Bernie Dickman

Credit Ocala jockey Jose Ortiz for getting Gone Astray his third winner this month.

She’s Classy was making a strong wide move from behind on the turn in the third race at Gulfstream Park yesterday, when Ortiz suddenly yanked her to the left and she split horses and out-gamed three rivals to the wire, winning by half a length. The 5-year-old mare bred by Craig L. Wheeler upped her record to 4-4-8 in 25 starts and the check for $14,800 lifted her earnings to $97,865.

She’s Classy, who has won three of her last six plus a second, paid $24.20 after racing 5 1/2 furlongs on the Tapeta surface in 1:03.15.

Joe and Helen Barbazon struck for two breeders’ awards yesterday via former Pleasant Acres stallions, one with long-time partners at Gulfstream Park in track-record time and the other at Tampa Bay Downs.

Extendo, a 3-year-old colt by Handsome Mike who is now 2-for-3, went wire-to-wire at Gulfstream under Luis Saez, winning a $39,000 starter optional claimer by nearly seven lengths in a record 1:01.61 for 5 1/2 furlongs over the Tapeta track. Bred in partnership with Ed Seltzer and Beverly Anderson, Extendo collected $23,800, boosting his three-race take to $43,840. The $25,000 OBS June 2-year-old is out of Jeekers, who now has five foals and five winners.

At Tampa, Poseidon’s Myth, a 5-year-old gelding by Poseidons Warrior bred by the Barbazons, won the eighth race by a nose under Angel Arroyo for his first career victory.

Add Bad Water to the rapidly growing list from Bucchero’s first crop who have come out running, although the gelding trained by Ocala’s Robert Smith did it a little differently than the 14 winners before him. As opposed to most of the stallion’s 2022 successes who have gone wire-to-wire or sat close to the lead in the early going, Bad Water was about eight lengths behind coming to the turn in the five-furlong race at Tampa Bay Downs.

The gelding showed just three forgettable works on his tab leading up to yesterday’s debut, two of them at Smith’s Wesfield Farm, yet Bad Water was bet down to 5/2. With Marcos Meneses up, he was off sixth in the two path, and remained there down the backstretch as the pacesetters widened the gap between them through fractions of :21.74 and :45.94. But Meneses switched into overdrive on the turn and his mount gobbled up the leaders, aided by his rider saving tons of ground by wrangling him to the rail. From there, Bad Water battled down the lane against the other two first-timers in the race, and prevailed by a neck in a three-horse photo.

Bucchero’s first 3-year-old winner, who was bred by Dr. Ross Russell, paid an even $7 after getting the five-eighths in :58.83, and earned a check for $10,300.

Valuable Breigh kicked off her 2023 campaign with as imposing a performance that any runner could make, while giving Gone Astray his second winner of opening week of the New Year.

The 4-year-old filly bred by Carol A. Reitman, Susan Gannon and Warren Miller exploded in the stretch going 6 1/2 furlongs at Parx Racing, leaving the field behind in the last eighth of a mile and winning in the mud by an eye-opening 12 1/4 lengths. Yabriel Ramos was the recipient of the rocking-chair ride, which began with an early battle that ended when Valuable Breigh opened up daylight and was never threatened following a :22.76 quarter. Her Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 85 was by far her career best.

Valuable Breigh earned $13,200 for her victory, lifting her total to $58,240; she’s posted a record of 3-1-1 in 15 starts.

The honor of becoming the first Florida-bred runner to win a race in the New Year goes to Rubysa, a just-turned 5-year-old mare by Gone Astray who captured the second race at Gulfstream Park yesterday after Pennysylvania-bred Spy Novel won the first.

Ridden by Ocala’s Jose Ortiz, Rubysa was off with the leaders in the race at a mile and 70-yards over the Tapeta course, took up a stalking position in the two path down the backstretch, went up for the lead on the turn and held it down the lane, scoring by half a length in 1:41.07.

Bred by Inversiones Fl, Rubysa raised her record to 3-4-3 in 15 starts, and the check for $14,700 lifted her earnings to $65,920. She paid $5.20.

Gone Astray wound up 2022 as Florida’s fifth-leading sire with 48 winners and progeny earnings of $1,896,942. Earlier in the week, he passed the $15 million mark lifetime.

In the space of eight races, Tiz No Clown has become a source of great satisfaction for William Earl Atkins.

The 2-year-old Maryland-bred colt by No Never No More won for the second time yesterday in a $62,500 allowance optional claimer at Laurel, collecting a check for $37,260 and boosting his total for the year to $81,857. Atkins, the colt’s owner and trainer, purchased Tiz No Clown for a paltry $2,200 as a weanling at the 2020 Timonium December sale, making him one of the great bargains of the 2022 2-year-old crop.

Yomar Ortiz was in the irons for Tiz No Clown’s six-furlong test, and he broke the colt on top, then eased him back to fourth, off the rail. Ortiz sent him after the leaders on the turn, and Tiz No Clown didn’t clown around, out-gaming 2-1 favorite Lost Weekend to the wire by a nose. The colt bred by Stephen E. Smith and Denise Jones paid $51.80 after getting the six furlongs in 1:12.64.

LATEST NEWS; As the 2022 season came to a close, Gone Astray passed the $15 million mark in career progeny earnings.

Dropkick Murphy broke his maiden in his third start with a dominating wire-to-wire performance at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday and his sire, Bucchero, will wind up his freshman season tied for the Florida lead in the winners’ department.

The 2-year-old colt became winner No. 14 for Bucchero, deadlocking him for the lead with Awesome Slew. Neither stallion has a runner entered today, and Bucchero’s first-year progeny earnings will top out at $638,575.

Pablo Morales rode Dropkick Murphy, who shot out of the gate and into the lead and held it for the entire six furlongs. He paid $9.40 after passing the markers in :22.13 and :45.34, en route to a four-length score in 1:10.34 for his owners and breeders, Irish Eyes Stable and Going in Circles LLC.

Toddchero has added another stakes-placed effort to his resume and now has five to his credit in his first racing season. At odds of 16-1, the 2-year-old colt by Bucchero finished third in the $100,000 Sugar Bowl Stakes at Fair Grounds, his third time in the show position in eight races; he also has two runner-up finishes.

Bucchero’s No. 1 earner missed the runner-up spot by a nose in the six-furlong race that went in 1:09.46 and earned his best Equibase ‘E’ speed figure, an 85 . He picked up $10,000, raising his total to $95,600 on a record of 1-2-4, and sent his sire’s progeny earnings to $601,355. The colt bred by GDS Racing Stable has campaigned at six tracks.

Stallions who enjoyed their beginnings in the breeding shed at Pleasant Acres hit the jackpot yesterday at Florida’s tracks, accounting for four winners at Tampa Bay Downs and one at Gulfstream Park. The four at Tampa earned a total of $50,735, and the one at Gulfstream $31,800; $82,535 in all.

3rd race Tampa: China Beach, 4yo g by Treasure Beach won by 7 1/4 with Jose Alonso; paid $21.80, earned $10,095. Bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon.

4th race Tampa: Handsome Playboy, 2yo g by Handsome Mike won by 4 1/4 with Pablo Morales; paid $4, earned $19,850. Owned and bred by Gerald and Mary Bennett.

5th race Tampa: Fierce Warrior, 3yo g by Poseidon’s Warrior won by 4 1/2 with Angel Arroyo; paid $7.60, earned $10,395. Bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon.

8th race Tampa: Lord Berrier, 4yo g by Poseidon’s Warrior won by a head with Hector Diaz Jr; paid $5.60, earned $10,395. Bred by Bonnie Heath Farm.

1st race Gulfstream: Keanu, 2yo g by Brethren won by 1/2 with Juan Alvarado; paid $17.20, earned $31,800. Owned and bred by Arindel.

Gone Astray’s run toward $15 million in career progeny earnings is close to fulfillment after the dominating victory of The Biggest One in the third race at Parx yesterday.

The 4-year-old filly bred by Inversiones Fl won her second straight in the space of 14 days with Ruben Silvera in the irons, the first on Dec. 7 coming by 4 3/4 lengths, and yesterday’s by three. She raised her record to 4-4-3 in 24 starts and the check for $13,200 increased her total to $90,960. This year alone, she’s 3-2-3 in 14 tries with earnings of $57,620, and Gone Astray stands at $14,979,892; he could reach the $15 million milestone in the next couple of days.

In yesterday’s race at six furlongs, The Biggest One was off in the two path, head-and-head for the lead in a :22.86 quarter. She then shook loose on the turn and drew off in mid-track down the stretch, winning in 1:14.77 without a challenge and paying $7.40.