Gemswick Park prevails in thrilling Old Hat

Two noses were all that separated the top three finishers in Sunday's $100,000

Old Hat S.

(G2) at Gulfstream Park, but it was the nose of GEMSWICK PARK (Speightstown)

that showed first on the line once the photo was developed.

The Melnyk Racing Stable homebred was just behind the pacesetting Elusive

Heat (Elusive Quality) through splits of :22, :44 4/5 and :56 4/5. Frolic's

Dream (Smoke Glacken) wasn't far back in third, and the three fillies battled it

out to the wire. Gemswick Park and jockey John Velazquez managed to overtake

Elusive Heat just as they were crossing under the line, finishing up six

furlongs in 1:09 3/5 over Gulfstream's fast dirt.

"I felt a little pressure but she responded at the three-sixteenths and we

were able to finish," Velazquez said. "Once we got going, I didn't have any

problems."

Gemswick Park was sent off the 9-2 fourth pick in the seven-filly field,

paying $11, $4.20 and $2.80. Elusive Heat, the even-money favorite, gave back

$3.20 and $2.20 while ending the $15.30 exacta ($1). Frolic's Dream, the near

4-1 third choice, was worth $2.60 and completed the $44.20 trifecta ($1).

Casanova Move (Langfuhr) ran in fourth for much of the race and finished in that

spot another 4 1/4 lengths back. She rounded out the 7-5-2-3 superfecta ($1)

that paid $176.30. Honchis'n Ponchis (City Zip) followed in fifth and next were

Sweet Repent (Repent) and Redreamit (Tapit).

Gemswick Park earned her first win here since breaking her maiden by 6 1/2

lengths at Belmont Park on September 14. Following that score, trainer Tom

Albertrani stretched the chestnut lass out to a mile for the Frizette S. (G1),

and she responded with a third-place finish after leading during the early part

of that race. She was kept at a mile for her last race, the Tempted S. (G3), and

Gemswick Park once again faded after leading early, winding up second. With this

score now added to her line, the three-year-old filly boasts a 5-2-2-1,

$171,400, record.

"We tried to stretch her speed out a little farther than she probably really wants

to go in the Frizette and Tempted," Albertrani admitted. "I'm not sure what's

next. I think I'd rather run her five furlongs than seven, but we'll see. I do

think she'll handle any surface though, including turf."

The Kentucky-bred Gemswick Park is a daughter of stakes winner Queen's Park

(Relaunch), making her a half-sister to stakes-placed Queen's College (Carson

City), an unnamed juvenile filly by Awesome Again and a yearling lass by

Bluegrass Cat. Queen's Park is herself a half-sibling to Japanese Grade 1 winner

Gold Tiara (Seeking the Gold) and hails from the same female family as Grade 1

winners Versailles Treaty (Danzig), General Assembly (Secretariat) and Chief

Honcho (Chief's Crown), as well as Grade 2 victors American Chance (Cure the

Blues) and Saarland (Unbridled).