By Joe Bianca
With no standouts to be found, but plenty of lightly raced horses with potential, Saturday's GIII Palm Beach S. at Gulfstream drew a dozen sophomore turfers all looking for their first black-type success on the lawn.
The lone stakes winner in the field is narrow 4-1 morning-line favorite South Bend (Algorithms). Starting his career three for three, including a score in the Street Sense S. on the Churchill main track Oct. 27, the Sagamore Farm colorbearer was sixth in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. and fourth in the local Mucho Macho Man S. before running a narrow third in the Dania Beach S. here Feb. 1, his turf bow.
Vitalogy (GB) (No Nay Never) is the 9-2 second choice, but drew the tricky 12-hole under Javier Castellano. A first-out upsetter at 25-1 July 24 at Naas, the dark bay was fourth in the G3 Tattersalls Acomb S. Aug. 21 at York before running third when shipped to North America for the GI Summer S. Sept. 15 at Woodbine. Transferred from Joseph O'Brien to Brendan Walsh's barn after that, he was last seen closing from 14th to just miss as a neck runner-up in the GIII Dixiana Bourbon S. Oct. 6 at Keeneland.
LNJ Foxwoods and NK Racing's Tiesto (Tiznow) hammered for $600,000 as an OBS April breezer and pulled an 11-1 upset debuting on grass Sept. 21 at Belmont. Favored when stepped up into stakes company in the Awad S. there Oct. 26, he made a move on the backstretch before fading to sixth.
A pair of recent longshot maiden-breakers look to keep it going in Centennial Farm's Life On Top (Carpe Diem) and Skychai Racing and Sand Dollar Stable's Fancy Liquor (Lookin At Lucky). The former, seventh debuting on dirt Oct. 23 at Belmont, rallied to get up at 45-1 on the local lawn Jan. 18, while the latter scored a front-running success at 14-1 here Feb. 2.
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