Chantal Sutherland : “I’m living my dream again”
At 1h24, on May 28, 2022 • By GULFSTREAM
Fresh off notching her 23rd graded-stakes victory aboard Lightening Larry in last Saturday’s Chick Lang (G3) at Pimlico Race Course on the Preakness Stakes (G1) undercard, Chantal Sutherland is scheduled to ride well-regarded contenders in both the $75,000 Big Drama and the $60,000 Sunny Isles Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
“I’m living my dream again,” Sutherland said Thursday between races at Gulfstream. “I’m loving it. I feel great and healthy.”
The Big Drama, a six-furlong sprint for Florida-bred 3-year-olds and up carded as Race 11, and the Sunny Isles, a five-furlong overnight handicap on turf for 3-year-olds and up carded as Race 6, will be co-featured on a 12-race program.
The victory aboard Lea Farms LLC’s Lightening Larry was Sutherland’s first graded-stakes success since 2014 and a giant step forward in the career revival she has achieved through a rededication to her craft since switching her tack from Kentucky to Gulfstream Park in the Spring of 2021.
“It was very rewarding. With Covid and injuries and taking time off, it’s kind of all lining up, coming together,” said Sutherland, who rode Game On Dude to five graded-stakes victories n 2011 and 2012, including three Grade 1 scores. “It’s a testament to all the hard work I’ve put in and the focus I have. There are no distractions right now.”
