Latch the Hatch arrives at Gulfstream Park on Saturday with the kind of consistency that has made the four-year-old one of the more interesting runners in the $100,000 Benny the Bull Handicap. First or second in each of the gelding’s last five starts, Latch the Hatch will now take on seven rivals over seven furlongs as the Joe Orseno-trained runner looks to add a stakes victory to a record that already includes six career wins.
Benny the Bull Handicap 2026 will be run over seven furlongs for three-year-olds and older horses as the opening stakes on a 10-race programme at Gulfstream Park. The first race is scheduled for 12:20 p.m., with the $100,000 Bear’s Den Stakes to follow at a mile on the turf.
Latch the Hatch enters the contest in particularly strong form. The Florida-bred gelding produced a front-running victory over a mile on July 27, scoring by 1Âľ lengths in an optional claiming race on a good main track. The performance produced a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 91 and strengthened the case for a step into stakes company.
The upcoming distance also suits Latch the Hatch. In four previous starts at seven furlongs, the gelding has recorded two wins, a second and a third. Since an unproductive return to racing earlier this year, the four-year-old has responded with three victories and two runner-up finishes, with the two defeats coming by an aggregate margin of only 1½ lengths.
His association with Gulfstream Park is another positive. Fifteen of his 16 career starts have come at the South Florida track, where he has finished third or better 11 times and accumulated $258,850 in purse earnings.
Miguel Vasquez will take the ride for the first time from Post 5, with Latch the Hatch carrying 118 pounds. The field also includes several accomplished rivals, led by topweight Back Em Up.
Back Em Up, drawn in Post 6 with Samy Camacho aboard, carries 123 pounds and has six career victories. The six-year-old comes into the race after winning the one-mile Wildcat Red Handicap at Gulfstream Park on July 3. Before that, Back Em Up was beaten by only a nose in the seven-furlong Big Drama.
The Bobby Dibona-trained runner has been third or better in six of seven starts at seven furlongs and has finished in the top three in 14 of 18 appearances over Gulfstream Park’s main track. His record also includes a second-place finish behind Knightsbridge in the Fred Hooper Stakes in January.
Classic of Course brings another strong record to the field. Owned and trained by Patrick Biancone, the Florida-bred five-year-old has earned $504,916 from 24 starts, making the runner the richest horse in the contest.
Classic of Course has won five races and placed second and third five times each. The gelding arrives after edging an optional claimer by a neck over 6½ furlongs on August 3, following a runner-up finish in the Smile Sprint in July.
The runner also has two previous stakes victories at Gulfstream Park. Those successes came in the Cutler Bay Stakes over 7½ furlongs on turf and the one-mile Awesome Banner Handicap on the main track.
Pure Class will add another proven sprinting presence to the field. The five-year-old finished third behind Classic of Course last time, beaten 1½ lengths, and had previously finished third in the Big Drama, just behind Back Em Up.
With eight career wins, Pure Class has already shown an ability to handle seven furlongs, including a victory in the 2024 Sophomore Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
Moonstrocity is the only three-year-old in the field. Trained by Jena Antonucci, the runner earned a first career victory against older horses in May and followed that with a determined neck success over a mile at Gulfstream Park on July 26.
To the Eastside and Icelander complete the seven-runner field. To the Eastside will start from Post 1 with Edgar Perez, while Icelander is drawn in Post 2 with Yolber Torres.
The race is named for Benny the Bull, the Florida-bred sprinter who was recognised as the champion sprinter in 2008. Benny the Bull won four races that year, including the Sunshine Millions Sprint at Gulfstream Park and the Dubai Golden Shaheen, before retiring with nine victories and $2.35 million in purse earnings from 20 starts.
For Latch the Hatch, Saturday represents an opportunity to turn sustained consistency into a first stakes success. The gelding has already shown that seven furlongs is within range, and another strong performance would further underline the progress made during the 2026 campaign.
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