Kulboyz tackles Pletcher pair in Smooth Air

The lightly-raced Triple Crown nominated colt Kulboyz will make two jumps at

once when he runs in the $75,000

Smooth

Air Stakes over a mile at Calder on Sunday, running in his first career

stakes and going two turns for the first time.

"We're excited to be running," owner Stephen Screnci said of the 3-1

favorite. "It looks like it's a competitive field and we're looking forward to

Sunday."

There are six Triple Crown nominees in the race, including Kulboyz. The Angel

Rodriguez trainee drew post position 9 for the Smooth Air field of 11, with Todd

Pletcher's duo of King Cyrus (post 10) and Monopolize (11) wider out.

Kulboyz is the only entrant with a single lifetime start on his resume.

Jockey Hugo Sanchez, who was aboard Kulboyz in his career debut, retains the

mount.

"I'm hoping he gets a good clean break and they find a comfortable spot and

wait a little bit," Screnci said. "Kulboyz has shown on the training track that

he has the ability to rate. The last two works we settled him a little bit and

he took to it well. I think he'll rate if he has to. I just want clean

fractions. I don't want him going :22, :45. I'm just hoping he'll relax."

Kulboyz broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park on January 23, scoring a

six-furlong maiden special weight race win by 2 1/2 lengths after breaking third

from the rail and taking the lead for good thereafter. He set fractional times

of :22 4/5, :45 4/5, :57 1/5, with a  final time of 1:09 3/5. Although his

breeding, Bring the Heat--Shadow Belle, by Halo's Image, suggests a career of

speed and shorter distances for Kulboyz, Screnci is hopeful that his colt will

go the distance and eventually run in the Triple Crown.

While Kulboyz was nominated for the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth Stakes run

at Gulfstream on February 22, Screnci considered Saturday's seven-furlong Swale

Stakes, also at Gulfstream, for his colt's second career start. With the local

option of the Smooth Air available for the Calder-based Kulboyz, Screnci decided

the home stake would be the best option.

"I thought it would be a good second step for him versus the Swale," Screnci

said. "He's a little behind the other horses.

"This is only his second race. The trade-off was the distance. The Smooth Air

is a mile, but it's a two-turn mile and the Swale is a seven-furlong sprint.

After I weighed everything out, I felt like keeping him at Calder on race day

would give us a little bit of an advantage maybe he'd be a little bit more

comfortable."

As for the race plans for Kulboyz after the Smooth Air, Screnci is looking at

a multitude of future prep races for the Triple Crown.

"I thought that I would see what he does in this race," the owner said, "and

if he handles it comfortably there are a bunch of other prep races between the

last week in March and the first week in April that we can maybe take a look at;

if he's successful there, we'll go from there."

King Cyrus, an

11-length debut scorer at Saratoga, will make his first start since finishing

third in a Keeneland allowance last October. The colt will race uncoupled with

stablemate Monopolize, who exits a well-beaten sixth behind Top Billing in a Gulfstream optional claimer January 25.

Gone as Wind, seventh behind General a Rod and Wildcat Red in the Gulfstream

Park Derby, rebounded with a 3 1/2-length allowance tally at this track and

trip. Tashir, a 9 1/2-length allowance romper at Calder two starts back, comes

off a sixth to Wildcat Red in the Hutcheson. Sea of Faces wheels back one week

after finishing eighth to Constitution, Tonalist and Mexikoma in a loaded

Gulfstream allowance. Stakes-placed Giancarlo, a four-length scorer under

allowance conditions at Tampa Bay Downs most recently, also merits respect.

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