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The 7-year-old gelding notched the first graded stakes victory of his career when scoring by 3 3/4 lengths in a sparkling final time of 1:20.71 on the fast dirt. The time was just two-fifths of a second off the track record. And the ease in which the son of Forest Camp did it was equally as impressive, as he toyed with a pretty good field of sprinters. Paco Lopez guided the 4-5 favorite to the win.

Force Freeze is owned by Saeed Naser Al Romaithi and is trained by Peter Walder. He ended 2011 by finishing second by a half-length in the Oct. 1 Vosburgh Invitational (gr. I) at Belmont and missing by a neck in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I) at Churchill Downs.
Dixiana Stables bred the winner, who is out of the It’s Freezing mare Antifreeze.

Force Freeze broke well from the outside post and received the perfect setup, as he followed closely behind pacesetter Amanecer de Oro for a half mile. The opening fractions were quick–:22.18 and :44.18. But Force Freeze was well in hand when he rolled by the pacesetter on the turn, and opened up a commanding advantage at the top of the stretch.

Troilus, a winner of three straight races, was his closest pursuer, and grade I winner Capt. Candyman Can was making his late run on the inside. But they never got close to Force Freeze, who coasted to the wire with the biggest win of his career.

Troilus and Elvis Trujillo settled for second, 1 1/4 lengths in front of Capt. Candyman Can.

After beginning his career in the United States, Force Freeze spent all of 2009-2010, and the first part of 2011 racing in Dubai where he won three times. He was returned to the U.S. last summer and was placed in the barn of Walder, who promptly sent him out to a decisive four-length victory in the Teddy Drone Stakes at Monmouth on July 31. The narrow grade I defeats followed that.

“I had so much confidence in my horse. He’s just so fast,” Lopez said. “I worked him a couple times and he worked unbelievable. I thought he would be able to go the extra distance. When I rode him at Monmouth last year he was so wide he ran much farther than six furlongs that day. He’s so fast out of the gate. I was able to get perfect position. He was going so easily and when I asked him he just ran even faster.”

This latest victory improved Force Freeze’s record to 8-4-3 from 22 career starts and upped his earnings to $853,719.

“It set up great. He came out of there and he was standing straight up in the saddle and thank God somebody went and he sat. They really picked it up; :44 and just off the track record,” Walder said. “The Breeders’ Cup is the Breeders’ Cup. There’s only one way to erase that, and that’s by winning it. This is the first step.”

Force Freeze paid $3.60, $2.60, and $2.20. The exacta (8-6) returned $15 and the trifecta (8-6-2) was worth $40.60.

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Trained by Peter Walder for owner Saeed Naser al Romaithi, the Forest Camp gelding snapped a two-start winless skid dating to last July, that included runner-up finishes in the Vosburgh Invitational Stakes (G1) and the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1).

“It’s great to win this race here,” Walder said. “The people at Gulfstream Park have always been great to me. [Gulfstream President] Timmy Ritvo’s great.

“I’ve been coming here a long time and it means a lot to win this race at Gulfstream Park. But the Breeders’ Cup is the Breeders’ Cup. There’s only one way to erase that, and that’s by winning it. This is the first step.”

Force Freeze hustled out of the gate quickly and settled just off pacesetter Amanecer de Oro on the outside in second in the eight-horse field. He took charge on the turn and drew clear through the stretch for the victory, covering seven furlongs in 1:20.71 for his first career graded stakes triumph.

“I had so much confidence in my horse,” Lopez said. “He’s just so fast. I worked him a couple times and he worked unbelievable. I thought he would be able to go the extra distance. He’s so fast out of the gate. I was able to get perfect position. He was going so easily and when I asked him he just ran even faster.”

Troilus rallied three wide into the lane under jockey Elvis Trujillo to finish second, 1 ¼ lengths in front of Grade 1 winner Capt. Candyman Can in third.

“I told [Lopez] when you do make your move— if you end up getting the stalking trip we want—make it decisively. Don’t hesitate; just put them away. You’re the heavyweight champ and just knock them out.”

Force Freeze won for the eighth time from 22 starts with four seconds, three thirds, and $853,719 in earnings during five seasons on the track. Bred in Kentucky by Dixiana Stables, he is one of ten winners from as many starters out of the stakes-winning It’s Freezing mare Antifreeze, who is a half brother to multiple stakes winner Barber.

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Force Freeze, making his first start since being beaten a neck by Eclipse Award winner Amazombie in the BC Sprint, got a perfect trip after breaking on the lead from his outside post in the Gulfstream Sprint Championship. Force Freeze rated kindly for jockey Pace Lopez while stalking the pace of long shot Amanecer de Oro, took command under confident handling approaching the stretch, edged clear, then easily withstood a gallant try from Troilus.

Force Freeze ($3.60) completed the distance in 1:20.71 over the fast track, just .26 of a second off the track record set by Hilda’s Passion here 11 months ago.

Troilus, who entered the GP Sprint riding a three-race winning streak, raced well placed between horses, took a run at the winner entering the stretch, proved no match but remained 1 1/4 lengths clear of Capt. Candyman Can to finish second in his stakes debut.

Simba’s Story, Decisive Moment, Amanecer de Oro, Dixie Slam, and Bold Warrior completed the order of finish.

“The race set up great,” said Walder who trains Force Freeze for owner Saeed Naser Al Romaithi. “He came out of there and Paco was standing straight up in the saddle and thank God somebody went and he sat. I told him when you do make your move do it decisively. Don’t hesitate, just put them away. You’re the heavyweight champ, just knock them out.”

Walder said winning this race was great, but there’s only one way to completely erase the memory of the 2011 Breeders’ Cup.

“It’s great to win this race here. The people at Gulfstream Park have been great to me over the years,” said Walder. “But the Breeders’ Cup is the Breeders’ Cup, and the only way to erase that is by winning it this year. This is the first step.”

Walder said Force Freeze will make his next start in the seven furlong, Grade 2 Churchill Downs Handicap on May 5, Kentucky Derby day.

Starting with an impressive debut win in a sprint in May, Frolic’s Revenge established herself as one of South Florida’s top 2-year-old fillies in dirt races.

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But based on her breeding, trainer Milt Wolfson always thought some of the best races for Frolic’s Revenge might come on turf.

On Saturday, she proved Wolfson right and gave some Gulfstream Park long-shot bettors an early Christmas present when she beat Ready Signal by a neck in the $60,000 Ginger Brew Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on turf.

The final time was 1:42.84 — solid for 2-year-old fillies.

The victory was the third in eight starts for Frolic’s Revenge and her second in a stakes.

She is owned and was bred by Stride Rite Racing Stable, a partnership of South Florida residents who have had several stakes winners trained by Wolfson and his assistant, Kathy Davey.

Because the Ginger Brew was her turf debut, Frolic’s Revenge went off at 16-1 in a 12-horse field that had several fillies who had won turf races at major tracks.

Ready Signal was a 25-1 shot — the third-highest price in the field. Ann of the Dance, at 5-1, finished third, followed by Welcome Dance at 7-2.

The results produced $2 payoffs of $1,079.20 for the exacta, $5,732.10 for the trifecta and $38,569.60 for the superfecta.

“I was surprised at how [the bettors] overlooked her,” Wolfson said in the winner’s circle.

He said he was not surprised by Frolic’s Revenge or by the ride she received from Paco Lopez, who led Gulfstream jockeys in wins in 2010 and in its 2011 meet from January through April.

“I didn’t have to tell Paco anything other than to get her near the lead and to keep her on the inside,” Wolfson said.

Lopez, riding Frolic’s Revenge for the first time, stuck to those instructions in a race where jockey Juan Leyva and Ready Signal used catch-us-if-you-can tactics.

Ready Signal, trained by Amy Tarrant, was in the far outside post, with Frolic’s Revenge just inside her.

Frolic’s Revenge shot out to the lead until Ready Signal moved in front around the first turn.

Ready Signal led Frolic’s Revenge by 2 1/2 lengths after a half mile and by the same margin after three-quarters of a mile in 1:12.08.

Lopez angled Frolic’s Revenge outside coming around the far turn and caught Ready Signal about 200 yards from the finish. They dueled to the wire, with Frolic’s Revenge winning in a photo finish.

Frolic’s Revenge began her career on May 1 by winning at 4 1/2 furlongs at Calder Casino & Race Course. On Aug. 27, she won the one-mile Lindsay Frolic Stakes at Calder.

Stride Rite owned and Wolfson trained multiple-stakes winners Lindsay Frolic and Stormy Frolic, the mother of Frolic’s Revenge.

Steve and Anne Friedfertig of Aventura and Norman and Carol Thaw of Weston own Stride Rite.

The sire of Frolic’s Revenge is Vindication, a son of Seattle Slew.

Racing schedule
In observance of Christmas, Gulfstream will not have racing Sunday.

On Monday, usually a dark day, Gulfstream will have 11 races, with the first post time of 12:35 p.m.

Gulfstream’s next stakes will be over the New Year’s weekend, with two Grade 3 stakes and the new Gulfstream Park Derby that it is billed as the “first Derby of the year.”

On Saturday, Gulfstream will have the $100,000 Mr. Prospector, at six furlongs for 3-year-olds and up.

On Jan. 1, it will have the $100,000 Old Hat, at six furlongs on dirt for newly turned 3-year-old fillies.

The $100,000 Gulfstream Park Derby, for newly turned 3-year-old males, also will be on New Year’s Day. Entries will be out Thursday for the 1 1/16-mile dirt stakes.

It will be the first in a series of preps for the $1 million Florida Derby (Grade 1) at Gulfstream on March 31.

• Fort Loudon, this year’s top 2-year-old in South Florida, is healthy but will not be in the Gulfstream Park Derby or the Holy Bull Stakes (Grade 3) at Gulfstream on Jan. 29, his trainer, Stanley Gold, said Saturday.

Fort Loudon swept this year’s three-race Florida Stallion Stakes series at Calder.

On Nov. 5, he finished seventh in a 13-horse field in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Stakes at Churchill Downs. He had post 12 and was on the outside during most of the race.

“He is back in training and is fine,” Gold said. “But we are going to give him a little more time.”

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Despite being considered an outsider by the bettors, Frolic’s Revenge was able to parlay a perfect trip into a neck decision over another longshot, the 25-1 Ready Signal, to win the Ginger Brew in her turf debut.

Frolic’s Revenge, a homebred daughter of Vindication owned by trainer Milt Wolfson’s Stride Rite Racing Stable, broke in stride and was hustled early by jockey Paco Lopez to chase the pacesetting Ready Signal into the clubhouse turn. The pair then proceeded to dominate the race the remainder of the way, Frolic’s Revenge ultimately overtaking Ready Signal nearing the eighth pole before digging in resolutely to outlast that rival to the wire.

Ann of the Dance, who stumbled when appearing to clip the heels of Sisterhood nearing the far turn, recovered to finish best of all, getting within a half-length of the runner-up at the wire.

Karlory Vary, the tepid 5-2 favorite in a full field of 12 2-year-old fillies, steadied early then failed to seriously menace while racing wide throughout.

Frolic’s Revenge complete 1 1/16 miles over a firm course in 1:42.84 and paid $34.20.

“I couldn’t believe she was that big a price. If you looked at all her figures she was right on par with the others,” said Wolfson. “The only thing was that she’d never been on grass. She got hung out in the middle of the track in the Breeders’ Cup but she has speed and I told Paco to put her right in the race.”

Wolfson said Frolic’s Revenge could make her next start in the Sweetest Chant on Jan. 22.

“The next one for 3-year-old fillies is on the grass too but it’s nice to know she can go either way,” said Wolfson. “That gives us a lot of options.”

Zero Rate Policy, a Florida-bred son of Trippi, stalked the early pace of Our Edge under jockey Paco Lopez, gained command in early stretch, and then withstood a belated final surge from Manicero to register the second stakes victory of his career. Zero Rate Policy, who had never been beyond six furlongs in eight previous starts, also won Monmouth Park’s Rumson in June.

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Manicero, turning back to a sprint off a series of two- turn races at Calder, dropped near the rear of the pack during the early stages of the Sunshine State while racing far behind the leaders. A seven-time stakes winner, Manicero angled to the outside leaving the final turn and finished full of run but could not catch the winner. It’s Never to Late, winner of the first edition of the restricted Sunshine State decided earlier this year, rallied mildly to finish third.

Zero Rate Policy is trained by Terri Pompay for owners William Lawrence and the Klaravich Stables. He paid $6.40 as the tepid favorite in a field of nine Florida-breds.

“I really liked this horse today,” said Pompay. “He’s been training great, improving all the time and I didn’t think the seven furlongs would bother him.”

Pompay said she has nothing specific picked out for Zero Rate Policy’s next start but hinted the Florida Sunshine Millions Sprint on Jan. 26 could be an option.

“There are so many spots for a horse like this down here during the winter and one thing we do know is that he loves this track,” said Pompay.

Jockey Jose Lezcano said Manicero didn’t like the dirt hitting him in the face during the early stages of the race.

“He had a little trouble in the gate and didn’t break that sharp, then when the dirt started hitting him in the face he started to back up even more,” said Lezcano. “Once we got to the quarter pole, he just took off but we ran out of room.”

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Yet, Pompay had one nagging reservation as Zero Rate Policy went to post against eight fellow Florida-bred horses in the seven-furlong feature. He had never run beyond six furlongs in his previous eight starts.

She needn’t have been concerned. The strapping 2-1 favorite handled the extra furlong and his elders with a thoroughbred professional victory by 1 ¼ lengths under jockey Paco Lopez.

“I really liked him today. He’s been training great and improving all the time. I wasn’t sure about the seven-eighths, but now it’s good to know he handles that far,” Pompay said. .”We knew he loves the track here from last [meeting].”

The 3-year-old gelding broke alertly from his outside post position to rate a few lengths behind pacesetter Our Edge along the backstretch. Lopez moved the son of Trippi on the far turn and engaged the pacesetter leaving the turn into the homestretch. Zero Rate Policy quickly opened up a clear lead in mid-stretch and had plenty left to hold off the late surge by Manicero.

“We sat in perfect position. My horse was really strong today,” said Lopez, who is the two-time defending riding champ at Gulfstream. “I knew in the stretch Manicero would be coming. I’ve ridden him before and he’s a nice horse. I actually moved a little early wanting to get the jump on Manicero and that’s why my horse got a little tired. Luckily, we had enough to hold on.”

Manicero, a multiple-stakes winner owned and trained by Leo Azpurua, dropped far back during the early going before making a late rush under Jose Lezcano.

“He had a little trouble in the gate and didn’t break that sharp. Then when the dirt started hitting him in the face he started to back up even more. Once we got to around the quarter pole, he just took off, but we ran out of room.”

It’s Never to Late, a three-time winner at Gulfstream earlier in the year, finished third, a length behind Manicero and a neck in front of a tiring Our Edge.

Zero Rate Policy, who ran the seven furlongs in a swift 1:21 .57, earned $36,000 for his fifth victory in nine races for Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence. His trainer is looking forward to a bright future with her gelding.

“I think he’ll like grass, but right now we know that he does well at six and seven furlongs and there are plenty opportunities for him. He’s a Florida-bred and the (Florida) Sunshine Millions races are all here this year ($200,000 Sprint on Jan. 28),” Pompay said. “I think he’ll like grass, but for now we’ll probably just keep him doing what he’s doing. It’s been a great year for us and this is a good way to get the meet going.”

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Competing against the toughest jockey colony in the country that includes Hall of Famer Edgar Prado, future Hall of Famer John Velazquez, and such nationally renown riders as Javier Castellano, Julien Leparoux, Kent Desormeaux, and Alex Solis among others, Lopez has topped the standings here each of the last two seasons. He’ll open his bid to become only the third jockey in track history to win three straight Gulfstream riding championships – a feat previously accomplished by only Jeffrey Fell (1977-79) and Jorge Chavez (1999-2001) – when the 2012 session opens Saturday.

Lopez won 70 races to capture his first local crown in 2009 and bettered that mark a year ago, riding 83 winners during the 2010 meet despite being sidelined for one month after suffering a harline fracture of his elbow when involved in the same spill that left jockey Eibar Coa temporarily paralyzed in February. Overall, Lopez has captured six riding titles since coming to the United States from his native Mexico and beginning his career at Calder during the summer of 2007.

“Winning titles are important from a publicity standpoint, but what makes me happiest is just to be riding races,” said Lopez who is named on eight horses on opening day, including Blings Express in the Spectacular Bid Stakes. “And it doesn’t matter to me what kind of race I’m in. I ride my mounts just as hard whether I’m in a stakes race or a $5,000 claimer.”

Lopez, who competed in his first Breeders’ Cup race this year aboard Headache in the Classic, has been a regular on the New Jersey circuit for the past several summers. He won the elite Monmouth Park meet, when astronomical purses lured top riders from around the country, in 2010, but is considering taking a different path when Gulfstream closes its doors next April.

“Paco just bought a home in Fort Lauderdale and has had so much success the last two years at Gulfstream that staying in Florida during the winter is a no-brainer,” said Lopez’s agent Cory Moran. “But with Monmouth racing only a few days a week and the purses going up in New York this year, if it looks like we have more New York business coming our way during this meet, it might seal our decision to head in that direction when we leave here next spring.”

Tony Dutrow back at Gulfstream

Trainer Tony Dutrow skipped the 2011 Gulfstream Park meeting, opting instead to winter at Oaklawn Park. But Dutrow is back again this season with a stable of 25 horses, topped by Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up Grace Hall.

“This year has been a rebuilding one for me,” said Dutrow who is stabled at Palm Meadows. “I lost a number of my clientele for one reason or another. Edward Evans died, the Mercedes Stable didn’t send any horses back to the East Coast after California got dirt tracks, and I was fired by Rick Porter. I lost like five major people all together that made up maybe 90 percent of my stable and just didn’t feel like I had the horses to come to south Florida. I don’t know how, but we’ve managed to win over $5 million this year, and right now, I feel like I’m in good shape with horse flesh and really looking forward to having an even bigger year in 2012.”

Dutrow hopes to put an exclamation point on 2011 with a victory here Saturday by his promising 2-year-old prospect Ancient Rome in the Spectacular Bid. He also welcomed Grace Hall back to his barn Wednesday, with the Kentucky Oaks her first major goal at 3.

“Hopefully, she’ll have the same plans this winter as I do, which right now would be the Davona Dale at the end of February and the Gulfstream Oaks at the end of the meet,” Dutrow said.

Dutrow said he’s also a fan of the early opening here this year.

“I think the early opening is great,” Dutrow said. “New York is on the inner track now and Kentucky is done, so why not get down here and get into action. Most people don’t stick around until April anyway, and this way Gulfstream doesn’t have to beat its head against the wall to get some good things to happen in April.”

Ullapool puts in quick drill

Ullapool, a 2-year-old filly by Langfuhr, sizzled six furlongs in 1:12.40 for trainer Wesley Ward here Thursday morning. Ullapool, who owns a maiden win in three career starts, posted splits of 23.40 seconds, 34.80, and 58.80 before finishing around the turn at the one-mile pole.

“I thought about supplementing her and racing her against the boys in the Spectacular Bid on Saturday and right now I wish I had,” Ward said while Ullapool was pulling up after her work. “I’ll probably run her in a one-other-than allowance race and then bring her back against fillies in the Old Hat.”

The Grade 3 Old Hat will be decided at seven furlongs on New Year’s Day.

◗ The new 1 1/16-mile finish line will get an early test with Saturday’s seventh race, the first 1 1/16-mile race to be conducted here since 2004. The $53,500 optional claimer for 2-year-olds drew a field of eight.