Sultana Upsets Grade 3 Orchid Stakes at Gulfstream in Seasonal Debut

Sultana hadn't raced since early November. She went off at 18-1 on a card headlined by a $1 million Grade 1. She settled last. None of it stopped her from producing the sharpest result on Gulfstream Park's Florida Derby undercard Saturday, launching a three-wide sweep on the far turn and collaring long-time leader Ayra Stark in deep stretch to win the 62nd running of the Grade 3 Orchid Stakes by a neck.

The 5-year-old mare completed the 1½-mile turf test in 2:24.47, banking $110,250 from the $175,000 purse for owners Lou Donato, Theodore Manziaris, Paul Borrelli and Lanni Bloodstock.

The race was built on a pace that favored exactly what Sultana does. Ayra Stark, under Joel Rosario, led throughout while Ramsey Pond pressed and Speed Shopper stalked alongside race favorite Bellezza. The first mile passed in 1:39.39 on fractions of 23.79, 48.71 and 1:24.22, a steady tempo that left the race wide open for a deep closer. Sultana, relaxed well off the pace under Junior Alvarado, was barely in the picture entering the far turn.

Then she was everywhere. Sultana swung three wide and began grinding down the front-runners. Ayra Stark shook off Ramsey Pond into the homestretch and briefly opened a narrow lead with Speed Shopper attacking from inside. Bellezza, despite being favored, couldn't sustain her stretch bid. Ayra Stark dug in gamely at the wire but couldn't hold Sultana, who finished three-quarters of a length clear of Speed Shopper in third.

"Kevin wanted to make sure my filly gets relaxed. That's what I was working on throughout the race," Alvarado said, noting he secured cover before delivering the three-wide outside rally.

The win was the product of an unconventional build. Sultana, a daughter of Always Dreaming trained by Kevin Attard, had run on turf just once in her first five starts, posting an impressive win in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance before graduating to graded company. She then captured her stakes debut in the Maple Leaf (G3) at Woodbine on Nov. 8 on the Tapeta course, and went unraced for nearly five months before Saturday's return. Attard spent that layoff working Sultana at Palm Meadows and arrived at Gulfstream believing turf over a route of ground was the right fit. The performance bore that out completely.

The Orchid was one of 10 stakes on a 14-race program worth $2.675 million in total purses, five of them graded, anchored by the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa. Sultana's 18-1 score stood as the card's clearest reminder that form can be made anywhere, including by a mare nobody had seen since autumn.