OLDSMAR - The tote shutdown following Saturday’s 10th race at Tampa Bay Downs, the Grade III Florida Oaks, occurred because of a communications outage between AmTote International and Roberts Communication Network (RCN), according to officials with both companies. AmTote, which is owned by 1/ST Racing, is a technology and services provider to numerous tracks, while RCN provides the communication link between AmTote and the racetracks. 1/ST Racing president Aidan Butler said that while AmTote remained operative late Saturday afternoon, both the primary and secondary links to the affected tracks went down. The crash led to wagering disruptions at numerous tracks and guest locations (simulcast facilities) through AmTote’s mid-Atlantic hub, which includes Tampa Bay Downs. Service was returned to normal Sunday. An investigation is ongoing. The outage led to a half-hour delay before the 11th race, the Grade III Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, and resulted in it being declared a non-wagering race. The scheduled 12th and final race, an allowance for fillies and mares, was cancelled by Tampa Bay Downs track management due to approaching darkness. “The loss of our tote system resulted from circumstances entirely out of our control,” said Peter Berube, the Oldsmar oval’s Vice President & General Manager. “During the delay, we remained hopeful that service could be restored, and the horses for the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby were taken to the paddock to prepare to go on the racetrack. “As the delay grew in length, the skies turned overcast, leading to concerns about running the 12th race in near-darkness. For the safety of those horses and jockeys, we knew the only prudent decision was to cancel the race.” Berube said the conditions surrounding the delay of the track’s showcase race and the subsequent race cancellation were unprecedented in his experience. “Customer satisfaction and trust are at the foundation of our business, and anything that erodes that needs to be addressed,” Berube said. “We knew Saturday that most of our patrons were totally unaware of the circumstances that led to our decisions – they wanted to know why they couldn’t cash their tickets from the 10th and why they couldn’t bet on the last two races. “The situation was surreal, to say the least, and for it to happen on our biggest racing day of the meet was nightmarish. Fortunately, we had a fair and exciting running of the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, producing a deserving winner in Domestic Product.” Many bettors have questioned why winning tickets purchased earlier Saturday on the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby could not be cashed by establishing pools based on monies already wagered, rather than having their wagers refunded. Berube replied that despite the early wagering that went on, the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby did not have anywhere near a full set of mutuel pools and wagers. Further, patrons could not wager on the race after the Florida Oaks had been run, nor could they cancel wagers made earlier. “Basically, the integrity of those pools would have been nonexistent,” he said. With hundreds of sites not being able to transmit wagers, calculate and receive updated odds information or stop betting, the decision to issue refunds on those wagers already made was deemed fairest for all involved. “When the shutdown took place, the pools for the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby became compromised,” Berube said. “We sympathize with those bettors who would have won, but it’s conceivable the payoffs based on much-reduced pools could have caused bad feelings, also.” He added that the decision to pay off on multi-race wagers, such as Pick 3s, Pick 4s and Daily Doubles, by stipulating “ALL” winners of the 11th and 12th races was made in accordance with Florida parimutuel statutes, which are similar to nationwide standard rules whereby “no contest” or “no race” designations dictate awarding “ALL” runners as the “winners” for such legs.
Berube said he hopes transparency in dealing with the questions posed by Saturday’s incredible events will placate the majority of patrons who may have left Tampa Bay Downs with a sour taste in their mouths. Even though the track was not responsible for the tote shutdown, he will continue to push officials to determine the cause. “For us as a racetrack, the timing could not have been any worse,” he said. “But we want our customers to know we value their business and their input, and we plan to work even harder to satisfy them moving forward.
Hip No. 533, a son of Not This Time consigned by Hartley / DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, Agent was sold to Pro Racing Stable LLC, Agent, for $1.5-million to top the second session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2024 March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. The bay colt, who breezed an Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5, is a half brother to stakes placed Pammy’s Ready out of Pammy Whammy, by War Front, from the family of stakes winner My Mogul. Hip No. 494, a son of Flatter consigned by Sequel Bloodstock, Agent, went to Marquee Bloodstock for $1.3-million. The dark bay or brown colt, who breezed an eighth in :9 4/5, is out of Napier, by OBS champion graduate Midnight Lute, a half sister to grade one stakes winner Obligatory.
Hip No. 304, a daughter of Nyquist consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, who turned in an Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5, went to Justin Casse, Agent, for $750,000. The chestnut filly is out of High Heeled Girl, by Malibu Moon, a daughter of grade one stakes placed stakes winner High Heeled Hope.
Joey Platts paid $750,000 for Hip No. 529, a son of Tiz the Law also consigned by Hartley / DeRenzo Thoroughbreds. The bay colt, whose eighth in :9 3/5 was the day’s co-fastest, is out of graded stakes placed Our Majesty, by OBS graduate Majesticperfection, a half sister to stakes winner Overvalued.
Hip No. 445, a son of champion OBS graduate Mitole consigned Eddie Woods, Agent, went to Speedway Stables, LLC for $725,000. The dark bay or brown colt, who worked an eighth in :9 4/5, is a half brother to graded stakes wining OBS graduate Midnight Stroll out of Midnight Magic, by champion OBS graduate Midnight Lute.
Hip 526, a son of Gun Runner consigned by Niall Brennan Stables, Agent, was sold to Spendthrift Farm LLC & Frank Fletcher Racing for $725,000. The dark bay or brown colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 flat, is a half brother to graded stakes winner Sister OToole out of O’Toole, by Distorted Humor.
Hip No. 539, a son of Justify consigned by Pick View LLC, Agent, went to Donato Lanni, Agent for Zedan Racing for $700,000. The bay colt, whose quarter in :20 2/5 was the day’s co-fastest, is out of graded stakes placed stakes winner Pauseforthecause, by Giant’s Causeway, a daughter of graded stakes placed stakes winner Sprightly.
Hip No. 421, a son of graded stakes winning OBS graduate Shancelot, consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, was purchased by Bill Childs for $650,000. The dark bay or brown colt, whose eighth in :9 4/5 was the session’s co-fastest, is out of Magnolias in Bloom, by Flatter, a half sister to stakes winner Quinoa Tifah.
Mitsu Nakauchida went to $600,000 for Hip No. 378, a son of Tapit consigned by S G V Thoroughbreds LLC (Steven Venosa), Agent. The chestnut colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 flat, is out of L’ Age d’Or, by Medaglia d’Oro, a daughter of grade one stakes winner Mona de Momma, dam of grade one stakes winner Vekoma.
Jet Horse LLC, Peter Miller, Agent, went to $600,000 for Hip No. 499, a daughter of Twirling Candy consigned by Eddie Woods, Agent. The bay filly, who breezed an eighth in :10 flat, is a half sister to Thanks Mr. Eidson out of Nest Egg, by Eskendereya.
Hip No. 482, a daughter of Twirling Candy also consigned by Wavertree, was purchased for $575,000 by Saints or Sinners LLC. The bay filly, who breezed an eighth in :9 4/5, is out of My Day, by Uncle Mo, from the family of graded stakes winner Declaration of War.
Hip No. 348, a son of Twirling Candy consigned by Eddie Woods, Agent, was sold for $550,000 to Case Clay Thoroughbred Management. The bay colt, who worked an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat, is out of Jotown, by Speightstown, a daughter of graded stakes winner Jojo Warrior.
Hip No. 370, a daughter of American Pharoah who breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat, was sold to Resolute Bloodstock for $525,000. The bay filly is a half sister to graded stakes winner Bellavais out of graded stakes winner La Cloche, by Ghostzapper.
Hip No. 554, a son of Laoban, who worked an eighth in :9 4/5, was purchased by Arthur Hoyeau, Agent, for $525,000 . The bay colt, consigned by Top Line Sales LLC, Agent , is out of Princess Aspen, by Birdstone, a half sister to grade ones stakes winner Zazu.
Boardshorts Stables, LLC, paid $510,000 for Hip No. 386, a daughter of Candy Ride (ARG) who worked an eighth in :10 1/5. Consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, the dark bay or brown filly is a half sister to graded stakes winner Three Witches, recent winner of the Santa Monica Stakes (G2), out of Layreebelle, by Tale of the Cat.
Hip No. 453, Racing Withthemoon, a daughter of Munnings consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent for Peter J. Mirabelli, was sold to Resolute Bloodstock for $500,000. The dark bay or brown filly, whose quarter in :20 2/5 was the session’s co-fastest at the distance, is out of Miss Majestic, by Majestic Warrior, a daughter of graded stakes winner Cassidy.
Hip No. 325, a son of Improbable consigned by Majestic, Agent, went to James Divito, Agent for $475,000. The bay colt, who breezed an Under Tack eighth in a co-fastest :9 4/5, is out of stakes placed Inaugurate, by Empire Maker, from the family of graded stakes winner Top Rung.
Hip No. 290, a daughter of City of Light consigned by Top Line Sales LLC, Agent, was sold to Patricia’s Hope LLC for $435,000. The bay filly, whose Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5 was the session’s co-fastest, is out of Hassler (IRE), by War Front, a daughter of grade one stakes winning millionaire OBS graduate Turbulent Descent.
Hip No. 173, a son of Tapit consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent for the Complete Dispersal for Lothenbach Stables, Inc., went to West Point Thoroughbreds /D J Stable /C J, LEB Agent, for $1,200,000 to top the first session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2024 March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. The gray or roan colt, who galloped at the Under Tack Show, is a half-brother to graded stakes-winner She Can’t Sing out of Distorted Music, by Distorted Humor.
Katsumi Yoshida went to $850,000 for Hip No. 183, consigned by Hartley / DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, Agent, a son of Not This Time who breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat. The dark bay or brown colt is out of Dos Vinos, by Twirling Candy, a half-sister to stakes-winner China Grove.
Hip No. 89, a son of McKinzie consigned by Wavertree Stables (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, was sold to Bill Childs for $750,000. The bay colt, whose Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5 was the session’s co-fastest at the distance, is a half-brother to graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Merveilleux out of Breech Inlet, by Holy Bull.
Hip No. 106, a son of Uncle Mo consigned by Pick View, Agent, was purchased for $750,00 by B S W / Crow Colts Group & Spendthrift Farm. The bay colt, who breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5 is out of Canteen, by Candy Ride (ARG), from the family of graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Lady Melisi.
Woodford Thoroughbreds went to $700,000 for Hip No. 26, a daughter of Munnings consigned by Niall Brennan Stables, Agent. The bay filly, whose eighth in :9 4/5 was the day’s co-fastest, is a half-sister to Gr. I stakes-winner Denman’s Call, out of Ansaam by Bernardini.
Hip No. 202, a son of OBS graduate Into Mischief consigned by Old South Farm, Agent, was sold to Muir Hut Stables for $700,000. The bay colt, who turned in an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat, is out of graded stakes-winner Electric Forest, by Curlin, a daughter of graded stakes-winner Forest Music.
Hip No. 267, a son of Curlin consigned by Pick View, Agent, went to On The Run Racing for $500,000. The bay colt, who turned in an Under Tack quarter in :21 2/5, is a half-brother to Gr. I stakes-winning OBS March graduate My Conquestadory out of stakes-placed Golden Artemis, by Malibu Moon.
Hip No. 17 a son of McKinzie consigned by Kings Equine, Agent, was sold for $450,000 to Jones / Everett, for Belmar Racing, RA Hill & Gargan Racing. The dark bay or brown colt, who turned in a co-fastest Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5, is out of stakes-winner Altamura, by Artie Schiller, from the family of graded stakes-winner Private Creed.
C H P Racing paid $450,000 for Hip No. 222, a daughter of Practical Joke consigned by Niall Brennan Stables, Agent. The bay filly, who breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5, is out of Fierce Scarlett, by Scat Daddy, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Thank U Philippe.
Hip No. 30, a daughter of Bernardini consigned by Top Line Sales, Agent, who breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat, was sold to Simon Callaghan, Agent, for $400,000. The bay filly is out of Arbanne, by Midshipman, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Condo Commando.
Hip No. 45, a son of Nyquist consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, was purchased for $380,000 by Bradley Thoroughbreds for Rodeo Creek Racing. The chestnut colt, who breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5, is out of Bashful, by Orb, a half- sister to graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Left a Message.
Hip No. 14, a son of Omaha Beach consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, was sold to Case Clay Thoroughbred Management for $350,000, The bay colt, who worked an eighth in :10 flat at the Under Tack Show, is out of All Dressed Up, by Super Saver, a daughter of stakes-winner Dress the Part.
Whitehorse Stables went to $350,000 for Hip No. 191, a son of Global Campaign consigned by Eddie Woods, Agent. The dark bay or brown colt, who breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5, is a half-brother to stakes-winner The Absolute One out of Driving Rain, by Storm Cat.
For the session, 153 horses sold for $20,844,000, compared with 149 horses grossing $21,110,500 at last year’s first session. The average price was $136,235, compared with $141,681 a year ago, while the median price was $72,000 compared with $70,000 last year. The buyback percentage was 26.4 %; it was 22.8% in 2023.
HALLANDALE BEACH - The overnight purses during Gulfstream Park’s upcoming Spring/Summer Meet will receive significant increases from top to bottom over a season ago. Come April, upon the conclusion of the 2023-2024 Championship Meet, purses will be boosted in all categories from open handicaps to $6,250 claiming races with conditions. Gulfstream will race four days a week in April, May and June and three days from July through November. There will be turf racing throughout the spring and summer. The new and historic workers compensation plan will offer significant savings. The workers compensation program provides all state coverage with the exception of New York, California, Ohio, North Dakota, Washington and Wyoming. “We expect the increase in purses, the new workers compensation program, and year-round turf racing will continue to strengthen Gulfstream’s overall program,” said Bill Badgett, Executive Director of Florida Racing Operations for Gulfstream Park. “With the increased purses, grass racing and our workers compensation program, Gulfstream is now the summer place to be,” said FTHA President Joe Orseno. “We are able to offer better purses and we hope this will encourage trainers and owners to keep horses at Gulfstream Park through the non-championship meet. A big thank you to 1/ST management and the FTHA purse committee for negotiating this competitive purse structure.” Open handicaps, which were contested for $60,000 last season, will offer purses worth $74,000. The purse for a $6,250 claiming race with conditions will be increased from $17,000 to $20,000. Open allowance races will offer purses $10,000 higher than 2023 levels, ranging from $61,000 to $63,000. Entry-level allowance races for Florida-breds will see a $5,000 increase from $43,000 to $48,000.
Starter allowance purses will be increased from3,000 to $9,000, ranging from $25,000 to $49,000. Maiden special weight races will also be increased by $10,000 to $60,000. Maiden special weight races for Florida-breds will see increases from $40,000 to $48,000. A maiden race for $12,500 claiming horses will get a boost of $6,000 to $25,000. The purse for a $50,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds will be increased by $9,000 to $44,000.
HALLANDALE BEACH - A mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 pool yielded multiple payoffs of $35,544 Sunday at Gulfstream Park. The multi-race wager had gone unsolved for 17 days following a Feb. 8 jackpot hit, leaving a pool carryover of $834,368 heading into Sunday’s wagering. A total of $5,110,271 was bet on the sequence that spanned Races 6-11. The winning combination was4-6-8-6-12-12. On mandatory-payout days, the entire Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is paid out to the bettor or bettors with the most winners in the wager’s six-race sequence. The carryover jackpot is usually only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool usually goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winner, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool. The Rainbow 6 will start anew Wednesday. Who’s Hot: Paco Lopez notched a three-win day, doubling aboard Macuto ($18.80) in Race 2 and St. Pat’s Day ($21.20) in Race 8 before scoring aboard American Diamond ($22) in Race 10. Jose Ortiz made two trips to the winner’s circle aboard Movin’ On Top ($4.60) in Race 5 and Sedona ($5.40) in Race 7.
Leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. won three races, connecting with Speed Control ($5.60) in Race 1, Movin’ On Up ($4.60) in Race 5, and American Diamond ($22) in Race 10.
HALLANDALE BEACH - Dornoch, a full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage, made a significant step along the Road to the Triple Crown Saturday at Gulfstream Park, scoring a commanding victory in the $400,000, Gr. II Coolmore Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park as the 1-5 favorite. The 78th running of the Fountain of Youth, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds that serves as a key prep for the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby on March 30, headlined a spectacular 14-race program that featured nine stakes, eight graded. Dornoch has earned 60 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby after collecting 50 in the Fountain of Youth. “We could run in the Florida Derby or the Blue Grass (at Keeneland April 6),” trainer Danny Gargan said. “We’re lucky enough now where we can pick our spot. Sixty points usually gets you in, so now we’re on cruise control. We’ll figure out where we want to go next and try to enjoy this for a minute.” The Fountain of Youth field was reduced to five when Speak Easy was scratched after unseating jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and running off directly following the post parade. The field had already lost Merit, who finished second behind Conquest Warrior in a Friday optional claiming allowance, as well as Locked, the 8-5 morning-line favorite, and Victory Avenue, who finished second behind Speak Easy in his debut, both of whom were withdrawn Saturday morning. Owned by West Paces Racing, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Two Eight Racing and Pine Racing Stables, Dornoch took advantage of the scratch of Speak Easy, who showed brilliant speed in a highly promising debut victory on Jan. 27. The son of Good Magic rounded the first turn outside 25-1shot Le Dom Bro, before taking the lead for good at the top of the backstretch under Luis Saez. Real Macho was kept in relatively close pursuit by Tyler Gaffalione as Dornoch set fractions of :24.39 and :48.14 for the first half-mile. As Real Macho dropped back, Le Dom Bro tried to make a race of it again leaving the turn into the stretch under Edwin Gonzalez, but Dornoch remained strong in the stretch run to win by 1 ¾ lengths. “We didn’t want to be on the lead but when [Speak Easy] scratched, he gets out there and he kind of plays around. You can see him with his ears kind of goofing off. I told Luis, ‘Just go ahead and go,” Gargan said. “We had no choice. We really wanted to stalk today, it just didn’t work out that way. He won fine enough. Surely it won’t be his fastest race. We didn’t expect to win today. It just kind of played out that way. I don’t think he ran very hard. He was just kind of playing around out there.” Dornoch, who ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.64, was making his 2024 debut after capturing the Dec. 2, Gr. II Remsen at Aqueduct, fighting back to score a nose decision over Sierra Leone, who won the Gr. II Risen Star at Fair Grounds in his 3-year-old debut. “I was very confident. I had a lot of horse,” Saez said. “I knew he was going to give me another gear. He always does. He’s just a good horse. I’m very happy.” Co-owner R. A. Hill went into the Fountain of Youth with confidence in Dornoch. “I wasn’t that worried to be honest. We got lucky with the scratches, but I was pretty confident all along. I think this horse is the real deal,” Hill said. “He won today, Luis stood up about halfway down the stretch. We get the two scratches, which of course was lucky, but you got to run against who’s in the game. We’ll probably run in the Florida Derby or the Blue Grass. It’s up to Danny.” Le Dom Bro, a son of Mucho Macho Man who had finished second in the seven-furlong Swale on Feb. 3 after he finished ninth behind Dornoch in the Remsen, held second, a neck in front of Frankie’s Empire, the Swale winner who chased the top two throughout the race.
“I’m really happy. The horse ran good,” Le Dom Bro’s trainer Eniel Cordero said. “I talked to Edwin, and I said to get some position and then go. He’s a good horse. The more distance the better for him. I’ll talk to the owner and see what’s next. We have a good horse.”
HALLANDALE BEACH - Bridlewood Farm homebred Palace Zip, a first-time starter by Palace Malice, came with a steady run down the center of the track to surge past Reina Mar and Mi Amore and give trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. his 1,000th career win in Sunday’s finale at Gulfstream Park. Ridden by Edgard Zayas and sent off the 5-2 favorite in a field of eight, Palace Zip ($7) covered 1 1/16 miles on the all-weather Tapeta in 1:43.58 to capture the maiden claimer for 3-year-old fillies. It was Joseph’s lone starter on Sunday’s program. “It’s amazing,” Joseph said after being recognized and posing for photos in a winner’s circle ceremony. “I remember the first one and here we are at 1,000. The first probably 200 took five or six years and it was a struggle, and the last 800 have come pretty quickly. We’ve gotten the opportunities from the owners and that’s what you need. Without the owners, you can’t do it. There’s no trainer without horses, and the owners produce the horses.”
A native of Barbados, the 37-year-old Joseph has won eight consecutive titles at Gulfstream Park since finishing second during the 2020-2021 Championship Meet. He has led the nation’s premiere winter gathering each of the past two years, dethroning 18-time winner and Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher. Joseph is on track for a third straight Championship Meet title, leading the 2023-2024 stand in wins (47), starters (223) and purses earned ($2.37 million). Among his victories are six stakes-winners, including O’Connor in the Gr. III Harlan’s Holiday, R Harper Rose in the Gr. III Forward Gal and Honor D Lady in the Gr. III Royal Delta. Married with two children, Joseph is a third-generation horseman following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. At the age of 22, he became the youngest trainer to win the Barbados Triple Crown with Areutalkintome in 2009. Joseph came to the U.S. two years later and finished seventh with his first starter, Go Zapper, on April 10, 2011 at Tampa Bay Downs. His first win came on June 19, 2011 at Calder Race Course with Artefacto, and he saddled his first stakes- winner, Saraguaro, in the 2015 Foolish Pleasure at Gulfstream Park. Math Wizard, a horse he claimed for $25,000, put Joseph on the national stage by winning the 2019, Gr. I Pennsylvania Derby, the trainer’s first graded stakes victory. Joseph has 33 career graded triumphs including Gr. 1 success with White Abarrio in the 2022 Florida Derby, Mischevious Alex in the Carter Handicap and Drain the Clock in the Woody Stephens, both in 2021. Joseph set career highs with 201 wins in 2021 and $10.66 million in purse earnings last year. He has trained three millionaires – Skippylongstocking, Math Wizard and White Abarrio – and has ranked in the top 12 nationally in wins and/or purse earnings since 2020. Other top horses trained by Joseph include multiple graded-stakes winners O’Connor, Officiating and Tonalist’s Shape, as well as Three Witches, last year’s winner of Gulfstream’s Gr. III Princess Rooney who went on to be third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. “We’re only as good as what the owners give us. That’s what makes trainers,” Joseph said. “We have to take care of them with the staff, and that’s what makes me. I’m one person that is head of 80 people that make me and make us as a unit. It’s not just me, it’s a credit to the whole staff. It’s a whole crew that makes this success possible and I’m very thankful to be in this position.”
(Joe and Helen Barbazon and their Pleasant Acres Stallions were well-represented in various ways at the big day of racing at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday. Leinster, who stands at the farm, had both featured stakes races named after him; Jordi's Dream, third in the $100,000 Leinster Lightning City Stakes is by Pleasant Acres' red-hot stallion, Neolithic; and Extendo, second by a neck in the $100,000 Leinster Turf Dash stakes is by former Pleasant Acres stallion Handsome Mike and was bred by the Barbazons in partnership with Ed Seltzer and Beverly Anderson).
OLDSMAR - Few sounds you’ll hear are as joyous, and filled with love and gratitude, or as loud as the high-pitched yells coming from trainer Douglas Nunn after his 8-year-old gelding Smithwick’s Spice hung on under jockey Daniel Centeno to win the 21st running of the $100,000 Leinster Turf Dash Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs by a neck from Extendo.
Nunn trained the winner’s dam, Spicy McHaggis, and his siblings. He has always believed in Smithwick’s Spice, but had doubts about entering him against the quality of competition in the Leinster Turf Dash.
“I liked him cutting back in distance today (following a good second going 1 1/16-mile earlier this month at Gulfstream Park), but these were not just New Jersey-bred horses,” Nunn said once his state of near-hysteria subsided. “I was all ready to scratch him, but the owner (New Spice Stable’s Robert Matthies) said let’s take a shot. “He had never run against the big boys, and I didn’t want to take his heart away. But he showed he can run with the big boys,” added Nunn, who broke Smithwick’s Spice as a yearling. In the co-feature on the Turf Sprint Showcase Day card, Play the Music overcame early trouble to win the $100,000 Leinster Lightning City Stakes for older fillies and mares under jockey Antonio Gallardo. Smithwick’s Spice’s time for the 5 furlongs on the grass was :55.98 seconds. Yes I Am Free, the wagering favorite, flattened out in the stretch and finished third, a half-length behind Extendo and ¾-lengths ahead of Thealligatorhunter. Storm the Court, the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner, was a late scratch. Smithwick’s Spice paid $14.20 to win. He improved to 10-for-40 lifetime and the winner’s share of $45,000 raised his career earnings to $508,847. His only other stakes victory came in the 2022 Joey P. Handicap at Monmouth Park. Once Smithwick’s Spice showed Centeno he wanted the lead, the jockey rolled with the veteran campaigner and was richly rewarded. “He fought the entire way. I’ve ridden him before and he’s always run good for me,” Centeno said. “When I turned for home I saw (Antonio) Gallardo (on Yes I Am Free) outside me and I thought, he’s not going to go by me. My horse likes to fight, and he ran big today.” The victory was the first for Nunn at the meet from 15 starts. “The reason I’m still here doing this is this horse,” Nunn said after rejoicing with his wife, Maria Claire Van Sant. “When this horse retires, I’ll retire. He doesn’t want to retire yet, so I guess I’m going to keep on going. “When you hang a bridle on some horses, it’s hard because they don’t always give you what they have. This horse has given everything he has from Day 1,” Nunn added, tears flowing freely. In the 21st running of the Leinster Lightning City Stakes, supplemental entry Play the Music launched an impressive stretch rally under Gallardo and rolled to a 2 ½-length victory from the other supplemental entry in the race, Howboutdemapples. Pace-setter Jordi’s Dream, a 50-1 shot, held on well for third. Covenant Lady closed well to be fourth. A scary moment occurred earlier in the stretch run when betting favorite Just a Care bumped with Howboutdemapples while trying to angle between rivals, causing Just a Care’s jockey Samy Camacho to lose his balance and fall from his mount. Camacho, the track’s leading jockey, walked back to the jockeys’ room after laying on the turf for about 2-3 minutes and was able to return to ride Sky’s Not Falling in the Leinster Turf Dash. Earlier in the race at about the 3/8-mile pole, Just a Care and Camacho came over on Play the Music while seeking position on the turn, forcing Gallardo to check sharply. But he was able to swing Play the Music outside, and from there the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred made quick work of her rivals en route to her fourth victory and first stakes triumph from 10 starts. Play the Music is owned by Glassman Racing and trained by Mark Casse. Her time for the 5-furlong distance was :55.98 seconds, .89 seconds off Jean Elizabeth’s 2020 stakes record. The 4-year-old Just a Care finished with good energy while riderless and was reported to be in good shape after returning to the backside. But her difficulties didn’t detract from the quality of Play the Music’s victory. “(Casse’s assistant, Jimmy Miranda) told me this filly was ready, and that’s what she showed,” Gallardo said. “Thank God I could put her in gear again after getting checked. She gave me everything and I was able to get her in the clear and into the race.” Play the Music had won her previous race, a 7 ½-furlong turf event on Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park, but this may have been her best career performance. “Antonio had her tucked inside early, which was perfect,” Miranda said. “Then he was able to swing her outside and get her in the clear to make her run. If you read Chapter 7, that’s what it says to do.”
OLDSMAR - By Saturday afternoon, the waiting will be over for 18 turf sprinters primed to show their best stuff against stakes competition. Postponed last week by a rainy weather forecast that lived up to its billing, the $100,000 Leinster Lightning City Stakes for fillies and mares 4-years-old-and-upward and the $100,000 Leinster Turf Dash for horses 4-and-upward will be held on the Tampa Bay Downs turf course.
Saturday's weather forecast calls for plenty of sunshine, with temperatures reaching the upper 60s. Both 5-furlong races have drawn nine horses, with 4-year-old filly Awesome Pic a “main track only” entrant in the Leinster Lightning City, which is scheduled as the seventh race. The Leinster Turf Dash is the ninth race. The first of 10 races begins at 12:18 . Saturday's card also includes the third legs of the Tampa Turf Test, as starter handicap event for older horses of both sexes which have started for a claiming price of $16,000 or less in 2023-24. The distance of both Tampa Turf Test races is a mile-and-an-eighth.
The field for the Leinster Turf Dash is headed by a pair of graded stakes-winners, Yes I Am Free and Storm the Court. Yes I Am Free, an 8-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by Golden Kernel Racing Stable and trained by Laura Cazares, has earned more than $750,000 in his career, highlighted by victories in the Gr. III Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint Stakes in 2022 and 2023. Antonio Gallardo has been named to ride Yes I Am Free.
Storm the Court has two lifetime victories from 24 starts, but one came in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 2019 at Santa Anita. The 7-year-old’s career earnings exceed $1.4-million. Owned by David A. Bernsen, Susanna Wilson and Peter Eurton and trained by William E. Morey, Storm the Court has finished second in two Tampa Bay Downs starts, both at the Leinster Turf Dash distance. Pablo Morales is the jockey. Another likely contender is Sky’s Not Falling, a hard-knocking 6-year-old gelding owned by R. Larry Johnson and R. D. M. Racing Stable and trained by Michael Trombetta. Samy Camacho has been named to ride. Sky’s Not Falling has won almost $400,000 in his career, highlighted by a victory in the 2022 Maryland Million Turf Sprint Stakes at Laurel. The Leinster Lightning City appears to be a wide-open affair. The field includes two stakes-winners: Boo Boo Kitty, owned by Rice Racing and trained by Kevin Rice, and She’s My Warrior, owned by Peter Mattson and Tim Padilla and trained by Padilla. Boo Boo Kitty, a 5-year-old Florida-bred mare, will be ridden by Morales. She won the 2022 Satin and Lace Stakes at Presque Isle Downs, but will be making her first start in more than 16 months.
She’s My Warrior, a 5-year-old owned by Peter Mattson and Tim Padilla and trained by Padilla, is a two-time stakes-winner at Canterbury Park in Minnesota. She will be ridden by Alonso Quinonez.
OLDSMAR - For much of the Gr. III, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, winning jockey Paco Lopez felt like he was living a dream. Lopez’s instructions from trainer Jose Francisco D’Angelo were to try to break well from the No. 5 post and sit in a stalking position early in the mile-and-a-sixteenth race. But as 3-year-old thoroughbreds often do, No More Time took matters into his own hooves and surged to the lead from the outset, with Lopez happy to go along for the ride. Despite running a 4-furlong split of :46.61 seconds and a 6-furlong time of 1:10.81 that were faster than both men wanted, the Iowa-bred son of Not This Time-Baroness Juliette, by Speightstown, had the vigor to turn back a serious challenge from longshot West Saratoga at the top of the stretch, then hold off Agate Road for 1 1/4-length victory.
West Saratoga held on for third, with Elysian Meadows fourth in the 12-horse field. Both Everdoit, who swerved into the gate at the start, and jockey Huber Villa-Gomez, who was unseated, were pronounced fine after the race. No More Time, who won for the second time in four starts, completed the distance in 1:43.26, .82 seconds off Flameaway’s 2018 stakes record. The winner picked up 20 points on the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” toward earning a spot in the May 4 Run for the Roses starting gate at Churchill Downs. No More Time paid $8.60 to win as the betting favorite despite being 10-1 on the morning line. To Lopez and D’Angelo, the race couldn’t have unfolded any better. (D'Angelo) told me to put on the brakes out of the gate and sit third or fourth, but my horse broke unbelievable and I let him go,” Lopez said. “The pace was a little faster than I wanted, but his first and second quarters were very natural. I had plenty of horse the whole way and when I asked him, he gave me everything.”
An apparent dearth of early speed in the race led D’Angelo to try to have No More Time lay second, third or fourth early, but he was not overly concerned when the horse went to the lead on his own. D’Angelo said a 5-furlong breeze in 1:00 on Feb. 3 at Palm Meadows Training Center set him up perfectly for such an effort.
“That was a monster move,” D’Angelo said. “He took the lead with no problem today. I said before the race we wanted a good start and we’ll see what happens, but (No More Time) did it on his own.”
The conditioner is hopeful of returning to Oldsmar for the Gr. III, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on March 9. “We will make the right decision for the horse, not for us,” D’Angelo said. “But if everything is in good order we’ll probably come back because he likes it here.”
Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo purchased No More Time for $40,000 as a yearling and are partners in the colt with Morplay Racing, the father-son team of Orlando resident Rich Mendez and his son Josh. “We decided to keep him instead of selling him, and it’s an amazing feeling to win this race,” Rich Mendez said.
“I spoke to Paco after the race and he said the horse was just playing with them. After his last race (fifth in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes on Jan. 1 at Gulfstream), when he fell about 10 lengths back and still came back and tried to compete, we really felt good about him. He has so much heart.” Lopez also won the 11th and final race on the turf on Embrace Me, a 4-year-old filly owned by Mark T. Anderson and trained by Tom Albertrani, to sweep the late daily double.
Baoma Corp.’s Nysos (Nyquist – Netta Z) romped to the head of the 3-year-old class in Saturday’s $201,000, Gr. III Robert E. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday with a sharp 7-1/2 length victory. The 3-year-old son of Nyquist rated nicely off the lead, swept to the front on the turn and cruised to an easy win. Fellow OBS graduate Wine Me Up (Vino Rosso – Deanaallen’skitten) settled for second. Trained by Bob Baffert, he’s now three for three by a combined 26 3/4 lengths and has earned $216,600. At the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, he sped an Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5 and was purchased for $550,000 out of the Best A Luck Farm consignment by Donato Lanni, Agent for Baoma Corp. Four OBS grads scored in stakes races at Gulfstream on Saturday. D. J. Stable and Robert Cotran’s Hades (Awesome Slew – The Shady Lady) is three for three and a graded stakes -winner, jumping into the Triple Crown picture with a victory in the $250,000, Gr.III Holy Bull Stakes . The 3-year-old Florida-bred son of Awesome Slew took the early lead, turned back a bid by champion Fierceness turning for home and drew off to win by two lengths. Trained by Joe Orseno, he has earned $225,000 to date. Consigned by Ocala Stud to the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, he was sold for $130,000 after breezing an Under Tack quarter in:21 1/5. Repole Stable’s Life’s an Audible (Audible – Catkins) scored her first stakes win in the $175,000, Gr. III Sweetest Chant Stakes. The 3-year-old daughter of Audible was well behind, rallied wide on the turn and was up in the final yards to score by a neck. Consigned by Britton Peak, Agent, to the 2023 OBS Sale., she was sold for $200,000 after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. Now 6-2-2-0 for trainer Todd Pletcher, she has earned $243,045.
Averill Racing and Two Eight Racing’s R Harper Rose (Khozan – True Bliss) pressed the pace in the early going of the $145,000 Forward Gal Stakes (G3), took over at the head of the stretch and cruised to a two-length victory. Fellow OBS graduate Chi Chi (Audible – Simply Confection) checked in third. It’s the first graded stakes win for the 3-year-old Florida-bred filly by Khozan, trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., now 5-4-1-0 with $344,025 in earnings. At the 2023 OBS March Sale, she breezed an Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5 before being purchased out of the GOP Racing Stable consignment for $60,000.
Frank DeLuca’s Frankie’s Empire (Classic Empire – Donna D) rated off the pace early in the $125,000 Swale Stakes, rallied wide go reach contention, took over a furlong from home and was best by 3 1/2 lengths. It’s the first stakes victory for the 3-year-old son of Classic Empire, now 7-4-0-1 with $185,700 earnings for trainer Michael Yates. Consigned by McKathan Bros. Sales to the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, he was sold for $20,000 after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5. Lea Farms, LLC’s Super Chow (Lord Nelson – Bonita Mia) went right to the front in Aqueduct’s $175,000, Gr. III Toboggan Stakes and was long gone, romping to a 4 1/4 length victory. It’s the first graded stakes win for the 4-year-old Lord Nelson colt, purchased for $75,000 out of the Eisaman Equine consignment at the 2022 OBS Spring Sale after breezing an eighth in :10 flat at the Under Tack Show. Trained by Jorge Delgado, he has compiled a 16-7-4-4 record and earned $590,650. Gary Barber’s Bron and Brow (Gormley – Changing Vista) took his second straight stakes race, capturing Delta Downs’ $100,000 Louisiana Bred Premier Sprint Stakes on Sunday by a length and three quarters. It’s the fifth stakes victory for the 5-year-old son of Gormley, purchased for $200,000 out of the Grassroots Training & Sales consignment at the 2021 OBS Spring Sale after working an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat. Now 17-7-4-3 for trainer Mark Casse, he has earned $444,370.
Hip No. 409, a yearling daughter of Omaha Beach consigned by Fly By, went to Discovery Bay Bloodstock for $100,000 to top the entire sale and Open Session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 Winter Mixed Sale. The bay filly is out of Gardenista, by Curlin, a daughter of graded stakes-winner Valbenny (IRE). Hip No. 494, Sweet Mitole, a yearling bay filly by champion OBS graduate Mitole, was sold for $90,000 to Exclusive Equine Investments. Consigned by Summerfield (Francis & Barbara Vanlangendonck), Agent, she’s out of Pointe Du Hoc, by Soldat, a daughter of graded stakes-winner Storm Mesa.
Hip No. 610, a yearling daughter of Uncle Chuck consigned by Fly By, was purchased by Grade One Investments for $80,000. The bay filly is out of Champina, by Daredevil, from the family of graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Jack Milton.
Supernova Stables went to $70,000 for Hip No. 445, a yearling daughter of Audible consigned by New Horizons Bloodstock. The chestnut filly is out of Lemoncita, by Lemon Drop Kid, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Chewing Gum.
Hip No. 659, a yearling daughter of Girvin consigned by Hare Hill Farm, sold for $65,000 to Tahoe Bloodstock. The bay filly is out of stakes-placed Awesome Dama, by Corinthian, from the family of graded stakes-winner Ms. Mostly.
Hip No. 640, a yearling daughter of Lexitonian consigned by 4 M Ranch, Agent, went to Albert Davis for $50,000. The chestnut filly is out of Electric Rose, by Flashback, a daughter of stakes-placed Bud’s Little Edge.
Hip No. 599, a yearling son of Volatile consigned by Beth Bayer, Agent, was purchased for $45,000 by Lambholm, Agent. The chestnut colt is out of Blameitonthebadboy, by Blame, a daughter of graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Sky Haven.
Hip No. 545, Boston Soldier, consigned by Colin Brennan Bloodstock, Agent, was purchased for $42,000 by LMB Farms. The dark bay or brown yearling colt by Aurelius Maximus is out of stakes-placed Sweet Alice Benbow, by Wildcat Heir, from the family of stakes-winner Nothing Sweeter.
FMQ Stables went to $42,000 for Hip No. 567, a yearling daughter of City of Light consigned by Beth Bayer, Agent. The bay filly is out of Yes It’s Jackie, by Yes It’s True, a half-sister to champion Abel Tasman.
Hip No. 621, Candle Ina Wind, a yearling son of Flameaway consigned by Summerfield, was sold to Grade One Investments for $40,000. The chestnut colt is out of Curious Luck, by Trust N Luck, a daughter of stakes-winner Silent Ridge.
For the Open session, 166 horses sold for $2,025,900 compared with 186 horses bringing $2,065,700 in 2023. The average price was $12,204 compared with $11,106 last year, while the median price was $5,100 compared with $7,500 a year ago. The buyback percentage was 19.8%; it was 8.4% in 2023. For the Consignor Preferred session, 83 horses sold for $1,913,400, compared with 99 horses grossing $2,696,700 in 2023. The average price was $23,053, compared with $27,239 a year ago, while the median price was $16,000, compared to last year’s $20,000. The buyback percentage was 23.1%; it was 13.2% last year. For the Horses of Racing Age section, 31 horses grossed $545,000 compared with 95 selling for a total of $1,583,800 in 2023. The average was $17,581 compared with $16,672 a year ago, while the median price was $11,000 compared to $10,000 last year. The buyback percentage was 18.4%; it was 13.6% in 2023. For the entire Winter Mixed Sale, 280 horses sold for $4,484,300, compared to 380 horses bringing $6,346,200 last year. The average was $16,015, compared to $16,701 in 2023 while the median price was $8,000, compared with $9,500 a year ago. The buyback percentage was 20.7%; it was 11% in 2023.
HALLANDALE BEACH - This is a week on the calendar in which Sheikh Mohammed’s international racing and bloodstock operation Godolphin has enjoyed tremendous success in recent years. Godolphin is the heavy favorite to be feted Thursday at the Breakers in Palm Beach with Eclipse Awards as North America’s outstanding owner and breeder for 2023. Godolphin has won an Eclipse Award three straight years as leading owner and five overall, and two straight as leading breeder with a third under the Darley banner. That said, the Godolphin team is hoping this week ends with a different twist two days later at Gulfstream Park – winning its first $3 million, Gr. I Pegasus World Cup Invitational presented by Baccarat with the 4-year-old homebred First Mission. Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile Pegasus and the Kentucky Derby are about the only signature American races that Sheikh Mohammed has yet to win. However, Proxy, who finished fifth last year, also was Godolphin’s first starter in the Pegasus since the race was refashioned from the Donn Handicap in 2017. The Brad Cox-trained First Mission is the 7-2 second choice in the field of 12, which is led by 9-5 favorite National Treasure, last year’s Preakness Stakes winner. First Mission, a son of Godolphin’s Darley America stallion and 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, comes into the Pegasus as the least experienced horse, having raced only five times, all last year. Unraced as a 2-year-old, First Mission captured Keeneland’s Gr. III Lexington in his third start last year but then was scratched from the Preakness with a minor issue. First Mission returned sixth months later to win a Keeneland allowance race before dropping a nose decision in the Gr. II Clark to fellow Pegasus entrant Trademark on Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs. “He’s still a horse that doesn’t have a whole lot of experience,” Michael Banahan, Godolphin USA’s director of bloodstock, said. “He had that long break and then ran against [Trademark], who loves Churchill and has plenty of hardened experience. He probably learned a lot from the race that day. We were probably disappointed not to the win the race but happy with how the horse ran. Since the Clark, we earmarked the Pegasus. “There are nice horses in there,” he added. “We go in there optimistic we’ll be able to compete with those horses. We like him and think he has plenty of upside. This will tell us the story if our lofty sights for him are correct or if we need to rein them in.” Banahan acknowledged it was frustrating to miss last year’s Preakness and other marquee 3-year-old stakes.
“We’re on the doorstep of a classic and would probably have been close to being the favorite in the race or very close to it,” he said. “We thought he’d run a big race in there. There are only three classics that come around every year, and we haven’t won too many. Yeah, it was frustrating at the time. But we all wear long pants and we have to roll with the punches a little bit and come back and try and regroup and do the best we can. “It wasn’t anything major [that sidelined First Mission], just sort of juvenile issues more than anything. We figured at the time that if we needed to give him time off, then let’s give him the [extra] time off and come back as a bigger, stronger version of himself.”
While Godolphin has always commanded respect wherever it runs horses, its staggering numbers the past few years show Sheikh Mohammed’s increased emphasis on American racing – developing and keeping horses here rather than shipping them to Dubai. The expanded American operation has led North America in purse earnings and graded stakes victories the past three years, including last year’s $17.27 million and 27, respectively. “Powerhouse stable,” said Cox, whose Godolphin-owned horses have included two-time champion Essential Quality. “Pretty easy to see that when you see the leaderboards and the stats they put up. They’re obviously a world-class operation, all class to deal with, great team to work with in America headed by Michael Banahan and Dan Pride. I really just enjoy working with those guys.
“First Mission came in rated as one of their better colts,” he added. “He was one that just wasn’t quite ready for what we were asking him to do [as a 2-year-old], so we gave him some time off. He came back in the fall and marched forward. Now he’s grown up mentally and physically.” Godolphin’s two-time Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Cody’s Wish is a solid favorite to be crowned 2023 Horse of the Year. Racing’s most poignant story of 2023 was Hall of Famer Bill Mott-trainee’s special relationship with Cody Dorman, who was born with Wolf–Hirschhorn syndrome and confined to a wheelchair while communicating through a digital tablet. Cody died from a medical event while returning home from the Breeders’ Cup after watching his namesake’s last career race before joining Godolphin’s Darley America stallion band. Godolphin also has Kentucky Oaks heroine and three-time Gr. I winner Pretty Mischievous as the front-runner for the 3-year-old filly championship, with Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Master of the Seas a finalist for champion male turf horse. We have some stiff competition in there,” Banahan said of the Eclipse Awards. “But that would be a fantastic way to start the year. We had a super year last year, a special year. I think we won 12 Grade 1 races, following on 2022 and 2021, which were unbelievable years as well. We’ve been very lucky riding the crest of a wave for the last couple of years. We’d like to continue to ride that for another year or however long we can. Hopefully a horse like First Mission can jump up there and replace our stellar horse horses from the last couple of years, where Cody’s Wish and Proxy sort of led the charge in the older division.“
“We’re very grateful the boss has given us the opportunity to have the quality of these horses in the States to race under the Godolphin banner,” he added. “I suppose our broodmare band has become more and more dirt-centric than it was 20 years ago, when we were trying to feed the European stable more so. As we’ve gotten a bigger stable the last 10 years in America, it’s really a stand-alone, independent version of Godolphin for just America. We’re getting those results now.” Cox also has a vested interest in the Eclipse Awards, with Juddmonte Farms’ Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) winner Idiomatic the overwhelming favorite to be voted champion older filly or mare. Cox himself is a finalist for outstanding trainer, an honor he won in 2020 and 2021.
H & E Ranch’s Desert Dawn (Cupid – Ashley’s Glory) tracked the leaders three wide from off the pace in Santa Anita’s $100,000, Gr. III La Canada Stakes, rallied to the lead turning for home, then held on gamely and was best by a length. It’s the second graded stakes win for the 5-year-old daughter of Cupid, trained by Philip D’Amato, now 19-3-5-5 with $956,525 in earnings. Consigned by Summerfield (Francis & Barbara Vanlangendonck), Agent for H & E Ranch, she went through the ring at the 2020 OBS October Selected Yearling Sale.
FMQ Stables’ Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming – New Narration) is on track for a trip to the rich Gr. I Saudi Cup after bouncing to the lead in the $175,000, Gr. III Louisiana Stakes at Fair Grounds and never looking back en route to a facile 5 3/4 length victory. It’s the second graded stakes win for the Gr. I stakes-winning son of Always Dreaming, consigned by Top Line Sales, Agent, to the 2022 OBS Spring Sale, and sold for $240,000 after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat. Trained by Brad Cox, he’s now 7-4-2-0 and earned $982,085. Two OBS graduates earned TDN Rising Star status over the weekend. Zedan Racing Stables' Maymun (Frosted – Handwoven) went straight to the lead in his debut for trainer Bob Baffert in an $86,000 maiden test at Santa Anita, quickly opened daylight, then drew away effortlessly to a 7 1/2 length victory. Consigned by Longoria Training & Sales, Agent, to the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, the colt by Frosted turned in an Under Tack eighth in :9 3/5 and sold for $900,000 to Donato Lanni, Agent. Manama Gold (Star Guitar – Charged Cotton) earned TDN Rising Star status on Friday at Meydan with a 9 1/4 length victory in the Cocoa Beach Stakes. Now two-for-two, the 3-year-old filly by Star Guitar was consigned to the 2023 OBS Spring Sale by Richardson Bloodstock, Agent, and purchased for $200,000 by Oliver St. Lawrence Bloodstock after breezing an eighth in :10 1/5 at the Under Tack Show. OBS graduates captured a pair of stakes on Friday at Sunland Park. Jeremy Ramsland’s Lucky Jeremy (Lookin At Lucky – Powder N Blush) tried stakes company for the first time in the $100,000 Riley Allison Derby, tracked the pace, swung out for the drive, took command in deep stretch and eased away to win by two lengths. It’s the second straight win for the 3-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky, now 3-2-0-0 with $115,080 in the bank for trainer William E. Morey. After speeding an Under Tack quarter in :21 1/5, he was purchased for $50,000 out of the GOP Racing Stable consignment. Holly Wilson and David Wilson’s Chesterette (Practical Joke- Jenny’s So Great) came wide into the stretch in the $65,000 Bold Ego Handicap, caught the leaders a furlong out and drew off to win by 2 3/4 lengths over fellow OBS graduate Raneem (Fed Biz – J P’s Flashy Honey). It’s the first stakes victory for the 5-year-old mare by Practical Joke, consigned by Julie Davies, Agent, to the 2021 OBS Spring Sale and sold for $300,000 after speeding an Under Tack eighth in:9 4/5. Trained by Bart G. Hone, she’s now 10-4-3-0 and has earned $151,543.
HALLANDALE BEACH - The $3 million, Gr. I Pegasus World Cup Invitational, $1 million, Gr. I Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and $500,000, Gr. II Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf will be supported on Gulfstream Park’s Jan. 27 star-studded program by four other graded stakes that have attracted the nominations of many prominent stakes performers from prominent North American stables. The $200,000, Gr. II Inside Information presented by Don Julio Tequila, drew 23 nominations on a list of older fillies and mares topped by Dr. Rodney Lundock’s Maryquitecontrary, the seven-furlong stakes’ defending champion. The late-running 5-year-old daughter of First Dude is coming off an impressive victory in the Dec. 30 Rampart at Gulfstream in her first start for trainer Eddie Plesa Jr.
Last year, Maryquitecontrary captured the Rampart before winning the Inside Information and finishing a close-up third in the Gr. I Madison at Keeneland. Vegso Racing Stable’s Imonra and Sheri Greenberg Racing and Staghawk Stables’ Unifying, who finished second and third, respectively, in the Rampart, are also on the Inside Information noms list. Southern California-based Phil D’Amato is represented on the Inside Information noms list by Michael Dubb and Michael Caruso’s Hot Peppers, who is coming off a second-place finish in the Jan. 1, Gr. III Las Flores at Santa Anita. The Florida-bred 5-year-old daughter of Khozan launched her career by winning three of four starts at Gulfstream. Pamela Ziebarth’s Sweet Azteca, a late-developing 4-year-old daughter of Sharp Azteca, has been nominated to the Inside Information after finishing third, 1 ¼ lengths behind runner-up Hot Peppers, in the Las Flores in only her second career start. Trainer Michael McCarthy saddled City of Light for a victory in the 2019 Pegasus World Cup. The $150,000, Gr. III Fred W. Hooper presented by Whispering Angel, a mile stakes for older horses, received 29 nominations, including Albaugh Family Stables’ Cyclone Mischief, who finished third behind Forte and Mage in last year’s $1 million, Gr. I Curlin Florida Derby. The Dale Romans-trained son of Into Mischief is coming off a fourth-place finish in a Nov. 26 allowance at Churchill Downs in his first start since finishing off the board in the Kentucky Derby. Romans is also represented on the noms list for the 37th running of the Hooper by Albaugh Family Stables and West Point Thoroughbreds’ Giant Game, who won the Cornhusker last year. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has nominated Zedan Racing Stables Inc.’s Hejazi, who is coming off a second-place finish in the Dec. 26, Gr. I Malibu at Santa Anita, and SF Racing and partners’ Fort Bragg, who captured the Gr. III Dwyer at Belmont following a fifth-place finish in the Florida Derby last year. The $200,000 William L. McKnight, a 1 ½-mile turf stakes for older horses, drew 34 nominations on a talent-deep list topped by Red Rafa Stud Inc’s Planetario, a Brazilian import who most recently captured the Nov. 24, Gr. II Hollywood Turf Cup at Del Mar. Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella also saddled the 6-year-old campaigner for a victory in the Gr. III San Juan Capistrano at Santa Anita. Trainer Chad Brown is represented on the McKnight noms list by three horses, including Peter Brant’s Francesco Clemente, an Irish-bred son of Dubawi who was beaten by just a neck by the Mandella trainee in the Hollywood Turf Cup. Brown’s other nominees are Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, Wonder Stables, Michael Kisber and Michael Caruso’s Rockemperor, a Gr. II stakes-winner, and Westberg, Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor’s Stone Age. Harrell Ventures’ Main Event, who is coming off a victory in the Gr. II Fort Lauderdale at Gulfstream, is nominated to the McKnight, but is also on the invitation list for the Pegasus World Cup Turf. Michael Hui and Phil Forte’s Value Engineering, who finished second in the McKnight last season before winning the Gr. II Mac Diarmida, is one of Michael Maker-trained horses nominated to the McKnight. The $150,000, Gr. III La Prevoyante, a 1 ½-mile turf stakes for older fillies and mares, drew 17 nominations, led by Team Valor International’s Romagna Mia, a 5-year-old British-bred daughter of Mastercraftsman. The Graham Motion trainee is coming off a seven-length romp in the Dec. 26 Via Borghese at Gulfstream that following a three-length score in the Gr. III Dowager at Keeneland.
Motion-trained Sister Otoole, who is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, has also been nominated to the La Prevoyante following a third-place finish in the Gr. III Red Carpet at Del Mar. The 7-year-old daughter of Pleasant Acres' Amira's Prince, who was bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon, sports a record of 4-5-6 in 23 starts and earnings of $431,470. Averill Racing and Two Eight Racing’s R Calli Kim is prominent on the La Prevoyante noms list after winning her four most recent starts for trainer Brendan Walsh, including an impressive 2 ½-length victory in the Gr. III Long Island at Aqueduct last time out.
Hours after joining Breeders’ Cup Classic-winning OBS March and Winter Mixed Sale graduate White Abarrio as an Eclipse Award finalist, Zedan Racing Stables’ Muth (Good Magic – Hoppa) made his 3-year-old debut in Santa Anita’s $200,000, Gr. II San Vicente Stakes.
Leading a 1-2-3 OBS sweep, he came from just off the pace to charge past fellow OBS March graduate Pilot Commander (Justify – Rebuke) and win by 2 3/4 lengths, with OBS Spring Sale grad Slider (Jimmy Creed – Days Like This) checking in third. The 3-year-old colt by Good Magic is now 5-3-2-0 for trainer Bob Baffert and has earned $716,600.
Consigned to the 2023 OBS March Sale by Top Line Sales, Agent, he was purchased by Donato Lanni, Agent, for a sale record-equaling $2 million after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :9 3/5. Joseph P. Morey, Jr.’s Vote No (Divisidero – Sistas Ready) is three for four with two stakes wins after coming from off the pace in Saturday’s $125,000 Turfway Preview Stakes, taking command passing the eighth pole and drawing away to win by 5 1/4 lengths. Trained by William E. Morey, the graded stakes-placed 3-year-old colt by Divisidero is now 4-3-0-1 and has earned $425,338.
A two-time OBS graduate, he was sold by KP Sales at the 2022 October Yearling Sale and then purchased for $50,000 out of the de Meric Sales consignment at the 2023 June Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5. Gary Barber’s Bron and Brow (Gormley – Changing Vista) successfully defended his title in Saturday’s $100,000 Gary P. Palmisano Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds, tracking the leaders from the outside, slipping inside turning for home, reaching the lead in deep stretch and easing away to score by 2 1/4 lengths.
That’s four stakes victories for the 5-year-old son of Gormley, purchased for $200,000 out of the Grassroots Training & Sales consignment at the 2021 OBS Spring Sale after working an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat. Trained by Mark Casse, he’s now 16-6-4-3 with earnings of $384,370. LSU Stables’ Ari’s Magic (Good Magic – Ari the Adventurer) earned TDN “Rising Star” status with a sensational debut at Tampa Bay Downs on Friday, rallying to the leaders on the turn, taking charge late and drawing away to win by 4 3/4 lengths. The 3-year-old colt by Good Magic, consigned to the 2023 OBS March Sale by Top Line Sales, Agent, was purchased for $725,000 by Steven W. Young, Agent, after turning in an Under Tack eighth in:10 flat.
OLDSMAR - Patriot Spirit, an impressive winner of the Inaugural Stakes here on Dec. 2; Grade III stakes-winner West Saratoga; and two-time stakes-winner Book’em Danno are among 20 3-year-old colts and geldings nominated to the 26th edition of the $125,000, 7-furlong Pasco Stakes on Jan. 13 at Tampa Bay Downs. The Pasco is one of three stakes on a Skyway Festival Day card. The others are the 40th running of the $125,000, 7-furlong Gasparilla Stakes for 3-year-old fillies and the 40th running of the $50,000, mile-and-a-sixteenth Wayward Lass Stakes for fillies and mares 3-years-old-and-upward. All three races will be contested on the main track. The Gasparilla closed with 24 nominations and the Wayward Lass drew 18 nominations. Entries will be taken in the Racing Office on Wednesday, Jan. 10. Patriot Spirit, a Kentucky-bred son of Constitution owned by George Mellon’s Mellon Patch, and trained by Michael Campbell, improved to 2-for-4 lifetime with his victory in the Inaugural. He turned in a 6-furlong workout of 1:14 4/5 here on Saturday. The next four finishers in the Inaugural – Crazy Mason, Rathmore, Sir Flash and Gotts Got It – are also nominated to the Pasco. West Saratoga, owned by Harry L. Veruchi and trained by Larry Demeritte, captured the Gr. III Iroquois Stakes on Sept. 16 at Churchill Downs, then wrapped up his 2-year-old campaign with a fifth-place finish in the Gr. I Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity on Oct. 7 at Keeneland. Book’em Danno, a gelding owned by Atlantic Six Racing and trained by Derek Ryan, won the Smoke Glacken Stakes on Sept. 9 at Monmouth and the Futurity Stakes on Oct. 8 at the Belmont At The Big A meet before finishing second to Where’s Chris in the Nashua Stakes on Nov. 5 at Belmont. Other stakes-winners nominated to the Pasco are Bentornato, from the barn of Jose Francisco D’Angelo; and Sweet Soddy J, trained by Raymond E. Ginter Jr. The Gasparilla nominees include Let Them Watch, a Florida-bred daughter of Maximus Mischief who won the Sandpiper Stakes here in gate-to-wire fashion on Dec. 2. She is owned by Case Chambers and trained by Michael Maker. Let Them Watch also won the Sharp Susan Stakes in August at Gulfstream Park as a 2-year-old. Other Gasparilla nominees include Irish Maxima, who finished fifth in the Gr. I Frizette on Oct. 7 at Belmont At The Big A, trained by John Servis; Leslie’s Rose, a Todd Pletcher-trained filly who won her career debut by 9 ¼ lengths on Nov. 19 at Aqueduct; trainer Saffie A. Joseph Jr.’s restricted stakes-winner R Harper Rose; and Joseph’s Mystic Lake, third in the Gr. III Mazarine Stakes on Nov. 4 at Woodbine.
The Wayward Lass has drawn a quality group of nominees, including trainer Gerald Bennett’s 4-year-old filly Dreaming of Snow, a stakes-winner who captured a 7-furlong allowance/optional claiming event here on Dec. 9; 5-year-old Evidencias, a Brazilian import trained by Christophe Clement; 4-year-old Opus Forty Two, the winner of last year’s Gasparilla, trained by Arnaud Delacour; and trainer Tim Padilla’s Minnesota-bred stakes-winners, 5-year-old She’s My Warrior and 6-year-old Molly’s Angel. Around the oval - Charlie Marquez rode three winners yesterday. He swept the early double, winning the first race on 3-year-old filly Chief Lady for owner Winner Circle Stables and trainer Gregg Sacco and taking the second on 3-year-old filly Pamz Palace, owned by Roger B. Sterling and trained by Crystal Pickett. Marquez added the fifth race on the turf with Aloha Man, a 3-year-old colt owned by Crystal G. Pickett and Marblehead Management One and trained by Pickett. Samuel Marin rode two winners. He won the fourth race on The Sweaty Fox, a 5-year-old mare owned by Harry Hoglander and trained by Tony Wilson. Marin added the ninth and final race on the turf with Magical Marriage, a 7-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by Dennis A. Drazin and trained by Patrick McBurney.
Harrell Ventures’s Main Event took the lead at the start of Saturday’s $200,000, Gr. II Ft. Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream Park and refused to yield, hanging on gamely and scoring by a head. It’s the second graded stakes win for the now 5-year-old son of Bernardini, trained by George Weaver, now 13-5-1-0 with $457,783 in earnings. Consigned by Ocala Stud, Agent, to the 2021 OBS Spring sale, he was purchased for $130,000 by Steven W. Young, Agent, after breezing an Under Tack quarter in :21 3/5. U.S. Equine’s Angel Nadeshiko (Carpe Diem – Ciachetta) captured her first stakes win in the $100,000, Gr. III Robert J. Frankel Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita with a frontrunning ¾ length victory. Fellow OBS grad Oakhurst (Mr Speaker – Happiness Is) checked in third. It’s the first stakes win for the newly- turned 5-year-old daughter of OBS graduate Carpe Diem, now 16-3-3-2 for trainer Patrick Gallagher, with earnings of $227,780. At the 2021 OBS Spring Sale, she turned in an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5 and was purchased out of the Kings Equine consignment for $100,000. Lea Farms’ Power Squeeze (Union Rags – Callmethesqueeze) rated off the pace in Gulfstream’s $150,000 Cash Run Stakes on New Year’s Day, rallied to take command a furlong from home and drew away to score by five lengths. March Sale grad Done Enough (Flameaway – Revengeful Pleasure) checked in third. It was the stakes debut and second straight win for the newly-turned 3-year-old daughter of Union Rags, trained by Jorge Delgado, now 4-2-1-0 with $128,650 in earnings. After turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5 at the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, she was purchased for $90,000 out of the Halcyon Hammock consignment.
Victoriam Farm’s Stone Silent (Adios Charlie – Travelator) tracked the pace from the outside in Gulfstream’s $100,000 Abundantia Stakes on New Year’s Eve, rallied to take charge at the sixteenth pole and eased away late to win by a length and three quarters over OBS June graduate Choose Joy (Munnings – Elegantly). It’s the first stakes victory for the now 4-year-old Florida-bred filly by Adios Charlie, consigned by Ocala Stud, Agent, to the 2022 OBS March Sale and sold for $410,000 after working an Under Tack quarter in :20 2/5. Trained by Brian Lynch, she’s now 9-3-2-1 and has earned $219,698. Pantofel Stable, Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber’s Bold Journey (Hard Spun – Polly Freeze) was a 4-1/2 length winner of the $150,000 Gravesend Stakes on Saturday at Aqueduct, rallying and taking the lead a furlong from home. Fellow OBS graduate Durante (Distorted Humor – Seahawk Girl) settled for third. That’s three straight wins for the graded stakes-winning newly-turned 5-year-old son of Hard Spun, now 20-7-6-0 for trainer Bill Mott, with $568,743 in earnings. He was purchased for $80,000 out of the McKathan Bros. consignment at the 2021 OBS Spring Sale after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10.51.
HALLANDALE BEACH- Gulfstream Park’s 11-race program Saturday not only offers four stakes races, including preps for the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), but a mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6. The sequence, which begins in Race 6, will have all four stakes with the two final sequences being the $150,000 Harlan’s Holiday (G3) at 1 1/16-mile on the main track and $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2) at 1 1/8-mile on the turf. The Rainbow 6 sequence begins at approximately 2:34 p.m. Race 6 (Leg 1) 3-year-olds and up, mile & 70 yards Tapeta, claiming $10,000 There are 15 entered (three on the AE) and Irad Ortiz Jr. is named aboard Unified Weekend, who drops from a $20,000 claimer off a second place finish last time out in October. Two horses go out for new barns after claims. Gooch Go Bragh was claimed by Jorge Delgado (23-percent off claim) and Chapalu by Steve Budhoo (18 percent off claim). Chapalu has four wins from six starts on the Tapeta and is three for six at the distance. Most Wanted Man is on the AE, but if he gets in he’s the only horse coming into the race off a victory. Trainer Mike Maker is 20-percent after winning last start. Most Wanted Man’s only Tapeta start was a victory. Artemus Bridge drops from a third-place finish at Tampa in a $16,000 claimer. He’s 1-2-1 in five starts on Tapeta for Steve Klesaris. Paco Lopez rides. Race 7 (Leg 2) 3-year-olds and up, 5 furlongs turf, $71,000 allowance optional claimer The field of eight may have to run down the quick Cruzin Man, who won a $50,000 claimer at Del Mar and finished third in an allowance optional claimer there before returning to South Florida and getting caught late in his return Dec. 2. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides for Rohan Crichton, a combination that clicks at 45 percent. The son of Chitu is 1-1-3 in five turf sprints. Richy gets Luis Saez and starts for the first time since finishing third in a turf sprint at Saratoga. He enters with a pair of ‘bullet’ works at Nelson Jones Farm and Training Center. Al Atlasi tries the turf for the first time. He broke his maiden on Tapeta in September. Trained by Ralph Nicks, the son of Mshawish is out of Al Khazaaliya, who won around two turns on the turf at Gulfstream. Michael Trombetta saddles Whenigettoheaven, stakes-placed against restricted company in Maryland. Lopez rides. Race 8 (Leg 3) Fillies and mares, 1 mile turf, $125,000 Suwannee River (G3) Very competitive field but Saffron Moon is expected to attract attention coming off a victory in the Cardinal (G3) at Churchill Downs Nov. 23. Chad Brown trains the 4-year-old filly who is three for five on the turf and Tyler Gaffalione rides and draws the rail. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. sends out Accomplished Girl, winner of the Presque Isle Masters (G2) on Tapeta but who hasn’t run longer than 6 ½ furlongs, and Sister Lou Ann, a winner over this course last year and at Kentucky Downs in the One Dreamer in September. Willakia, trained by Graham Motion, was second to Saffron Moon under allowance conditions at Keeneland in October. Tequilera, trained by Michael Matz, is 3-5-3 in 14 turf starts and has won her last two at Kentucky Downs and Laurel Park. Race 9 (Leg 4) 3-year-olds and up, mile & 70 yards Tapeta, $100,000 St. Augustine
A dozen are entered and Fly the W, a winner of 11 of 22 Tapeta races, draws the rail for trainer Bobby Dibona and jockey Luis Saez, who are 29-percent together. Both Mike Maker and Mark Casse have entered a pair. Casse sends out Conglomerate, looking for his third consecutive victory on synthetic, and Volcanic, who is four of six on Gulfstream’s Tapeta. Maker sends out Beuys, who has two seconds and a victory in his last three starts, all on turf, in New York and Kentucky, and Tiberius Mercurius, who raced last time out on the slop at Fair Grounds off a 3 ½ month layoff. Has won three of six on Tapeta. Skyro, trained by Brian Lynch, has won on turf, twice on synthetic, and a couple times on dirt. Won the Sabal Palm over Gulfstream’s Tapeta last out. Race 10 (Leg 5) 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/16-mile, $150,000 Harlan’s Holiday (G3) The prep for the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) has 11 going to post and O’Connor is the 5-2 favorite off his victory last time out in the Fayette (G2) at Keeneland. Saffie Joseph Jr., trains and Tyler Gaffalione rides. Dubyuhnell ran up the track in the Florida Derby (G1) and was off until October when he won at Keeneland. Danny Gargan trains and the 3-year-old breaks from the rail under Luis Saez. Signator, trained by Shug McGaughey, enters on a two-race win streak. Graded placed Ny Traffic has won at the distance but enters off six consecutive sprints. Blue Devil was fourth in the Clark (G2) and third in the Lukas Classic (G3), while Octane enters off a victory in the restricted Campbell Memorial. Race 11 (Leg 6) 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/8-mile, turf, $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2) The prep for the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) brings together a field of 10 and Calumet Farm’s Running Bee is sure to draw attention off an impressive victory at Aqueduct in November off a near year layoff. Chad Brown trains and Irad Ortiz Jr. rides. Brown also trains Stone Age, runner-up in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1). Todd Pletcher saddles Jerry the Nipper, who is stakes placed against New York bred company, and Grand Sonata, fourth in the River City (G3) last time out. Mike Maker saddles two in Red Run, fourth in the Sycamore (G3) and Suburban (G2), and Grade 1 winner Henley’s Joy, who has earned $1.1 million but hasn’t won in 32 starts.
MORRISTON – Pleasant Acres Stallions has announced the arrival of SIMPLIFICATION (Not This Time / Simply Confection, by Candy Ride) – who will stand in 2024 for $6,500. “We are pleased to bring a talented son of NOT THIS TIME into our stallion barn at Pleasant Acres Stallions,” said Director of Stallion Services Christine Jones. “SIMPLIFICATION is a hometown hero for all of us in Florida and we are certain breeders will benefit from breeding to this Horse-of-the-Year, Florida-bred graded stakes winner.” At two, SIMPLIFICATION broke his maiden by an impressive 16 ¾ lengths on the main track at Gulfstream Park. He began his 3-year-old campaign with a front-running four-length victory in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man Stakes, then finished 2nd in the G3 Holy Bull Stakes to a future Breeders’ Cup Classic Winner. Next, he scored a 3 ½-length victory in the G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes and finished 3rd in the G1 Florida Derby – his final prep for the Kentucky Derby, where he finished 4th in a field of 20.
SIMPLIFICATION went on to be 3rd in the G2 West Virginia Derby, G3 Harlan’s Holiday Stakes, and the G2 WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes. A talented athlete, he retired sound with career earnings of nearly $900,000 and was in the money in close to 60% of his races. SIMPLIFICATION beat many exceptional rivals, including MG1 SW WHITE ABARRIO ($4,946,350) 2X, TAIBA ($2,356,200), CYBERKNIFE ($2,137,520), and G1Ws CLASSIC CAUSEWAY ($1,460,707) and MO DONEGAL ($1,511,800). “Simplification’s unique innate talent and competitive mindset made him the Florida champion that I’ve always wanted to train,” said Antonio Sano. “He proved to have speed, stamina, endurance, and above all, courage.” SIMPLIFICATION is a son of NOT THIS TIME – the son of GIANT’S CAUSEWAY, a known provider of stamina. Standing in Kentucky for $150,000, NOT THIS TIME is a Top 10 General Sire of 2023 with five G1Ws, 13 GSWs, 30 BTWs (11.2%), 48 BTHs (18%) and an average of $120,861 per runner. SIMPLIFICATION’s female line is very impressive. He is out of the CANDY RIDE mare Simply Confection – winner of three races with a 2nd in the Rags to Riches Stakes. She was named 2022 FTBOA Broodmare of the Year and is also dam of CHI CHI – winner of the E. L. Gaylord Memorial Stakes.
SIMPLIFICATION’s 2nd dam, Ballado’s Halo, was stakes-placed with a 3rd in the Queen Stakes and Wishing Well Stakes. She produced HALO’S VERSE, dam of SWs INFLEXIBILITY and HALO AGAIN. His 3rd dam, GOULASH, a stakes-winner and graded stakes-placed runner, produced Champion 3YO Filly, Champion Older Female, Hall of Fame (2014) Inductee, and winner of the Breeders’ Cup - ASHADO ($3,931,440). GOULASH also produced G1W SUNRIVER and GSW SAINT STEPHEN. His 4th dam, WISE BRIDE, produced MGSW QUITE A BRIDE – granddam of MG1W LUCK IS BACK. “Simplification is an extremely balanced horse with a great shoulder and strong hind leg. He always gave his all and loved his job,” said Tristan de Meric. “With his physical presence and pedigree there is a lot of potential for him at stud. He’s an exciting addition to the Florida stallion roster and a great value!” SIMPLIFICATION joins stallions Bodexpress (Bodemeister), Chess Chief (Into Mischief), Curlin’s Honor (Curlin), Doppelganger (Into Mischief), Gone Astray (Dixie Union), Gunnevera (Dialed In), Leinster (Majestic Warrior), Magic on Tap (Tapit), Neolithic (Harlan’s Holiday), No Never No More (Scat Daddy), and Sweetontheladies (Twirling Candy), at the 220-acre farm located just northwest of Ocala.
HALLANDALE BEACH - A mandatory payoff of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is scheduled for Saturday’s program at Gulfstream Park. The Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $250,000 for Thursday’s program. The multi-race wager has gone unsolved for eight racing days following the most recent mandatory payout that yielded multiple $50,999 payoffs. Saturday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will include the $125,000 Tropical Park Oaks, $125,000 Sugar Swirl, $125,000 Mr. Prospector and the $125,000 Tropical Park Derby. Accomplished Girl Breezes for Upcoming Stakes - Gentry Farms’ Accomplished Girl, who captured the Gr. II Presque Isle Masters in her most recent start, breezed a half mile Sunday morning in preparation for an upcoming turf stakes. The 3-year-old daughter of Street Boss, who was timed in :50.91 seconds on the Tapeta course, defeated older rivals with a front-running score over Presque Isle Downs’ all-weather surface. “We haven’t decided yet. She’ll run in either the mile or the sprint,” said trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., referring to the mile Gr. III Suwannee River Dec. 30 or the five-furlong Abundantia on Dec. 31. “We’ll decide this week.”
Prior to winning the Presque Isle Masters, Accomplished Girl finished second in a 6 ½-furlong allowance on turf at Kentucky Downs. She previously broke her maiden going five furlongs on turf and captured a 5 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance on Tapeta at Gulfstream.
Who’s Hot: Defending Championship Meet titlist Irad Ortiz Jr, who rode three winners on Friday before making another three trips to the winner’s circle Saturday, tripled again Sunday.
Georgia Antley Hunt, Jeff Giglio and John L. Rogitz’s Nothing Like You (Malibu Moon – Miss Derek) dueled for the lead early in Saturday’s $200,500, Gr. II Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos, shook loose on the turn and drew off in the stretch to score by 5 1/4 lengths.
It’s the second straight stakes victory for the 2-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon, trained by Bob Baffert, now 6-3-1-0 with $237,160 in earnings. At the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, she turned in an Under Tack eighth in: 10 flat and was purchased out of the Wildheart Thoroughbreds consignment for $190,000. KEM Stables’ Hot Fudge (Liam’s Map – Nelle’s Mischief) stalked the leaders three wide in the $120,000 Garland of Roses Stakes at Aqueduct, took over a sixteenth out then held off a late charge to win by a neck. It’s the first stakes victory for the 3-year-old filly by Liam’s Map, consigned to the 2021 OBS Spring Sale by Flying Fish, Agent, and sold for $235,000 after breezing an eighth in :9 4/5 at the Under Tack Show. Now 11-6-1-1 for trainer Linda Rice, she has earned $356,405. Whispering Oaks Farm’s Good and Stout (Coal Front – Ready Witted) saved ground early in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile Stakes, split horses to take over in the stretch then held off a late run to be best by a nose. Fellow OBS Spring Sale graduate Sounds Like Power (Power Jam – Street Sounds) closed to finish third.
It’s the first stakes win for the 2-year-old son of Coal Front, trained by Carrol Castille, now 5-2-1-1 with $101,000 in earnings. At the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, he breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5 and was purchased for $75,000 out of the Julie Davies consignment.
HALLANDALE BEACH -Repole Stable’s Grade 2-placed Noted, back on turf following a disappointing effort in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, found running room late and held off fast-closing longshot Reminder to win Saturday’s $100,000 Pulpit by a neck at Gulfstream Park. The 10th running of the 7 ½-furlong Pulpit for 2-year-olds anchored an 11-race program as co-headliner with the $100,000 Wait a While for 2-year-old fillies – the first two stakes on Gulfstream’s brand-new turf course. Noted ($4.40), beaten a nose in the 1 1/16-mile Bourbon on Oct. 8 at Keeneland in his last try on grass, gave jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. a sweep of Saturday’s stakes following Ozara’s victory in the Wait a While. It was the second straight Pulpit win for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher and third overall after Ari Gold (2022) and Tapwrit (2016). “He had to work out a trip. I was a little worried at the eighth pole. It still looked like he was looking for room but once he got a seam to run at,he quickened nicely,” Pletcher said. “The only thing we wanted to be mindful of is it was 7 ½ [furlongs] and we didn’t want to leave him with too much to do.” Prevent, breaking from the rail, was pressed on the lead by fellow longshot Tocayo through a quarter-mile in :22.90 seconds and a half in :45.91. Ortiz settled Noted in seventh along the rail, and still found himself blocked behind horses after six furlongs went in 1:09.36.
“It felt like they were running,” Ortiz said. “I had to try to stay close. I had good position. At the three-eighths to the quarter pole, I waited a little longer. But when I came out of there and asked my horse to go, he responded very well. He was ready.”
Ortiz tipped outside once straightened for home and then had to swing around Palm Tree inside the eighth pole to find a seam, then closed stoutly down the center of the track as Reminder, racing for the first time on turf after a win and four thirds on Gulfstream’s all-weather Tapeta course, made his bid on the far outside.
Noted completed the distance in 1:27.30 over the firm course and now has two wins and two seconds in five tries on the grass. Reminder was a head in front of Palm Tree in third, with another half-length back to General Ledger in fourth. In his other two races Noted, by 2014 Holy Bull winner Cairo Prince, won the Aug. 26 Sapling at Monmouth Park over Dornoch, a full brother to Kentucky Derby winner Mage who won the Remsen last out, and was last of nine in the Juvenile behind Pletcher-trained stablemate Fierceness.
“I was a little concerned with the 7 ½ but he seemed to come out of the Breeders’ Cup well, he carries good condition and he’s an easy horse to train so I felt like he was ready to run back,” Pletcher said. “We’re not going to rule [dirt] out. If he trains really well we might give him another shot at some stage,” he added. “He’s got that win in the Sapling that looks good on paper, but in the Breeders’ Cup he didn’t fire.” The Pulpit is named for Claiborne Farm’s late Gulfstream-based homebred who won four of six starts in his only season of 1997, including Gr. II victories in the Fountain of Youth and Blue Grass while also running second in the Florida Derby and fourth in the Kentucky Derby, Florida Derby winner Ice Box, 2007 Met Mile winner Corinthian and 2004 Wood Memorial winner Tapit, now one of racing’s most influential sires.
HALLANDALE BEACH - Enjoying one of the best seasons of his highly decorated career, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has made his way back to South Florida with the mission of ending the year as strongly as it began. Ortiz, 31, returns to Gulfstream Park starting Thursday to begin his riding title defense at the 2023-2024 Championship Meet, the nation’s premiere winter racing destination that began its 85-day run Dec. 1. A total of 68 stakes worth $14.875 million in purses will be offered led by the $4.5 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational series Jan. 27 and the $1 million Florida Derby March 30. The Championship Meet concludes March 31. Ortiz will be busy in his first weekend back. He is named in seven of 10 races Thursday and Friday and nine of 11 races Saturday including Ozara for trainer Christophe Clement in the $100,000 Wait a While and Noted for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher in the $100,000 Pulpit. In all, Ortiz is named on 25 horses over his first three days for 17 trainers, among them Mike Maker, Eddie Plesa Jr., Carlos David, Riley Mott, Jose D’Angelo, Joe Orseno, Chad Brown and Jane Cibelli. “It’s great to be back. They support me a lot. I love the people. They treat me really, really good and that makes it special,” Ortiz said. “They make me feel like home. I have some trainers I ride for that are waiting for me there and that keeps me hungry. It’s exciting.” Ortiz arrives at Gulfstream after earning his fifth Bill Shoemaker Award as top jockey at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, raising his career total to 20 wins following victories in the $6 million Classic aboard White Abarrio, $2 million Sprint on Elite Power and $1 million Filly & Mare Sprint with Goodnight Olive. All three horses will be in the mix for Eclipse Awards as divisional champions. For his part, Ortiz is likely headed to a fifth Eclipse Award as champion jockey following wins in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022. According to Equibase statistics, he is approaching his career-high of 346 wins set in 2018 and has already broken his own single-season North American record for purse earnings with $37,791,462. Ortiz banked the previous mark of $37,640,792 in 2022. Ortiz has won 337 races – that and his earnings easily tops in North America – with 65 stakes wins, 40 in graded company. For his career, he has 3,715 wins, 596 in stakes, 304 of them graded, and more than $303.5 million in purse earnings.
“You start good [at Gulfstream] and it’s great because you start the year off on the right foot,” Ortiz said. “It’s very competitive. You have the best jockeys in the wintertime going there. It’s not easy. It’s been working out good, to be honest.”
Represented by agent Steve Rushing, Ortiz returned to the top of the Championship Meet standings last winter with 128 wins, after having his three-year win streak snapped by Luis Saez in 2021-2022. Ortiz also had a meet-high $7.5 million in purse earnings, setting the stage for what has been a memorable 2023 campaign. Ortiz won 14 stakes during the 2022-2023 meet, 10 of them graded, led by 2022 2-year-old champion Forte in the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby and Atone in the $1 million Pegasus Turf. Ortiz also won the Florida Derby in 2021, the $3 million Pegasus World Cup in 2020 and 2022 and has won four of the five runnings of the Pegasus Turf, including three in a row.
Other graded triumphs came in the Harlan’s Holiday, Pan American, W. L. McKnight, La Prevoyante, Kitten’s Joy, Sweetest Chant and Royal Delta. On Feb. 3 he rode seven winners on the card, tying Jerry Bailey, Tyler Gaffalione, Luis Saez and Paco Lopez for the track record while becoming the first to win seven in a row.
Since his first full winter of 2017-2018, Ortiz has won 699 races at Gulfstream, an average of 116.5 per season. He has led the standings four times, winning a track-record 140 races in 2020-2021, and has been first in purse earnings five consecutive years including 2021-2022, when he rode just 279 races and finished with 80 wins and $5.05 million. Nationally, Ortiz has been in the top five in wins and purse earnings every year since 2014 and has won 300 or more races each season since 2015. Also first in purses from 2018-20 and 2022, he is on the way to having the most wins for a seventh straight year. “Believe me, we work so hard and we try to not look back. We just try to do the best we can for the whole year. By this time of year you realize how you’re doing, after all the big races and everything, and we are having a good year,” Ortiz said. “We are very grateful. We thank God for every opportunity they give us to live these moments. We feel blessed to be in this position. We love this game. We love riding and we have to thank the horses because they run for us. They make the sport special.”
HALLANDALE BEACH - The new turf course at Gulfstream Park received rave reviews from jockeys Edgard Zayas and Luca Panici after riding a pair of Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained horses in company for a half-mile this morning.
“It feels great. It’s beautiful,” said Zayas, who captured the riding title during the Sunshine Meet that concluded Saturday. “I can’t wait to ride on it Friday.”
The 2023-2024 Championship Meet gets underway on Friday while offering the first turf races at Gulfstream since the renovation of the grass course began in May.
Zayas was aboard Sunshine Frolic, a 3-year-old son of California Chrome who worked inside General Ledger, a 2-year-old son of Summer Front ridden by Panici.
“Right now, the turf isn’t dry. It’s nice and moist. They got over it great,” Zayas said. “I can’t wait. I love turf racing. It’s my favorite. I’m really excited about the new turf and I’m excited turf racing’s back.” Sunshine Frolic, who broke his maiden on Tapeta in his second career start, and General Ledger, who won his debut impressively on dirt, ran as a team from the half-mile pole to the finish line before galloping out with energy. Both horses were timed in :48.14 seconds. “It’s nice, very consistent. They got over it nice.,” Panici said. “It’s not hard. It’s looking good.” Joseph used the opportunity to participate in the first workouts on the new turf course to introduce Sunshine Frolic and General Ledger to grass. “Both of them have never run on it. Both of them most likely want to run on the grass, most likely,” Joseph said. “One has won on the Tapeta and the other is bred for all grass.” Joseph was visually taken by the pristine surface. “It’s a beautiful piece of ground,” he said. Two races on turf have been carded for Friday’s opening-day program, including a $72,000 optional claiming allowance, a five-furlong sprint featuring the return of Yes I Am Free, who has won the last two runnings of the Gr. III Gulfstream Turf Sprint. Multiple graded stakes-placed Bad Beat Brian is slated to make his local debut for owner/trainer Brittany Vanden Berg in the Race 9 feature.
OLDSMAR - Several thoughts flashed through Kevin Gomez’s mind as his mount in Wednesday’s first race, 2-year-old Florida-bred gelding Lord Knows, bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon at Pleasant Acres Stallions, powered to a 6 ½-length victory on the renowned Tampa Bay Downs turf course. Once the result was made official, the 29-year-old jockey wondered where this racetrack has been through his nine-year career. “It feels amazing,” Gomez said of winning the first race he ever rode at the Oldsmar oval on the Opening Day card. “You always want to start a meet on the right foot, and this will let trainers see my name and give me a chance to ride their horses.” A light mist fell between the third and fifth races, but the conditions did nothing to lessen the quality of racing nor the enjoyment of a festive holiday crowd of 2,821. The all-sources handle for the day reached $3,358,896. Despite finishing second at the recent Delaware Park meet with 59 winners, Gomez has been overshadowed by many of the more experienced jockeys here leading up to the 2023-2024 meet. That might not last for long. “I’ve been here for two weeks, and I’m really liking it,” Gomez said. “My agent, Mark Mace, kept asking me if I wanted to come here, and I got a lot of advice from other people telling me to try it. So, here I am. “I love the weather, of course, and the grass racing, and the friendly atmosphere. The jockeys help each other before the races, but once you break out of the gate you have no friends – you’re on your own,” Gomez said. Gomez earned his second victory in the sixth race, piloting 2-year-old filly Lady Prospect to a front-running 3 ¾-length victory from the late-closing Copper Bound in the 5 ½-furlong maiden event. Lady Prospect is owned by Morris E. Kernan Jr., and Jagger Inc., and trained by Jamie Ness, who won a record nine consecutive Tampa Bay Downs training titles from 2006 through 2015. Gomez’s fellow jockey and competitor Alonso Quinonez is delighted to return. He rides for trainer Tim Padilla, and the duo has enjoyed plenty of success in recent summers at Canterbury Park in Minnesota, where Quinonez tied for fifth in the jockey standings and Padilla took sixth among trainers.
They teamed to win the second and third races with a pair of 3-year-old Florida-breds. Their filly Miss Mac Mac, bred and owned by Peter D. Mattson, improved to 3-for-7 with a 6-furlong tally in the second race, followed by their gelding Summer All Year’s triumph going a mile-and-40 yards. Summer All Year was bred and is owned in partnership by Mattson and Padilla. “I just want to say thank you to the connections, Tim Padilla and Peter Mattson,” said Quinonez, a heady veteran whose 11 career graded stakes victories include five Gr. I's. “Tim has been doing this for a long time, and he knows how to get his horses ready and put them in the right races.” Win or lose, Quinonez enjoys returning to the Tampa Bay area, an emotion of course heightened in proportion to his trips to the winner’s circle. “I love the weather here. I love the people,” Quinonez said. “It’s a good environment for racing.” Samy Camacho, who is bidding this season to win a fourth consecutive Oldsmar jockeys' title and fifth overall, was the third jockey to ride two winners. Camacho scored in the fourth race on Vegas Playboy, a 3-year-old gelding owned by Monmouth Stud and Pinnacle Racing Team and trained by Gregg Sacco. Camacho added the seventh on the turf on Never So Lucky, a 3-year-old filly owned by Monster Racing Stables and trained by Jose H. Delgado. In the featured eighth race, a $53,000, 6-furlong allowance/optional claiming race for horses 3-years-old-and-upward, 6-year-old Florida-bred Feast responded to strong urging from jockey Jose Ferrer, pulling away late for a 6 ¼-length victory from 66-1 shot Big Louie. Bring Theband Home was third.
Feast is owned by Winning Stables and Averill Racing and trained by Gerald Bennett, the track’s reigning training champ and owner of Winning Stables. A stakes-winner who is now 8-for-25, Feast was gelded over the summer, then turned out for some “R & R” at Martin Goodell’s Swanzey Stables South in Ocala. The surgery and the rest, followed by two super-sharp workouts on the Oldsmar oval surface, had him about at his peak, as he raced the distance in 1:09.49, .82 seconds off the track record. Bennett has won the last eight Oldsmar training titles. Around the oval - Tampa Bay Downs is closed today to enable track employees, horsemen and jockeys to celebrate Thanksgiving with their loved ones. Racing continues Friday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:42 p.m. The co-features are the fourth and seventh races, both $54,000 allowance/optional claiming races on the turf.
The fourth race, for fillies and mares 3-years-old-and-upward at a distance of a mile, has drawn 11 entrants, while the seventh, for horses 3-and-upward sprinting 5 furlongs, has attracted 14. Both races are restricted to 10 runners.
Baoma Corp.’s Nysos (Nyquist – Netta Z) is two for two and a graded stakes-winner after an effortless romp in the $100,000, Gr. III Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar on Sunday.
Last of four in the early going, the 2-year-old colt by Nyquist came around his rivals on the turn, took over in the stretch, and drew away to score by 8 3/4 lengths, running seven furlongs in a rapid 1:21 3/5. After taking both starts for trainer Bob Baffert by a combined 19 1/4 lengths, he has earned $96,600. Consigned by Best A Luck Farm to the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, he was sold for $550,000 to Donato Lanni, Agent for Baoma Corp. after turning in an eighth in :9 4/5 at the Under Tack Show. Georgia Antley Hunt, Jeff Giglio and John L. Rogitz’s Nothing Like You (Malibu Moon – Miss Derek) saved ground off the pace in Saturday’s $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes at Del Mar, came off the rail in the drive and caught OBS March graduate Tambo (Enticed – Flatter Me First) late to win by a nose.
It’s the second straight win and first stakes victory for the 2-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon, trained by Bob Baffert, now 5-2-1-0 with earnings of $117,160. At the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, she breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat and was purchased out of the Wildheart Thoroughbreds consignment for $190,000. OBS grads scored a pair of stakes wins on Saturday. Colts Neck Stables' Nothing Better (Munnings – One True Love (IRE)) successfully defended his title in the $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship Stakes, taking the lead at the start and never looking back en route to a 1-1 3/4-length victory.
That’s three stakes wins for the 6-year-old son of Munnings, trained by Jorge Duarte Jr., now 25-9-5-3 with $566,217 in earnings. After breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5, he was purchased for $230,000 out of the Brick City Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2019 OBS Spring Sale. Mark H. Stanley’s Tricky Temper (Into Mischief – Winter Book) tracked the pace from the start of the $100,000 Key Cents Stakes, wore down the leader to take the lead a sixteenth out and was best by a neck at the wire. It’s the first stakes win for the 2-year-old filly by Into Mischief, purchased for $230,000 out of the Sequel Bloodstock consignment at the 2012 OBS Spring Sale after working an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. She's now 5-2-1-0 for trainer Jeremiah C. Englehart.
HALLANDALE BEACH - Undefeated Bentornato breezed six furlongs in 1:13.45 at Palm Meadows Training Center in preparation for a bid to sweep the 2023 Florida Sire Stakes series at Gulfstream Park in the $300,000 In Reality on Dec. 2. “He breezed so, so good,” trainer Jose D’Angelo said following the workout at Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.
The 1 1/16-mile In Reality, the finale of the series for 2-year-olds sired by stallions standing in Florida, will be the son of Valiant Minister’s first race around two turns.
“We’ve been working very hard at stretching him out, and he’s responded very well,” D’Angelo said. “The way we are galloping him every morning is for this kind of distance, and he has responded. I think he’s ready to run the distance.”
Leon King Stable Corp.’s Bentornato has three stakes victories on his unblemished four-race resume. After rallying for a narrow debut victory at five furlongs on July 1, the son of Valiant Minister overcame early bumping to register an eye-catching 4 ¼-length front-running score in the six-furlong Proud Man on Aug. 12. He came right back with a dominating 7 ½-length front-running win in the six-furlong Dr. Fager before scoring by 2 ¾ lengths in the seven-furlong Affirmed. Bentornato, who has raced somewhat greenly despite winning all four races by open lengths, has impressed D’Angelo with his preparation for the In Reality.
“For this race, he’s becoming more focused and keeping his mind on business,” D’Angelo said. “He’s acting more professional going to the track and going back to the barn.” At Gulfstream, Mattingly, who finished second in the Affirmed in his dirt debut, breezed five furlongs on Tapeta in 1:01.69 in preparation for the $300,000 In Reality. “It was a maintenance work. Everything went according to plan,” trainer Joe Orseno said. “Slow in the beginning, and then he picked it up. He galloped out strong.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Hall of Fame and Kentucky Derby winning jockey Bobby Ussery, ranked fifth all-time in earnings when he retired in 1974, has passed away in South Florida.
Ussery, a native of Vian, Oklahoma, was 88.
Ussery won the 1967 Kentucky Derby aboard 30-1 shot Proud Clarion. It was a mount he picked up after his original Derby mount, Reflected Glory, couldn’t make the race due to sore shins. He won the 1960 Preakness with Florida Derby winner Bally Ache. Sports Illustrated called Ussery’s ride aboard Proud Clarion “one of the best in Derby history.” Ussery thought he might have a good weekend in Louisville. "I might have won it with Bally Ache in 1960, but we finished second,” he said. “Then I thought I’d win it with Reflected Glory. When that didn’t work out, I still figured – just a hunch, I guess – that it was my year, no matter what horse I rode. I had a real hunch.” Ussery’s riding career started with a win aboard his first mount, Reticule, in the 1951 Thanksgiving Day Handicap at Fair Grounds. In 1959, he rode a record 215 winners. In 1960 he rode juvenile champion Hail to Reason and won the Preakness, Flamingo and Florida Derby Bally Ache. He also crossed the finish line first in the 1968 Derby, but his mount, Dancer’s Image,on was later disqualified due to an overdose of bute; he was never paid for the ride, and he talked about his disappointment for many years.
In the 1960s, he discovered a riding 'secret' that he sprung on the racing world one day at Aqueduct. From an outside post on the backstretch, Ussery would make no effort to head for the inside, keeping his mount many paths out from the rail heading to the turn, then making a sharp left turn at the spot he had discovered; it acted like a sling and quickly shot him to the lead. It soon became known as "Ussery's Alley," and he used it to perfection, good for many visits to the winner's circle.
Other notable wins for Ussery came in the Whitney, Alabama, Travers, Hopeful, Mother Goose, Canadian International and Queen’s Plate, and the Wood Memorial twice.
Arrangements are pending. Expressions of sympathy may be made in Ussery’s memory to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund at pdjf.org.
HALLANDALE BEACH - Gulfstream Park has released the first condition book for its 2023-2024 Championship Meet, which begins Friday, Dec. 1. Opening weekend of the Championship Meet will mark the opening of Gulfstream’s new turf course. Three races are scheduled on the course opening day and three on the first Saturday of the meet, including the $100,000 Sabal Palm for 3-year-olds and up at a mile. The Saturday program will also include the finals of the Florida Sire Stakes in the $300,000 In Reality for 2-year-olds and the $300,000 My Dear Girl for 2-year-old fillies. The condition book can be found at: https://www.gulfstreampark.com/racing-office/#downloads Fans attending opening day will get a complimentary 2024 wall calendar (no purchase necessary). The Championship Meet will once again be highlighted by Pegasus World Cup Day, featuring the $3 million World Cup and $1 million World Cup Turf on Jan. 27; the $250,000 Holy Bull on Feb. 3.
Fans attending
HALLANDALE BEACH - Kentucky Derby winner Mage, withdrawn from last weekend’s Breeders’ Cup Classic with a fever, is being pointed to a 2024 campaign that could launch in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park. The 1 1/8-mile Pegasus for 4-year-olds and up headlines a spectacular Jan. 27 program featuring seven graded stakes worth $5.2 million in purses including the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf Invitational. Co-owner Remiro Restrepo said that Mage is among a ‘big majority’ of the stable’s horses that remain at The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, Ky. before shipping to their winter home at Gulfstream, where Mage broke his maiden in his debut on Jan. 28 before running fourth in the Fountain of Youth and second in the Curlin Florida Derby on April 1. “The winter home for us is Gulfstream Park, for the entire barn. The horses are there all winter through the end of March, and then the ones that go to Keeneland for any races ship up immediately. The [others] transition to The Thoroughbred Center between the first and the 30th of April [when] the rest of them ship over,” Restrepo said. “Everybody’s trying to ship down [to Florida]. We’ve still got a few more horses to ship down from Kentucky, but we do have a big majority of the horses still up there.”
Following the Kentucky Derby, Mage finished third in the Preakness and second in the Haskell before running seventh in the Travers on Aug. 26 at Saratoga, his most recent start. He breezed four times at The Thoroughbred Center in October and was pre-entered in the Classic but had his name removed after missing a planned work Oct. 29, the day before he was scheduled to fly to Santa Anita Park for the Breeders’ Cup.
“He was doing perfect before the Classic. If you were to have asked me 24 hours before he jumped on the plane, I would have said, ‘We couldn’t be happier. He’s doing as good as he was before the Derby, we’re ready to rock,’” Restrepo said. “And then, 24 hours later, you have to say, ‘Holy smokes. He missed two meals and caught a slight temp.’ How could we jump on the plane? The most incredible thing is, we make plans, and the horses decide whether to execute them or not. “It’s one of those things. It sums up horse racing, right? A lot of things happen outside of your control. They’re animals so you have to be their stewards,” he added. “Unfortunately, we were forced to miss the race and now we’re just kind of taking a step back and looking at our options. We’re looking at the racing calendar for 2024 and figuring out what the best course of action is.” The Pegasus has showcased some of racing’s top older horses to either cap an outstanding career or use as a springboard to later glory. Inaugural 2017 winner Arrogate beat two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome, making his final start, raced four more times was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 2023. Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year, won the 2018 Pegasus in his finale, as did four-time Gr. 1 winner City of Light in 2019. Knicks Go parlayed a 2021 Pegasus victory into Horse of the Year honors, then came back to be second in 2022 in his final race behind Life Is Good, who went on to win three more graded- including the Whitney and Woodward. Art Collector sprung a 15-1 upset in this year’s edition for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. “Obviously he’s a horse with a lot of fans and he accomplished an amazing thing [this] year. There’s a lot of people that are curious. There’s been a lot of horses retired this year, a pretty prominent number of horses, but we’re running in 2024. That’s the most important thing,” Restrepo said. “When the time comes, we’ll start hunkering down on a calendar for the year, some targets, and figure that out. Yes, the Pegasus is definitely one of the possibilities. There’s just a lot of things to consider. We’ll figure that out when we can.”
A Miami native currently attending horse sales in Kentucky, Restrepo owns Mage with Brian Doxtater and Case Chamberlin’s CMNWLTH, assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr.’s OGMA Investments, and Sam Herzberg’s Sterling Racing. Purchased for $290,000 and trained by Gustavo Delgado Sr., Mage has two wins, two seconds, one third and $2,507,450 in purse earnings from seven starts.
“There’s just so much going on. We just finished up a big sale [Tuesday] night. Now we’ve got 12 days of selling here, and there’s no race tomorrow,” Restrepo said. “So, you put that on the back burner. You say, ‘Let’s get through this season and we’ll get to that when we do.’ “He’s running [next year]. There’s no question about that,” he added. “Our goal is to have him ready for an awesome 2024; however, many races or locations or whatever it may be is what we’ve all got to decide as a team. That’s what we’re going to work on once we get a little time. [The Pegasus] is 11 weeks away, it’s not something we’ve got to focus on right now. I know that it’s in the pipeline, and we’ll just go from there.” $100K Rainbow 6 Gross Jackpot Guarantee, New Post Time
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $100,000 when racing returns to Gulfstream Park today with a nine-race program and a new post time of 12:10 p.m. The multi-race wager has gone unsolved for seven programs following a mandatory payout on Oct. 21.
C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stable’s White Abarrio (Race Day – Catching Diamonds) turned in a championship performance in the $6-million, Gr. I Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita.
Rated just off pace in the early going, he went after the leaders on the turn, took command and opened daylight in the stretch, then coasted home the winner by a length. The 4-year-old colt by Race Day, now trained by Rick Dutrow, is a four-time graded stakes-winner, with a 15-7-1-3 career record and $4,946,350 in earnings.
A two-time OBS graduate, White Abarrio was sold by Summerfield (Francis & Barbara Vanlangendonck), Agent, at the 2020 Winter Mixed Sale and then purchased for $40,000 out of the Nice and Easy Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2021 March Sale after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5.
The Ocala Jai Alai Fronton, which was the first pari-mutuel facility in Florida to institute simulcast wagering in the early 1990's when the late Tom Contreras was general manager, will close after business on Saturday to make way for the new Ocala Bets, located at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.
The new venue will begin operations in November and will feature several varieties of poker, at the same time continuing to present intertrack wagering from race tracks around the continent.
The Jai Alai Fronton, which opened in 1973 and over the years was home to some of the greats of the sport - Joey, Aramayo, Laca, Rufino, and even Ocala resident Mark Pinson, discontinued live jai alai many years ago to concentrate on its new poker room and the simulcasting business. The poker room then lost many of its attendees when the poker room opened at Oxford Downs, near The Villages, since busloads of players previously made the trip north to the Fronton.
Andrew N. Warren and Rania Warren’s Raise Cain (Violence – Lemon Belle) came outside for the drive in Saturday’s $250,000 Perryville Stakes at Keeneland, reached the leaders a sixteenth from home, battled to the wire and was best by a head. It’s the second stakes victory for the graded stakes-winning 3-year-old colt by Violence, trained by Ben Colebrook, now 13-3-2-1 with $577,066 in earnings.
Consigned to the 2022 OBS June Sale by Eisaman Equine, Agent, he went through the ring after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 3/5. Bob Baffert unveiled Baoma Corp.’s Nysos (Nyquist – Netta Z) in a Santa Anita maiden special on Saturday, and the 2-year-old colt turned in a dazzling debut, taking the lead turning for home and romping to a 10-1/2 length victory in 1:08 4/5 for the six furlongs. At the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, Donato Lanni, Agent for Baoma Corp., signed the ticket for the son of Nyquist, purchased for $550,000 out of the Best A Luck Farm consignment after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5. Leon King Stable Corp.’s unbeaten Bentornato (Valiant Minister – Her Special Way) made it 4-for-4 with a 2-3/4 length victory in Gulfstream’s $200,000 Florida Sire Affirmed Stakes on Saturday. The 2-year-old son of Valiant Minister took charge on the turn, then cruised to a convincing win over OBS March graduate Mattingly (Bucchero – Battingstar).
He’s a two-time OBS graduate, sold by Stuart Morris at the October Yearling Sale then purchased for $170,000 out of the Golden Rock Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2023 March Sale. Trained by Jose Francisco D’Angelo, the 2-year-old Florida-bred colt has earned $278,830.
Averill Racing and Two Eight Racing’s R Harper Rose (Khozan – True Bliss) is 3-for-3 and a stakes-winner after taking command on the backstretch of Gulfstream’s $200,000 Florida Sire Susan’s Girl Stakes and never looking back en route to a four-length victory. The 2-year-old Florida-bred filly by Khozan is trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. and has earned $197,300. At the 2023 OBS March Sale, she turned in an Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5 before being purchased out of the GOP Racing Stable consignment for $60,000.
NBS Stable and Elements Racing’s Danse Macabre (Army Mule – Sylphide) got a jump on the weekend in Thursday’s $125,000 Glen Cove Stakes at Aqueduct, saving ground, angling out after turning for home, taking charge in deep stretch and scoring by a length and a half over fellow OBS March graduate Dontlookbackatall (Peace and Justice – Celtic Arch).
It’s the third stakes win for the graded stakes-winning 3-year-old daughter of Army Mule, purchased for $55,000 out of the Tom McCrocklin consignment at the 2022 OBS March Sale after breezing an Under Tack quarter in :20 4/5. Trained by Kelsey Danner, she’s now 9-5-3-1 and has earned $927,090. Highfield Investment Group’s Grated Coconut (The Factor – Holiday Diva) scored his first stakes victory with a 12-1/4 length romp in Sunday’s $50,000 Birdcatcher Stakes at Century Downs. Consigned by Julie Davies, Agent, to the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, the 2-year-old son of The Factor was purchased by Highfield for $55,000 after breezing an eighth in :10 2/5 at the Under Tack Show. Now 4-1-0-1 for trainer Craig Robert Smith, he has earned $27,043.
HALLANDALE BEACH - Leon King Stable Corp.’s Bentornato maintained his perfect record Saturday while powering to a 2 ¾-length victory in the $200,000 Affirmed, the second leg of the Florida Sire Stakes Series at Gulfstream Park. The seven-furlong Affirmed co-headlined Saturday’s 11-race program with the $200,000 Susan’s Girl, a seven-furlong stakes for fillies, in the $2.2 million series for 2-year-olds won by heavy favorite R Harper Rose. The Jose D’Angelo-trained Bentornato, who had previously rolled to a FSS first-leg victory in the $100,000 Dr. Fager on Sept. 9, is on course for a bid to sweep of the Florida Sire Stakes series in the $300,000 In Reality at 1 1/16 miles on Dec. 2 at Gulfstream. Bentornato had to survive an objection and stewards’ inquiry concerning crowding during the backstretch run to claim his fourth career win without a loss. The son of Valiant Minister broke alertly to vie for the early lead before jockey Emisael Jaramillo successfully managed to rate the speedy colt just to the outside of early pacesetter Esperon.
With weakening inside pressure, Bentornato assumed a clear lead on the far turn and showed the way into the stretch after briefly being challenged by Sound of the Beast. Hurricane Nelson made a late bid to the outside and Mattingly cut the corner into the stretch to enter contention, but. Bentornato shook off the mild challenges and drew away to victory. “I am so happy. We were so high on him,” D’Angelo said. “We were prepping him, not for this race but for the next one because maybe it will be harder for him. He responded very well. He didn’t look too sharp and need to have the lead. Going two turns, maybe he will get slower fractions and he will be better.” Bentornato collected his third straight stakes victory after running seven furlongs in 1:23.50, built on fractions of :22.59 and :45.50 seconds for the first half mile. “He’s 4-for-4 but he’s still a little green,” said D’Angelo, whose undefeated colt dropped over to the rail in the stretch before changing leads late. “He always wants to go close to the rail, but we can improve that.” Mattingly, a son of Bucchero and a stakes-winner on Tapeta, finished second in his dirt debut, a neck ahead of Hurricane Nelson. D’Angelo swept the first leg of the Florida Sires Stakes series with Bentornato and Welcome Back, who captured the $100,000 Desert Vixen. Unfortunately, Welcome Back was scratched from the Susan’s Girl after sustaining a minor injury Friday night while kicking a stall wall. D’Angelo said undefeated Welcome Back will be ready to compete in the $300,000 My Dear Girl, the third leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series.
Hip No. 353, a daughter of Bolt d’Oro consigned by Kaizen Sales (Richard Kent), Agent, was sold to de Meric Sales, Agent for $135,000 to top the first session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 October Yearling Sale. The bay filly is out of Final Reward, by Arch, and is a half-sister to newly stakes-placed Yatta, third in the recent Selima Stakes at Laurel. Hip No. 193, a son of Omaha Beach consigned by Stuart Morris, Agent, went to Brown Water Stables for $100,000. The bay colt is out of Courageous Cajun, by Treasure Beach (GB), a half-sister to graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Cajun Delta Dawn.
Hip No. 279, a son of Gormley consigned by Summerfield (Francis & Barbara Vanlangendonck), Agent for Spendthrift Farm, was purchased by Shepherd Equine Advisors, Agent for Larry Hirsch, for $100,000. The bay colt, a half-brother to graded stakes-inner Bye Bye, is out of Garnet, by Smart Strike.
Thorostock & Seth Morris Thoroughbreds paid $82,000 for Hip No. 341, a daughter of Good Magic consigned by RSVP Sales, Agent. The chestnut filly is out of Gr. I stakes-placed Antonina (PER), by Awesome Twist, a half-sister to champion Azucena.
Hip No. 171, a son of Honor A. P. consigned by Jose Munoz, was sold to NRClub for $80,000. The bay colt is out of stakes-winner Calamity Jane, by Cowboy Cal, from the family of champion OBS graduate Groovy.
Eduardo Pulgart went to $75,000 for HIP No.157, a son of Volatile consigned by Beth Bayer, Agent. The gray or roan colt is out of Boom Boom Boom, by More Than Ready, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Runup the Colors.
Hip No. 283, a daughter of McKinzie consigned by Summerfield (Francis & Barbara Vanlangendonck), Agent, was sold for $70,000 to Cristom Stable. The dark bay or brown filly is out of stakes-placed Ghost Flower, by Ghostzapper, a half- sister to graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Applicator.
Gina Fennell paid $62,000 for Hip No. 307, a son of Global Campaign consigned by Jose Munoz. The bay colt is out of Hardcore Cat, by Wildcat Heir, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Dorth Vader.
Hip No. 159, a son of Aurelius Maximus consigned by Musketeers Equine (Carmen Matos), Agent, was purchased by Terry Gabriel for $52,000. The dark bay or brown colt is out of stakes-placed Born to D’ Wild, by OBS graduate D’wildcat.
Hip No. 154, a son of Gunnevera consigned by Abbie Road Farm (Lisa McGreevy), Agent, was sold to Stefania Farm for $50,000. The chestnut colt is out of Bold Embrace, by Graeme Hall, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Wavell Avenue.
Tom McCrocklin, Agent, paid $50,000 for Hip No. 162, a son of Win Win Win consigned by Kaizen Sales (Richard Kent), Agent. The dark bay or brown colt is out of stakes-placed Brennan, by Forestry, from the family of graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Gazillion.
Hip No. 324, a son of Khozan consigned by Beth Bayer, Agent, was sold to Robert B. Hess for $50,000. The bay colt is out of OBS graduate House Money, by Wildcat Heir, a full sister to stakes-winning OBS graduate Fiscal Policy. For the session, 175 horses sold for $3,308,500. The average price was $18,906; the median price was $12,000. The buyback % was 41.5.
Danny A. Eplin’s unbeaten Dreamfyre (Flameaway – Appreciating) is 3-for-3 and a graded stakes-winner after gamely taking Santa Anita’s $202,000, Gr. III Surfer Girl Stakes.
Taking the lead at the start, she was headed briefly on the turn by fellow OBS Spring graduate Buttercream Babe (Twirling Candy – Runway Ready) but refused to yield, battling back down the stretch and prevailing by a neck at the wire. It’s the third stakes victory in as many starts for the 2-year-old filly by Flameaway, consigned by S G V Thoroughbreds (Steven Venosa), Agent, to the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, and sold for $140,000 after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5. Trained by O. J. Jauregui, she’s a winner on dirt and turf and has earned $285,000.
HALLANDALE BEACH - e Five Racing Thoroughbreds’ Three Witches held off a stretch challenge from heavily favored Maryquitecontrary to register a half-length upset triumph in Saturday’s $200,000, Gr. III Princess Rooney at Gulfstream Park.
The Princess Rooney, a seven-furlong test for fillies and mares, is a designated Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge Series race that offers a Breeders’ Cup nominated winner a fees-paid berth in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Nov. 4 at Santa Anita. Sent to post at 10-1, Three Witches was one of three Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained fillies in the field of eight entered for the 37th running of the Princess Rooney. The 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief, who was coming off an optional claiming allowance win, recorded the first graded stakes success while making her stakes debut. “She wasn’t far off on numbers if ‘Mary’ didn’t run her best,” Joseph said. “I think Mary fired. I thought she was going to get us. Most of the time when she gets in that spot, she runs down horses.” Settled in mid-pack off a quick pace set by Poiema along the backstretch, Three Witches advanced between horses on the far turn under Leonel Reyes, who swung her three-wide around the tiring pacesetter and R Adios Jersey coming off the turn into the stretch. Maryquitecontrary, who had won her last five races over the Gulfstream track, launched a rally from last with a five-wide sweep on the far turn under Luca Panici and posed a serious threat entering the stretch. However, Three Witches kicked in through the stretch to hold her off. “She’s run some decent races where she showed some glimpses of hope and then she’d disappoint after a couple races. We gave her a break and she came back to win well. Today, she put it together. Obviously, she had to make a jump, and she did,” Joseph said. Three Witches, who had won two of six previous starts, ran seven furlongs in 1:22.89. Maryquitecontrary, a Grade 1-placed Gr. II winner, finished second, 3 ½ lengths clear of third-place finisher R. Adios Jersey. Three Witches is scheduled to sell at the Keeneland November Sale during the week following the Nov. 3-4 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita. “The Breeders’ Cup, we’ll talk about. It’s another jump up. She earned the right to go. We’ll have to decide. [Owner] Bob [Edwards] is going to make that decision. I’ll give him feedback on how she’s doing, but he’ll make the call,” Joseph said. Rodney Lundock’s Maryquitecontrary captured the Gr. II Inside Information during the Championship Meet to cap a five-race winning streak. She was sent to Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey at Keeneland, where she finished second behind Goodnight Olive in the Gr. I Madison. She went on to finish fourth in the G. II Honorable Miss and off-the-board in the Gr. I Ballerina at Saratoga before returning to Gulfstream. Panici was impressed with the effort of the 7-5 favorite, who is currently in the barn of trainer David Fawkes. “She ran good. The pace was tough, 44 [seconds] and 1:09. The first part she was not too [near] the speed,” Panici said. “We got a lot of dirt in the face, but I’m happy because at the end she finished very, very good and we’re looking to run her one mile where I think she belongs. I think this winter she’ll be back good, and that’s the main thing.” Time Passage Wins 3rd Straight in Miss Gracie Stakes Laurie Plesa and Glassman Racing’s Time Passage collected her third straight victory since being sent around two turns on Tapeta, the daughter of Tunwoo scored a dominating victory in the $100,000 Miss Gracie. The Eddie Plesa Jr. trainee scored a front-running 2 ¾-length triumph in the mile-and-70-yard stakes for 3-year-old fillies that offered a $25,000 win bonus for a registered Florida-bred. Florida-bred Time Passage, the 7-5 second choice ridden by Edgard Zayas, ran a mile and 70 yards in 1:41.43 after setting fractions of 23.98 and 46.94 seconds for the first half mile. To Thyself B True rallied for second a neck ahead of Pawky. Coco, the 6-5 favorite, finished fourth.
HALLANDALE BEACH - When last seen at Gulfstream Park, Rodney Lundock’s Maryquitecontrary swept to an eye-catching triumph in the seven-furlong, Gr. II Inside Information on the undercard of the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational.
The 4-year-old daughter of First Dude has returned to regain her winning ways in Saturday’s $200,000, Gr. III Princess Rooney, a ‘Win and You’re In’ Breeders’ Cup Challenge Race. The winner of the seven-furlong sprint for fillies and mares will earn a fees-paid berth in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita. Maryquitecontrary, who followed up her Inside Information score with a second-place finish behind Goodnight Olive in the Gr. I Madison at Keeneland in her first start for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. The homebred filly went on to finish fourth in the Gr. II Honorable Miss at Saratoga before offering a rare off-the-board finish over Saratoga’s muddy track in the Gr. I Ballerina last time out. Now in trainer David Fawkes’ barn at Gulfstream, Maryquitecontrary, who will seek her sixth straight success over Gulfstream’s main track in the Princess Rooney. She has been installed ast5-2 in a field of nine fillies and mares. “She’s been training great since she’s been here,” Fawkes said. “Her last work was really good.” Luca Panici, who has been aboard for the Florida-bred filly’s last eight starts, has the return mount on the filly who was saddled by Joe Catanese for her fifth-race winning streak culminating in her Inside Information victory by 2 ½ lengths. “We have had good results from the beginning. I hope we can keep it going,” Panici said. “Hopefully, back in her hometown, she’ll run really good.” Monarch Stable’s Last Leaf, a multiple graded stakes-placed daughter of Not This Time, has also done her best running at Gulfstream, where she has won six of 16 starts for trainer Ron Spatz, including a 2 ½-length victory in the 2022 Azalea, in which she handed runner-up Maryquitecontrary her last loss at Gulfstream. Maryquitecontrary got revenge in the Inside Information, in which Last Leaf raced extremely wide and finished fifth. Currently trained in Kentucky by Eddie Kenneally, Last Leaf has placed in her last four starts in Kentucky, including a third-place finish behind champion Echo Zulu in the Gr. III Winning Colors at Churchill Downs. Miguel Vasquez has the mount aboard Last Leaf (4-1). Saffie Joseph Jr., who has won the last seven meets at Gulfstream Park, entered three runners in the Princess Rooney Sunday -- Edward Seltzer’s Bluefield (6-1), e Five Thoroughbreds’ Three Witches (8-1) and Sean Defreitas’ Rosie’s Halo (15-1). Bluefield will be coming off a three-month layoff since rallying to finish second in the six-furlong Saylorville Stakes at Prairie Meadows. In her prior start in the Musical Romance, a 6 ½-furlong stakes named in honor of the 2012 Princess Rooney and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint champion, Bluefield scored an impressive four-length win over runner-up Saturday rival Poiema. “She ran really well at Prairie Meadows. The filly that beat her came back to win a stake,” Joseph said. “Seven furlongs might be stretching it, but the key is we learned to ride her patiently.” e Five Racing Thoroughbreds’ Three Witches returned from a five-month layoff for Joseph to capture an Aug. 27 optional claiming allowance at seven furlongs, rallying from off the pace to win going away by 4 ¾ lengths. “Seven furlongs is right down her alley,” Joseph said. “Back at the distance she likes, she’s obviously got to improve, but her figures aren’t that far off. If she can jump forward, she can win it.” Sean Defreitas’ Rosie’s Hero finished fourth in the seven-furlong Sheer Drama at Gulfstream Aug. 19. “She’s probably better at a mile,” Joseph said. “She won and came off the layoff. She didn’t run that well but we needed to get a race into her. She’s going to move forward big.” Rosie’s Halo finished second, beaten by just three-quarters of a length, behind Maryquitecontrary in a first level allowance in June 22.
“Maryquitecontrary is a different horse now,” Joseph said. “But we’ll give it a try.” Edgard Zayas has the call on Bluefield, while Leonel Reyes and Samy Camacho will ride Three Witches and Rosie’s Halo, respectively. Averill Racing and ATM Racing and Jayson Werth’s R Adios Jersey (7-2), a graded stakes-placed multiple stakes-winner, is expected to ensure a lively pace in the Princess Rooney. The 5-year-old daughter of Adios Charlie is coming off a dazzling 5 ½-length victory in the seven-furlong Sheer Drama Stakes at Gulfstream on Aug. 19. Edwin Gonzalez has the return call aboard the Florida-bred mare. BC Racing’s Flakes (20-1) is scheduled to take on her elders in the Princess Rooney. The 3-year-old daughter of Frosted earned graded stakes-placed credentials while finishing third in the Gr. II Gulfstream Park Oaks. The Juan Alvarado trainee has been first or second in three subsequent starts against 3-year-olds, including a victory in the Game Face and a runner-up finish in the Azalea. Emisael Jaramillo is slated to ride Flakes for the first time Saturday. AMO Racing USA’s Olivia Darling (10-1), who captured an optional claiming allowance in her only start at Gulfstream last December, returns for the Princess Rooney after winning three and finishing second four times in eight subsequent starts. The Jorge Delgado-trained 4-year-old daughter of Palace is coming off an allowance win at Parx Aug. 29. Jose Morelos, who was aboard for her Gulfstream score, returns to the saddle. Poiema (8-1) enters the Princess Rooney off an impressive victory in the Edwin Broome Memorial Handicap at Gulfstream in her second start for owner/trainer Joe Catanese. Formerly owned and trainer by Larry Bates, who passed away during the summer, the 4-year-old daughter of Neolithic shook off early pressure while setting the pace in the 5 ½-furlong handicap and drew off to a comfortable 5 ¼-length score. Edgar Perez has the return call.
It's been quite a while since we included an update on the success (or failure) of Florida's gambling spots, so here goes. Today's edition includes the eight venues that feature slot machines.
The amount of cash that flows through the machines at each venue is known as "credits in." The amount of cash that the entity earns is known as "net slot revenue," but that is countered by the onerous 35 percent tax levied by the state of Florida for the privilege of operating the machines, despite the fact that the state does little to earn its share.
Each entity decides how much to pay out, so the differences in the earnings of the eight vary greatly because of the amount of their "payout percentage." Each venue's payout percentage will be listed in its paragraph.
The Florida fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30. The state is always way behind in its auditing process and currently only has statistics up to date from July 1 to July 31.
The number 1 venue based strictly on "credits in" is called Gretna Racing, DBA as Magic City Casino. In reality it is the old Flagler dog track. For the month of July, $161,943,026 was sent through went the machines and it resulted in "net slot revenue" of $9,918,306. It's the best option for the players because it has the best payout percentage of 93.40; its 35 percent tax came to $3,471,407.
The number 2 venue for credits in is The Isle Casino & Racing at Pompano Park, which was the leader in that category for many years before dropping to No. 2. It handled $129,537,791 in July and slot revenue reached $10,759,864, with taxes of $3,765,95. It's blitz of Flagler in the net revenue department was due strictly due to its payout percentage of 90.63, easily highest takeout of the group.
The number 3 credits in figure goes to Casino Miami, the old Miami Jai Alai Fronton, with $126,138,666, revenue of $7,881,157, fifth best of the eight. Takeout of 91.99 percent. Taxes - $2,758,405.
Number 4 of credits in is Hialeah Park Casino with $125,485,404 and revenue of $8,971,854, third best money-maker. Taxes of $3,140,409 and takeout of 92.21 percent.
The old Calder Race Course is No. 5 with credits in of $117,106,375 and revenue of $8,138,699, fourth best money-maker. Calder has the advantage of being pretty far south of Hialeah, and a little north of the cluster around Hallandale Beach. Taxes are $2,848,544 and its takeout is 91.03 percent.
Gulfstream Park holds down the No. 6 spot with credits in of $80,399177 and revenue of $4,794,890. It's in a bad spot with Hollywood dogs two minutes to the north, and the Hard Rock Cafe not far to the west. Taxes are $1,678,211, percentager rate is 91.82.
Seventh in credits in with $70,405,401 and revenue of $3,760,087 is the Casino at Dania Beach, formerly Dania Jai Alai. In the center of a circle of Pompano, Hard Rock, Hollywood and Gulfstream, credits in of $70,405,401, revenue of $3,760,087, taxes $1,316,031.
Big Easy Casino, the old Hollywood dog track, is in a worse position than Gulfstream with the horse track right down the road to the south, Hard Rock to the west and Dania Jai Alai not too far north. Plus, when it first opened, the track was in poor physical shape, lost a lot of business because of it, and even though much has been renovated, it's possible many of the former non-attendees never decided to try it. Credits in is $55,751,685, revenue of $3,102,398, taxes $1,085,839, takeout 92.29 percent.
Mellon Patch’s Lady Radler (Kantharos – Sally Bowles (SAF) saved ground in the early going of the $299,750 Dogwood Stakes (G3) on Saturday night at Churchill Downs, came off the rail on the turn, charged to the lead a furlong from home and drew off to a 2 3/4-length victory.
It’s the first graded stakes win for the 4-year-old filly by Kantharos, purchased for $37,000 out of the Eddie Woods consignment at the 2022 OBS March Sale after breezing an eighth in :10 2/5 at the Under Tack Show. Trained by Michael B. Campbell, she has earned $371,200 and compiled a 10-5-2-1 career record to date. Ernest C. Frohboese’s Chi Chi (Audible – Simply Confection) was a maiden going into Sunday’s $50,000 E. L. Gaylord Memorial Stakes at Remington Park and a stakes-winner at the finish, coming from just off the pace, chasing down the leaders in the lane and scoring by a length and a quarter. The 2-year-old Florida-bred daughter of Audible, consigned by Stuart Morris, Agent, to the 2022 OBS Winter Mixed Sale, is now 3-1-0-0 for trainer Herman Wilensky, and has earned $36,560.
FMQ Stables’ Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming – New Narration) stamped himself a major player in the 3-year-old division, going right to the front in the $1,000,000, Gr. I Pennsylvania Derby, opening daylight in the stretch and holding off a late run to score by half a length. OBS June Sale graduate Il Miracolo (Gun Runner – Tapit’s World) checked in third.
After a pair of near misses in graded stakes company, it’s the first stakes win for the lightly raced 3-year-old colt by Always Dreaming, trained by Brad Cox, now 5-3-2-0 with $817,085 earnings. Consigned by Top Line Sales, Agent, to the 2022 OBS Spring Sale, he was sold for $240,000 after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat. Matt Kwiatkowski, Jason Kaylor and Roger D. Browning’s Nobody Listens (Conveyance – Royalesque) took the lead just after the start of the $250,000, Gr. III Turf Monster Stakes, turned for home in front and waved goodbye from there, drawing away to a three-length victory.
It’s the fourth straight victory and fifth stakes victory for the 5-year-old son of Conveyance, purchased for $40,000 out of the Southern Chase Farm consignment at the 2020 OBS Spring Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. Trained by Tim Eggleston, he’s now 26-14-7-1 and has earned $704,230.
West Point Thoroughbreds and Steven Bouchey’s Carson’s Run (Cupid – Hot N Hectic) is a Gr. I stakes-winner with a berth in the gate at the upcoming Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita after a 2 1/4-length victory in the $522,500, Gr. I Summer Stakes at Woodbine.
Trailing going to the turn, the 2-year-old colt by Cupid circled the field to reach contention turning for home, took command on the far outside a furlong out and drew away from there. Fellow OBS Spring graduate Go With Gusto (Medaglia d’Oro – Itsagiantcauseway) rallied wide for third.
Second last time out in Saratoga’s Gr. III With Anticipation Stakes, Carson’s Run is now 3-2-1-0 for trainer Christophe Clement and has earned $314,529. At the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, he turned in an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5 and was purchased for $170,000 out of the Randy Mills consignment.
Joseph P. Morey Jr.’s Vote No (Dividisero-Sista's Ready) is two for two and a stakes-winner after a three-quarter length victory in the $500,000 Juvenile Turf Stakes on Wednesday at Kentucky Downs.
Turning for home in contention, he sustained his run down the stretch, caught the leaders in the final yards and ran by for an emphatic victory. He’s a two-time OBS graduate, sold by KP Sales at the 2022 October Yearling Sale and then purchased for $50,000 out of the de Meric Sales consignment at the 2023 June Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5.
The first stakes-winner for his sire, he’s trained by William E. Morey and has earned $316,800.
HALLANDALE BEACH - Cipriano Gil celebrated his first victory in the U.S. after guiding Queen Macha to a half-length triumph in today’s second race at Gulfstream Park.
Carlos Perez-trained Queen Macha ($12.60), who was making her first start in nearly a year in the $35,000 claiming race for fillies and mares on Tapeta, was Gil’s seventh mount since venturing to Gulfstream from Venezuela. “I thank everyone who has helped me since I came here from Venezuela,” Gil said through a translator. “I’m very happy to get my first winner in the United States.” The 24-year-old jockey began riding at the age of 15 and has ridden more than 500 winners in Venezuela. Poiema Pays Tribute to Late Owner/Trainer in Stormy Embrace Poiema, who campaigned for Larry Bates prior to the highly respected owner/trainer’s passing in July, scored a commanding 5 ½-length victory in the $60,000 Stormy Embrace. “That …was for Larry,” said new owner/trainer Joe Catanese in the winner’s circle while pointing to the sky. Making her second start for Catanese, the 4-year-old daughter of Neolithic took the lead shortly after the start of the 6 ½-furlong overnight handicap for older fillies and mares and drew away to a comfortable victory under Edgar Perez. “She’s been training very well. I was looking for her to run a good race,” said Catanese, who saddled Poiema for a second-place finish Aug. 18. Poiema, the 1-2 favorite in a field of seven, ran 6 ½ furlongs in 1:18.09. She’s Outta Here, a 31-1 long shot who chased Poiema right out of the rate to no avail, finished second, a half-length ahead of Sophia’s Storm.
HALLANDALE BEACH - After Welcome Back barely prevailed in the $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies, Bentornato proved much the best in the $100,000 Dr. Fager, giving trainer Jose D’Angelo a sweep of Saturday’s Florida Sire Stakes at Gulfstream Park. In the first leg of the series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions, Soldi Stable’s Welcome Back eked out victory by a nose following a troubled trip, while Leon King Stable Corp.’s Bentornato never gave D’Angelo an anxious moment while scoring by 7 ½ lengths. “I’m very happy,” D’Angelo said. “Last year, it was my goal to pick up and train horses for the Florida Sire Stakes. We worked hard at the sales. Thank God, we won both races.” Bentornato, it should be noted, is Italian for WelcomeBack. Bentornato, who was purchased for $170,000 at the OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training, remained undefeated in three starts while following up a 4 ¼-length triumph in the six-furlong Proud Man at Gulfstream on Aug. 12. “I was very confident in him today. In his last stake he wasn’t really ready because he had a fever before the race and missed a couple of very important workouts,” D’Angelo said. “For this race, I just worked him two times, easy for him, without company. Last race I had to push him to get ready.” The son of Valiant Minister, the 2-5 favorite in a field of nine, broke alertly from his outside post position and advanced along the backstretch to hook up with Dickens approaching the far turn without pressure from jockey Emisael Jaramillo. Asked to pick up the pace on the far turn, Bentornato quickly opened up a clear lead on the turn into the homestretch and drew off with authority. Bentornato ran six furlongs in 1:11. 44 off half-mile fractions of :22.33 and :45.51 seconds.
Dickens, who was coming off a third-place finish in the Gr. III Sanford at Saratoga, held gamely to finish second, 1 ½ lengths ahead of Jive. Bentornato will be pointed toward the next two legs of the Florida Sire Stakes, the $200,000 Affirmed at seven furlongs on Oct. 21 and the $300,000 In Reality at 1 1/16 miles on Dec. 2. “I think he will go longer, because of the way he trains,” D’Angelo said. Welcome Back, who inherited the role of favorite when 7-5 morning-line favorite R Harper Rose was scratched Saturday morning due to a fever, was coming off an impressive debut victory that came against winners on Tapeta in a July 29 optional claiming allowance. The strapping, long-striding daughter of Adios Charlie, got away from the gate well to chase pacesetter Field of Greens along the backstretch with Epona’s Hope to her outside. Jockey Edwin Gonzalez was forced to check Welcome Back on the far turn when Epona’s Hope made an outside move to the lead, allowing Mist to get the jump on her with an outside move of her own. Gonzalez made a four-wide move on the turn into the homestretch as Mist set her sights on Epona’s Hope. It took Welcome Back time to get untracked and employ her huge stride, but she was able to prevail over Mist by a nose at the wire. “My filly was a little green, between horses, she’d never run between horses. So today she was between horses and she’s so big, so I have to check a little when the 8 [Epona’s Hope] comes down. She almost clipped heels,” Gonzalez said. “When I take her out, she grabbed her spot, and she came running.” Welcome Back ($3.60) ran six furlongs in 1:14.28 after fractions of :23.46 and :46.68 seconds. Mist finished second under Emisael Jaramillo, a half-length ahead of Epona’s Hope and jockey Edgar Perez. The Soldi Stable homebred sported an equipment change that may well have meant the difference between victory and defeat. “We put on her today a new bit. She looked much better today because when Edwin wants to move her, she responds very well,” D’Angelo said. “I’m very happy with the race.” Welcome Back will be pointed toward the $200,000 Susan’s Girl, the seven-furlong second leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series on Oct.21. The $300,000 My Dear Girl, the 1 1/16-mile series final, is scheduled for Dec. 2. “I think the hard race for her is going to be this one because she’s perfect to go long,” D’Angelo said. “I was afraid this race was going to be too short for her, so I’m happy she won the race."
Zedan Racing Stables’ Arabian Knight went straight to the lead in Del Mar’s $1,000,000, Gr. I Pacific Classic Stakes, set the pace, then turned back a late bid by Haskell winner Geaux Rocket Ride to score by a neck. It’s the second graded stakes win for the 3-year-old colt by Uncle Mo and assures him a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
He was purchased by Gary Young on behalf of Zedan Racing for a sale-topping $2.3 million out of the Top Line Sales consignment at the 2022 OBS Spring Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5. Trained by Bob Baffert, he’s now 4-3-0-1 and the newest OBS millionaire with $1,244,275 in earnings.
HALLANDALE BEACH - Leonel Reyes collected his first riding title in the U.S. and Saffie Joseph Jr. captured his seventh consecutive training championship at Gulfstream Park, where the Royal Palm Meet came to a close Sunday. Reyes had ridden more than 1,400 winners in Venezuela before venturing to South Florida in 2016 and steadily gaining the respect of trainers and racing fans with each passing year. The 37-year-old riding veteran got off to a quick start for the meet that kicked off April 4 and never looked back, finishing with 93 victories, 18 more than runner-up Edwin Gonzalez. “It’s amazing. It’s been a lot of hard work,” Reyes said. “I’ve been riding new horses every day. I work hard every morning. I’m very happy for this.” Reyes, who rode 30 winners during the Championship Meet, has surpassed the 100-win mark in 2023 for the second year in a row. After being locked in a tight race with Jose D’Angelo for much of the meet, Joseph finished strongly to add another title at Gulfstream, where he has won the Championship Meet title the past two years. Joseph sent out 66 winners, 11 more than D’Angelo.
“This meet means a lot after what we went through in May and having to go through that experience,” Joseph said. “To keep the ball rolling and having our name cleared, which should have been done in the beginning, it means a lot. The title means a lot. They all mean something but this one is right up there with the Championship Meet ones.” Michael Yates-trained Dean Delivers was the equine star of the Royal Palm Meet, during which he scored a 2 ¾-length triumph in the $100,000 Smile Sprint (G3) July 1 before going on to finish third in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1) at Saratoga. Smile Sprint runner-up Big and Classy was the winningest for the meeting that kicked off April 4 with five victories for trainer Bobby Dibona. The Sunshine Meet gets under way Friday and will run through Nov. 26 leading up to the Championship Meet opener Dec. 1. The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $75,000 Friday after the multi-race wager went unsolved Sunday for the fourth consecutive racing day following a mandatory payout. The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 3-8, featuring a first-level optional claiming allowance for 2-year-olds going 5 ½ furlongs on Tapeta. Victor Barboza Jr.-trained Grand Mo the First, a son of Uncle Mo, returns after graduating at first asking by 2 ¼ lengths on Tapeta. Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained Big Effect, who finished off the board in the Proud Man on the main track last time out, is also entered. The son of The Big Beast lost a photo finish to highly regarded Bentornato in his debut on Tapeta before graduating by nearly seven lengths on dirt.
HALLANDALE BEACH - A mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool yielded multiple $11,351 payoffs today at Gulfstream Park, after the popular multi-race wager had gone unsolved for 20 consecutive programs. There was a Rainbow 6 jackpot pool carryover of $338,577 heading into the wagering on the six-race sequence that spanned Races 5-10. A total of $1,804,569 was wagered into the Rainbow 6 pool. War Cross (4) kicked off the sequence with an 18-1 upset victory in Race 5, followed by an impressive debut romp for juvenile Secret Chat (1) at 7-2 in Race 6. Flag Woman (7) pull off a mild upset over even-money favorite Trust Me at 5-2 in Race 7. Volcanic (3) became the first favorite to succeed in the Rainbow 6 sequence in Race 8, scoring at 9-5. The Sheer Drama Stakes went to even-money favorite R Adios Jersey (3) in the Race 9 feature. Macassa (1) closed out the sequence while scoring at 9-1 in Race 10. The Rainbow 6 will start anew Sunday, when the sequence will span Races 4-9, featuring a mile optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares on Tapeta in Race 8. Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained Time Passage, who came up less than a length short of victory after being caught up in traffic last time out, is rated as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in a well-balanced field of nine.
R Adios Jersey Returns to Winning Form Multiple stakes-winner R Adios Jersey returned to winning form while scoring a dominant front-running victory in the $65,000 Sheer Drama. In addition to her winner’s share of the base purse, the 5-year-old daughter of Adios Charlie earned a $25,000 win-only bonus offered to a Florida Sires Stakes-eligible winner of the seven-furlong stakes for Florida-bred fillies and mares. Winless in four starts since capturing a seven-furlong Florida-bred stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in December, the Georgina Baxter-trained R Adios Jersey looked like a winner from the start of the feature. The even-money favorite jumped to a clear early lead and was never threatened thereafter, scoring by 6 ½ lengths. She completed seven furlongs in 1:23.28 and gave jockey Edwin Gonzalez his third winning ride of the afternoon while racing without blinkers for the first time. “She was more like her old self today. I couldn’t be more proud,” said Baxter, who trains R Adios Jersey for Averill Racing, ATM Racing and Jayson Werth. “She has a big heart. Seven furlongs, blinkers off, and Edwin gave her a great ride.” Charlies Wish, a daughter of First Dude, finished second, 5 ½ lengths ahead of Race Day Speed.
HALLANDALE BEACH – Case Chambers’ Let Them Watch put on a show Sunday at Gulfstream Park while scoring a dominating victory in the $65,000 Sharp Susan.
While remaining undefeated and unchallenged in her second career start, the Michael Maker trainee picked up a $25,000 win-only bonus available to a registered Florida-bred winner in the six-furlong race for juvenile fillies. Although the 4-5 favorite is a registered Florida-bred, the daughter of red-hot Kentucky stallion Maximus Mischief is not eligible for the upcoming $100,000 Desert Vixen, the first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes for juvenile fillies at Gulfstream Park Sept. 9. Jockey Hector Diaz, who was aboard for Let Them Watch’s 6 ¼-length debut victory at Gulfstream on July 7, positioned his mount outside early pacesetter Avellino along the backstretch during a 21.90-second first quarter of a mile. Heading into the far turn, Let Them Watch kicked past the early pacesetter to quickly open a clear lead on the turn into the homestretch to virtually clinch the victory while well clear of her rivals. She shortened stride late but was never in danger of being caught and crossed the finish line 2 ¾ lengths in front. “When I was working her, I thought she didn’t need to be on the lead. But she has so much speed, that she gets it. She got a little tired late because we moved a little early,” Diaz said. “I think she’s going to keep improving."
Let Them Watch ran six furlongs in 1:12.73, Kiss rallied to finish second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Epona’s Hope. Diaz has made an impression since relocating to Gulfstream for the Royal Palm Meet while maintaining a 20-percent strike rate. “I wanted to try something new,” Diaz said. “I love it so far. I don’t mind the hot when I win."
LRE Racing and JEH Racing’s ageless Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed – Achalaya) captured Saratoga’s $500,000, Gr. I Fourstardave Handicap for the second straight year on Saturday and earned a berth in the gate for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Rating off the pace on the outside, Casa Creed went after the leaders turning for home, caught familiar foe Annapolis a sixteenth from home, and was best by three-quarters of a length at the wire. The 7-year-old son of Jimmy Creed, trained by Bill Mott, is a six-time Gr. I stakes-winner. He has compiled a 33-9-5-5 career record and earned $2,460,308 since his purchase for $15,000 out of the Janie Roper consignment at the 2017 OBS Winter Mixed Sale.