Bernie Dickman

Sharp handicappers who paid attention to the last seven workouts of If Not For Luck, presumably made a nice score when the 3-year-old Neolithic colt broke his maiden in his first start in a $53,000 maiden special at Gulfstream Park on Sunday.

Trainer Marcial Navarro had If Not For Luck on edge for his seven-furlong debut, with each of his seven works a little better than the one before, and the colt who sold three times at OBS – the last one for $35,000 – lived up to his morning trials. With Jose Morelos aboard, If Not For Luck rushed out for the lead and hooked up in a head-and-head battle outside Bahamian Captain, passing the quarter in :22.65. The battle continued on the turn for home, when Morelos let his colt out and If Not For Luck prevailed by a length despite having to alter course in mid-stretch to avoid clipping heels, while Peter Aiello announced, “If Not For Luck – running huge in his debut.”

If Not For Luck is Neolithic’s fourth winner of 2022, and he rewarded his faithful to the tune of $24.40 while earning a check for $31,800. He raced the seven furlongs in 1:25.27.

World Gone Wild passed the $100,000 mark in career earnings yesterday with a hard-fought victory in the $65,000 Villanova Starter Handicap at Parx Racing.

The 4-year-old daughter of Gone Astray added $39,000 to her bank account, increasing her career total to $135,810. The often-claimed filly bred by Dr. Myron R. Wilson sports a record of 5-3-0 in 17 starts, and she gave Gone Astray his 11th winner of 2022. She’s won two of her last three.

World Gone Wild was away quickly with Ruben Silvera, and immediately went after pacesetter Midtown Rose as they reached the quarter in :23.13. The order never changed for the entire length of the 6-furlong trip, except when World Gone Wild nailed Midtown Rose in the final yards. She went on to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:12.98, and it was nearly nine lengths back to the third-place finisher.

World Gone Wild has proven to be a veritable bargain; she sold for $3,000 as a yearling at the 2019 OBS October sale.

Headline writers and track announcers will have to get used to writing about and pronouncing Nameeomee, who made it 2-for-2 at Charles Town last night and gave Gone Astray his 10th winner of 2022.

Announcer Paul Espinosa Jr. called the 3-year-old filly Nah-me-oh-me as she scored a half-length victory in a 4 1/2-furlong, $30,800 allowance race. The oddly-named filly broke her maiden in her first start on Dec. 11, winning by 3 1/2 lengths and paying $56.60.

Despite the impressive debut, Nameeomee went to the post at odds of 10-1 with Christian Hiraldo aboard and paid $23.40 after completing the trip in :53.40. She followed the pacesetters early, then came from three lengths back in the stretch to outrun three rivals to the wire, out-gaming 4/5 favorite Always Mia in a driving finish. Nameeomee earned $18,480 for owner/breeder John R. Cothran Jr., raising her two-race total to $29,388. She received an 81 Equibase ‘E’ speed figure.

It took Skyler Spanabel three tries to get the lowdown on Lil Green Machine, and the duo hooked up at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday in try No. 4 to break the maiden of the 4-year-old gelding by Ride on Curlin.

Spanabel had guided Lil Green Machine to two seconds and a fourth before using a rail-running ride to gain his first victory. The gelding was purchased by Karyn Phillipp for $3,000 as a yearling at the OBS October sale in 2019, and yesterday’s check of $9,495 increased his bank account to $25,630 for his owner/trainer.

Lil Green Machine broke fourth in the race at six furlongs and dropped back to sixth along the backstretch, about five lengths off the pace. Spanabel then slipped him through on the inside on the turn and into the stretch and they ran down the last two rivals in the last 50 yards to win by half a length and become Ride on Curlin’s fourth winner of 2022.

Last week, Pleasant Acres celebrated three winners in the span of two days, the first two at Gulfstream Park with Charlotte the Brit and Emirates Affair garnering breeders’ awards for Joe and Helen Barbazon. The third victory, by Blissful Change at Fair Grounds, was the result of a partnership of the Barbazons with Ed Seltzer and Beverly Anderson.

Two more breeders’ awards were earned at Tampa Bay Downs on Wednesday via runners by Treasure Beach. The Barbazons earned an award in the seventh race courtesy of China Beach, a 4-year-old gelding who won by 2 1/2 lengths at a mile on the turf course in a maiden race with a purse of $19,000. He paid $11.

Two races later, Awilda’s Treasure lit up the tote board at $51.20, winning by 1 1/2 lengths in a one-mile race on the turf with a purse of $18,950. The 4-year-old filly is another product of the Barbazon-Seltzer/Anderson partnership.

At the 2021 OBS June sale, Span Investments made an investment of $13,000 for a 2-year-old daughter of Gone Astray bred by Ruben Valdes. Only four races into her career, Stormy Pattern has proven to be a solid financial investment for Span and trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.

After two races where Stormy Pattern was soundly defeated, still finishing second in both, the filly broke her maiden at Gulfstream Park with Chantal Sutherland, who was aboard again yesterday for her nose victory in a $54,000 allowance race at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Sutherland settled Stormy Pattern into a comfortable fourth along the inside leaving the gate, then swung her outside on the turn. She ran down leader Yes I’m a Beast nearing the finish, and edged fast-closing Clapton at the wire to raise her record to 2-2-0 in four starts. Clocked in 1:17.08, Stormy Pattern earned $32,400, increasing her total to $78,300, an average of $19,575 per race, and an excellent investment which can be expected to get even better for her owners.

Hard West is an anomaly in the world of thoroughbred racing – a 5-year-old male who is not a gelding but still active at the race track.

The son of Gone Astray gave his sire his ninth winner of 2022 yesterday with a slick, come-from-behind victory at Parx Racing. Jermain Burke was aboard in the test at 7 furlongs and he sent Hard West out quickly from the No. 2 post, then reined him in and took up a position on the inside in a perfect stalking third. Hard West slipped through on the rail into second on the turn, swung out into the two path and took over the lead heading into the stretch, then held off the lone late challenger by a head at the wire.

Hard West raced the 7 furlongs in 1:25.64 and paid $25, while raising his record to 6-3-4 in 29 starts. The $12,600 winner’s check boosted his earnings to $93,866.

In her previous start at Turf Paradise 17 days before, Galileta set a blistering pace in a test at 6 1/2 furlongs, and was in front with an eighth of a mile remaining after getting three quarters in 1:09.88. It stood to reason all she needed was a slightly shorter route in order to pick up her fourth career victory – and that came to pass yesterday.

With Jose Nava-Marin aboard in the race at six furlongs, the 5-year-old daughter of Amira’s Prince jumped out to the lead, put up fractions of :22.44, :45.49 and :57.52, and continued on to a half-length victory in 1:10.33, holding off favored Lovely Linda in the last sixteenth. Galileta, bred by Charles and Maritza Weston, raised her record to 4-1-2 in 17 starts with earnings of $60,383. She paid $11.40.

Joe and Helen Barbazon earned their second breeders’ award at Gulfstream Park in less than 24 hours when Emirates Affair won yesterday’s fifth race under Rafael Hernandez. That followed the victory of Charlotte the Brit in the ninth race on Thursday.

The 4-year-old Handsome Mike filly settled into third place leaving the gate in the race at ‘about’ five furlongs on the Tapeta surface and sat chilly in the three path as the two pacesetters battled through a :22.30 quarter. Hernandez sent her three wide on the turn and Emirates Affair assumed the lead at the top of the stretch, then coasted to a 1 1/4-length score in :57.95, just 53 hundredths off the current track record.

Handsome Mike’s seventh winner of 2022 was worth $17,100 to Emirates Affair and her career total rose to $93,410 on a record of 2-6-2 in 18 starts. She paid $11.60.

The Barbazons had also partnered with Ed Seltzer and Beverly Anderson for a non-breeders’ award victory by Blissful Change (Treasure Beach) at Fair Grounds on Thursday, making it a three-win two days for the Pleasant Acres breeding program.

Before yesterday’s ninth race at Gulfstream, other than a race where she clipped heels and lost her rider, Charlotte the Brit hadn’t finished worse than fifth in 18 consecutive starts. In that span, she posted six seconds, four thirds, two fourths and six fifths, slowly adding to a bank account that was inching toward the $200,000 level.

Yesterday, the 6-year-old mare by Treasure Beach, bred at Pleasant Acres by Joe and Helen Barbazon, had the services of Jose Ortiz, an Eclipse Award rider and a terror when he gets his mount to the front. And Ortiz displayed why he has achieved that reputation. He put Charlotte the Brit on the lead and lulled his fellow riders to sleep with a quarter in :25.60 and a half in :49.41 in the race at ‘about’ one mile over the turf course.

Charlotte the Brit responded by continuing on for a game neck victory, and rewarded her backers with a payoff of $43.60. While earning an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 86, she collected a check for $14,700, which increased her total to $174,525 on a record of 3-10-6 in 40 starts.

At Fair Grounds a short time later, the 4-year-old Treasure Beach filly Blissful Change, under Deshawn Parker, won for the second time in eight starts in a $51,000 allowance optional claimer. Bred by the Barbazons in partnership with Ed Seltzer and Beverly Anderson, she paid $26 and earned a check for $28,200.