Turf News

It isn’t often that a first-time starter trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Paco Lopez goes to the post at odds of 53-1. But it happened yesterday with What a Beaut, a 2-year-old Beau Choix filly bred by Linda Evans who turned in one of the most awesome performances at Gulfstream Park in recent memory. 

Racing in a $60,000 maiden special at the distance of “about” 7 1/2 furlongs over the turf course, Lopez broke What a Beaut smartly from the No. 10 post and quickly had her settled in third on the rail. She moved up on the inside along the backstretch and went up to battle 3/2 favorite Hidden Facts as they turned into the lane. The stretch battle ended when What a Beaut edged away in the final yards to score by a neck. 

What made the victory more significant, other than the win price of $109, was that she finished in 1:27.92, just 28/100ths of a second off Bow Tie Affair’s course record of 1:27.64. What a Beaut became the fourth winner from eight starters for Beau Choix, and collected a check of $24,000 for owner Gary Barber. 

Trainer Kathleen O’Connell and jockey Daniel Centeno combined to give Treasure Beach his 29th winner of 2018 yesterday, Paradise Island scoring a comfortable victory over the lush turf course at Tampa Bay Downs. Centeno settled the 3-year-old in just behind the leaders, swung him three wide on the turn, and the gelding who had broken his maiden at Saratoga drew off to score by nearly two lengths. Paradise Island was clocked in 1:36.81 for the mile, paying $9.40 and earning a check of $8,150 plus a breeders’ award for Debora C. Morgan. He boosted his earnings to $61,530, while Treasure Beach’s progeny earnings for the year jumped to $1,229,943.

Handsome Mike is in second place by himself with eight winners on the Florida freshman sire list after the eye-catching wire-to-wire performance of Notcho Daddy at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday. The colt bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon was making his career debut at seven furlongs with Jose Ferrer and was sent off at odds of 3-1. 

Ferrer shot Notcho Daddy out of the gate from the No. 9 post and the colt did the rest, opening up by daylight coming to the turn, and increasing the margin to seven lengths in mid-stretch. He coasted home in 1:25.53 and collected a check for $8,690, plus another breeders’ award for the Barbazons. Handsome Mike is two winners from the Florida lead with 30 days remaining to narrow the gap.

Four was the optimum post position yesterday as Handsome Mike picked up two impressive maiden winners and lifted his total to seven, good for a tie for second among Florida’s freshman sires.

At Gulfstream West, Gran Greyfrost left from No. 4 and received the perfect stalking ride from Emisael Jaramillo, who settled the colt into mid-pack along the rail early in the mile race on the grass. Jaramillo slipped him through on the inside down the backstretch, went after the leader on the turn, and after a long, two-horse battle down the lane, the Handsome Mike colt proved best by a neck. Gran Greyfrost, who was sent off as the 9/5 favorite, collected a check of $23,650, plus a breeders’ award for Pleasant Acres’ owners Joe and Helen Barbazon. 

From her No. 4 post at Delta Downs, Naughty Me shot to the lead under Rohan Singh and led every step of the way in the 7 1/2-furlong maiden special. When challenged at the top of the stretch, she drew off with authority and won by nearly four lengths. The filly bred by Beth Bayer paid $7.40 as favorite and earned $21,000 for her strong performance. 

 Gulfstream West’s Millions Preview program resulted in a pair of Pleasant Acres’ stallions gaining stakes-placed runners yesterday, Decorated Ace finishing a fast-closing second in the $75,000 Juvenile Fillies Turf and Lucky Mike doing likewise in the $75,000 Juvenile Turf. 

Decorated Ace, who had broken her maiden while winning the Sorority at Monmouth Park in September, sat a comfortable tracking fourth down the backstretch in the one-mile Juvenile Fillies. Samy Camacho guided her between horses on the turn and she closed with a rush, falling one-half length short at the wire. The Treasure Beach filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon earned a check for $14,400, raising her bank account for her first season to $65,500. 

Lucky Mike became the first stakes-placed runner for freshman sire Handsome Mike, despite an erratic run through the stretch with Hector Berrios. The colt came into the Juvenile Turf with just one fourth-place finish under his belt and sat within hailing distance until the turn. Berrios moved off the rail heading into the stretch but Lucky Mike suddenly ducked back to the inside under a right-handed whip. He was making up ground with every stride when Berrios hit him several times with a left-handed whip. Lucky Mike veered out to the four or five path, fortunately with none of his rivals in his way. A strong late run moved him into second just before the wire, one length behind the winner, good for a check of $14,550.

There were eight races on the  Gulfstream West program yesterday – and a colt and two fillies by Treasure Beach won 37.5 percent of them. That included all three contested over the turf course.

It began in the fourth race, where Venezuelan Forever won her second in a row with Paco Lopez in the irons. The 3-year-old filly sat second for much of the 1 1/16th-mile trip, and when Paco urged her on the turn, she edged away in the stretch to win by 1 1/2 lengths. The Orlyana Farm-bred filly is 3-1-1 in 11 starts and the winner’s check of $11,600 raised her earnings to $53,580. 

Two races later, Paco was at it again at a flat mile with Ambassador Jim, who mirrored Venezuelan Forever’s stalking trip and put away the 3/5 favorite down the lane to score by 2 1/4 lengths. The 3-year-old colt collected a check of $25,200 for owner/breeder Patricia Generazio and his bank account soared to $128,112 on a record of 2-3-1 in 11 starts. 

Another two races later, it was Emisael Jaramillo who took the third leg of the Treasure Beach trilogy with Gia Lia Joe. The 3-year-old filly bred by Jorge Tabraue and Jorge Herrera had just broken her maiden – by 1 1/2 lengths – on Oct. 24, and made it two straight with a good rail trip and a 2 1/2-length victory worth $11,600. 

The trio of winners added $48,400 to Treasure Beach’s 2018 progeny earnings, which jumped to $1,134,634. A $2 win parlay on Venezuelan Forever ($6), Ambassador Jim ($11) and Gia Lia Joe ($15.20) brought back a tidy $250.80. 

Breeders’ Cup Saturday in the U. S. was a huge success, and it carried over for Treasure Beach into a pair of graded races at San Isidro in Argentina. 

Mirta captured the Gr. I Enrique Acebal and its $35,250 purse on Nov. 3 after the 2-year-old filly had finished third in the Gr. I Seleccion in Palermo in her previous start. She has now earned $56,313. On the same program, Glorious Moment won the Gr. III Prev.buenos Aires and $14,100; he had just broken his maiden on Oct. 21. The second-place finisher was Fromm, another Treasure Beach colt, who collected $5,076.

The heat wave has ended, but South Florida’s bettors are still enjoying the beach. At Gulfstream West yesterday, it was Don ‘s Beach, a 3-year-old who was bet down to 7/10 in a race at a flat mile over the main track. The Treasure Beach gelding bred by Stonehedge Farm recently returned from a mediocre stay at Presque Isle Downs and its all-weather track, where there are no beaches, and has posted a victory and a third in two starts. He went wire to-wire under Mike Allen, leaving the field in the dust down the lane to score by nearly seven lengths, while collecting a check for $10,400. 

Treasure Beach’s late-season surge continued yesterday at Gulfstream West as Treasured Info broke her maiden under Romero Maragh to become the stallion’s seventh winner since Oct. 1 and 27th of 2018. The 2-year-old filly shot out of the gate in the 5 1/2-furlong race and never looked back, widening her margin in the stretch and hitting the finish line three lengths in front. She earned a check of $10,400 for her owner and breeder, Patricia Generazio, a longtime Pleasant Acres client. Treasure Beach recently passed the $1 million mark in progeny earnings for the year, and is already closing in on $1.1 million.

Joe and Helen Barbazon and the Treasure Beach syndicate collected another breeders’ award when Pirate’s Plunder made a successful career debut yesterday at Gulfstream West and paid a juicy $39. In a race that came off the grass and was contested at seven furlongs over the main track, the 3-year-old gelding was off third under Luis Castillo and made his move after the half. He took the lead heading into the stretch and scored by a head in a driving finish, becoming the 26th winner this year for Treasure Beach. The victory was worth $10,400 for owners Stanley Officina and Hemingway Racing.