HALLANDALE BEACH - Odds-on favorite Breeze on By fought back gamely after being headed in the stretch to capture the $100,000 Dr. Fager, completing a sweep of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes races at Gulfstream Park for Stonehedge Farm.

    The Dr. Fager co-headlined the 11-race program with the $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies, won by Stonehedge’s Go Jo Jo Go.

    The Michael Yates-trained Go Jo Jo Go and Ralph Nicks-trained Breeze On By are the 13th and 14th winners for Gilbert Campbell and his Stonehedge Farm in the tradition-rich series for juveniles sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida. The Stonehedge achievement is second only to Jacks or Better Farm with 19 winners in the series.

    Breeze On By set a solid pace into the stretch with fractions of 22.37 and 45.68 under Emisael Jaramillo for the first half-mile of the six-furlong stakes. Gatsby, who saved ground into the far turn under Hector Berrios, made a menacing outside challenge leaving the turn into the homestretch and managed to put his head in front of the pacesetter in mid-stretch, but Breeze On By fought back gamely to edge away to victory by a length.

    Breeze On By, who scored a front-running six-length debut victory at Gulfstream on July 12, ran six furlongs over a sloppy, sealed track in 1:10.85. Gatsby finished 8 ¼ lengths ahead of third-place finisher Boca Boy.

     The Dr. Fager and the Desert Vixen will be followed by the $200,000 Affirmed and the $200,000 Susan’s Girl for fillies, both slated for seven furlongs on Aug. 29, and the $400,000 In Reality and the $400,000 My Dear Girl for fillies, both to be run around two turns at 1 1/16 miles on Sept. 26.

    Breeze On By will have the opportunity to give Nicks his fourth consecutive victory in the seven-furlong second leg of the Florida Sire Stakes. Nicks saddled Soutache (2017), Garter and Tie (2018) and Liam’s Lucky Charm (2019) for victories in the Affirmed the past three years.

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