Cool Blue Red Hot out of Hal's Hope, entered in upcoming allowance

Cool Blue Red Hot out of Hal's Hope, entered in upcoming

allowance

Cool Blue Red Hot

finished a good third behind Jackson Bend in the Grade 3 Hal's Hope at Gulfstream Park a year ago and was entered to make his first start since then

in Sunday's renewal of the one-mile test.

However, the five-year-old son of Harlan's Holiday has been scratched in

favor of a "three other than" allowance carded as the

4TH

race going the same distance on Thursday against five rivals, a development that has trainer Angel Penna Jr. a lot more

comfortable about his return from the lengthy layoff.

"We needed to get him started back and I entered in the

Hal's Hope because it didn't look like the allowance race wasn't going to go

(fill)," Penna said Sunday morning from Palm Meadows. "He's not 100 percent and

needs to run, but I really didn't want him to come back in a race as tough as

the Hal's Hope.

"He pulled gluteal muscles in behind in the Hal's Hope last

year and needed plenty of time. We gave him a little extra time because he

needed to grow and mature. I can't say what might be next after this race. You

hope they can end up running in the big races."

Cool Blue Red Hot currently owns a 10-3-2-3 record, including a third-place

finish in the Grade 2 Dwyer at Belmont Park in

early July 2011 before a dull try when eighth in the Grade 1 Kings Bishop at

Saratoga. In his only

two starts since he won a Belmont allowance that October before his good try in

the Hal's Hope a year ago. Jockey Luis Saez is named to ride.

Cool Blue Red Hot's most accomplished rival in the field is four-year-old Easter Gift with jockey Javier Castellano named to

ride as he makes his first start for trainer Chad Brown. A $90,000 Keeneland

September yearling purchase by Hard Spun, Easter Gift won his career debut at

Gulfstream last April for trainer Nick Zito and finished second by a neck in the

Grade 3 Pegasus

at Monmouth Park in mid-June in his third start.

Easter Gift went on to captured the Grade 3 Smarty Jones at Parx in early September by 4

1/2 lengths, finished eighth in the Grade 2 Indiana Derby

in early October and was third last out in an optional claimer/allowance at Churchill

Downs on November 9.

Also scratched from the Hal's Hope in favor of the Thursday allowance is Swagger Jack with John Velazquez in

the saddle for trainer Marty Wolfson. The five-year-old son of Smart Strike has already made

three starts at the meet and looked good winning a one-mile optional claimer/allowance on December 29

by 2 1/4 lengths.

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