Nicks Looks to Extend Streak in Saturday’s 200k Affirmed
At 0h32, on August 27, 2021 • By GULFSTREAM PARK
Trainer Ralph Nicks is scheduled to make yet another title defense in Saturday’s $200,000 Affirmed at Gulfstream Park, seeking to continue his domination in the seven-furlong second leg of the tradition rich FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida.
The Affirmed will co-headline Gulfstream Park’s 12-race FSS program with the $200,000 Susan’s Girl, a seven-furlong stakes for 2-year-old fillies. The 12-race Saturday program has a first race post of 12:20 p.m. and includes five turf races and 122 entries.
Nicks, whose stable is based year-round at Gulfstream Park, is slated to saddle two horses for the 11-horse Affirmed field – Heiligbrodt Racing Stable and Spendthrift Farm’s Cattin, an impressive debut winner July 31, and Jacks or Better Farm Inc.’s Awesome Crusader, a three-race maiden who rallied for second last time out at 74-1.
The 54-year-old trainer, who has saddled a total of nine winners in the Florida Sire Stakes series, overall, has visited the Affirmed winner’s circle with Breeze On By (2020), Liam’s Lucky Charm (2019), Garter and Tie (2018) and Soutache (2017) the past four years.
