Code West (6-1) will tackle eight rivals in the Grade 3 Praire Meadows Cornhusker Handicap on Saturday.  The Grade 3 winner was bred by the late Edward P. Evans and is trained by Boyd Caster for owners Bryan, Leo and Tim Hawk.  Israel Ocampo will ride.
  • Pennsylvania-bred Noble Road, a $25,000 claim three back, is somewhat optimistically entered in the Grade 1 United Nations Sunday at Monmouth Park.  Trained by Hugh McMahon for Joseph Besecker, the Partner’s Hero gelding was bred by Gum Tree Stables LLC and has five career wins with earnings of $114,540.  No rider is named.
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Stakes in the Region

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  • Monmouth Park hosts the Grade 3 Salvator Mile on Saturday and the Grade 1 United Nations on Sunday.
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