Army Mule
$150.000 For Four Year Olds And Upward
7 Furlongs – Dirt
Gulfstream Park – March 28, 2026

The inaugural running of the Army Mule  will be the thirteenth race at Gulfstream Park on Saturday. It will be the final stakes race on a card jam packed with stakes activity – ten stakes races to be exact. It will follow the G1 FL Derby and has drawn a field of seven sprinters and as of now it looks likely that the track will be fast. 

1. Burma Born (Alabarda Stable/T. Gaffalione) He has not been worse than second in his last five races and that kind of consistency in allowance company has earned him a shot at his first stakes attempt in what will be his twenty-seventh trip to the starting gate. It will also be his first race going the distance of seven furlongs. He has won sprinting and he has won going long and he has won sprinting. He tends to be forwardly placed in his races and he draws the rail so expect him to be able to use that speed to get in a good position tactically.

2. Cherokee Revolution (Royalty Stables/F. Geroux) He is a stakes winner against fellow LA breds and just missed becoming a graded stakes winner in his last race when he got nosed out of the win in the The Fool Handicap at Aqueduct. He earned his career high SRF speed figure of 101 for that effort. It is noteworthy that he carried 116 pounds in his last start and now will be asked to carry eight pounds more. That is a significant increase but it is also the same weight assignment as all but one of his rivals today. 

3. Crazy Eyes (The Sidley Stud/C. Figueroa) He was claimed for a mere $4.000 last November and won an overnight at Turf Paradise in his second start for his new barn in his last outing. Takes a big jump up and gets a major class test in this one. The Sidley Stud obviously thinks this one has talent because he was entered in a minor stakes race first start off of the claim. He finished fifth in that one but gets another chance to show his best. 

4. Good Man (Ajm Stables/A.R. Rodriguez) Won the CC Rapid Transit in a fourteen horse field last November. As a result of that win he is asked to carry two pounds more than everyone else in this race. He has run two good races since that stakes win including a second place in a restricted stakes. He has one start this year and that was a win in an allowance tuneup in January. He is no stranger to this distance having run at seven furlongs thirteen times. He has won an impressive nine times out of twenty-six starts and appears to be a sharp five year old but the additional two pounds is not as easy a burden to overcome as it seems. 

5. Tu Raw (Slanes End/S.X. Bridgmohan) Very speedy four year old went this distance in his last race and won a WV bred allowance race by three lengths after opening up five early. He just missed winning a restricted stakes race in October when he was beaten out by a neck so he has shown talent. Lightly raced with only eight starts, three of which he has won. He has been in the money in six of his eight starts as well but gets an acid test for his class in open company in this race. A win would give his barn their first stakes win so I am rooting for this one to run a good one. 

6. Gaffigan (Mo Mentum Farm/R.M. Hernandez) Was stakes placed in The Birdstone at Saratoga last summer. That race was at the marathon distance of a mile and a half but he has also won races sprinting so he has versatility. He has started twice this year and both efforts have been strong with a win and a nose loss in two allowance races at Turfway Park. 

7. Last Round (Night Rider Stables/J. Bravo) He has a lot of back class with multiple stakes wins as a three year old including a victory in the G3 Lang Stakes at Pimlico on Preakness Day. However, those races were two years ago. He has run good races since then but it has been awhile since he has made his presence felt in stakes company. His last race was a sixth place finish in The Pelican Stakes in February. Needs to improve but one of his stakes wins was The Hutcheson Stakes at this track so maybe being on a track he likes will give him a boost. 

Cherokee Revolution has the most recent high level stakes success and has to be given the nod here but that doesn’t mean he is a lock and won’t have challengers. Burma Born on the rail in in good form and will be my second pick followed by Tu Raw and Good Man right behind.

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded