Pick 4 of the Week: Gulfstream Park Saturday, Jan. 31

The Pick 4 of the Week will come from Gulfstream on Saturday, and my focus will be on the early four-race sequence. 

Race 2 Wager

• 50-cent Pick 4: 1,3,4,8 with 1 with 2,3,9 with all ($48)

Race 2 – Claiming

A challenging two-turn tilt on the synthetic will kick off the play with eight going postward. I’ll tab four class-dropping horses in the tricky opening leg – #1 Mr. Colossal, #3 Governing Party, #4 Message of Hope, and #8 Change At Jamaica – to commence the wager.

Race 3 – Optional Claiming

A total of seven Florida-breds will jaunt seven-eighths on the dirt in the second part of the sequence. My single will come in the heat with #1 Noble J. Trained by David Fawkes, the dark bay son of Noble Bird beat open company after a 17-month layoff here two back, and he checked in a respectable third in his first attempt with winners last out. The Florida-bred could peak third time back, and I expect him to be sent hard from the rail to secure the early edge in the event, as well. A wire-to-wire win is expected from the gelding with Gaffalione picking up the mount. 

Race 4 – Maiden Optional Claiming

Ten three-year-olds will speed 6 1/2 panels on the dirt in the third piece of the play. My top pick is George Weaver’s second timer #2 Maykomotion. The $160,000 juvenile purchase chased lone speed before tiring late in a decent unveiling, and the gray son of Vekoma landed in a reasonable spot for his 2026 debut. Tyler Gaffalione retains the ride. 

#3 Never Count Me Out will debut in the dash for Jorge Delgado, who is always dangerous first time out. The Tacitus colt registered a nice half-mile drill on the oval leading up to the dash. #9 Pike has missed by a head and a neck in his last two appearances and gets Lasix for this encounter. The Fernando Abreu pupil cuts back in distance for his second dirt attempt and will have John Velazquez in the pipes. It’s worth noting that my trio of horses are the three not offered for a tag in the sprint. 

Race 5 – Kitten’s Joy S.

A nice cast of three-year-olds will run 1 1/16 miles on the lawn in the closing leg. I think that the field is as well-matched as a race can get and will use each of the eight sophomores to cap the play.