Turf News

Del Rosario’s career debut at Gulfstream Park turned into a veritable nightmare early. The 2-year-old filly by Gunnevera proved to be a handful while loading, then was bumped leaving the gate. She still showed early speed, but backed up in the run down the lane and was beaten 14 lengths.

It was a different story with rider Melvis Gonzalez yesterday in the pouring rain at Gulfstream. At surprising odds of 2-1, she was off last in a field of six going a mile and 70 yards over the Tapeta surface. Del Rosario was literally out of the picture until Gonzalez get her in gear coming to the final turn, and she caught the pack, went very wide into the stretch, and ran down the leaders late. She won by three-quarters of a length and became the first winner for her freshman sire.

Del Rosario paid $6.00 and collected a check of $21,700 for owner/breeder Just For Fun Stable, a longtime Pleasant Acres client.

Neolithic remains the leader among Florida’s top 15 stallions with 56 percent winners to starters in 2024. Zizka became winner No. 37 from 66 starters, capturing a $45,000 maiden special at Gulfstream Park.

The 2-year-old colt owned and bred by John Minchello had Leonel Reyes in the saddle for the race at 6 1/2 furlongs. Zizka was off in mid-pack, on the inside, three lengths off the pace, and remained there until Reyes slipped him through on the rail and Zizka never looked back, winning by a neck over a 25-1 shot. He paid $26.40 for his first victory in five starts, and earned a check of $29,000 for Minchello.

Neolithic is less than $15,000 away from reaching the $1.8 million mark in progeny earnings in his best season.

Neolithic still leads the top 15 Florida sires in percentage of 2024 winners to starters, with I Love Venezuela becoming winner No. 36 via a sharp wire-to-wire performance at Penn National. The filly by Harlan’s Holiday has had 66 starters and he leads at 54.5 percent. Only one other stallion in the top 15 has reached 50 percent, and he’s at 52.

With Jean Aguilar in the saddle, I Love Valenzuela broke her maiden in her seventh start, passing the poles in :23.15 and 46.24, and reaching the wire by a widening 8 1/4 lengths with five furlongs on the turf in :57.62. The 3-year-old filly owned and bred by Orlyana Farm paid $10.80 and earned a check for $11,400.

Neolithic is on another of his familiar winning streaks, with Fulanito, (at Gulfstream Park) and Miss Neo (at Monmouth Park) added to the victory list on Sunday. His 2024 progeny earnings have soared to $1,734,369 as he closes in on second place on Florida’s general sire list, while rapidly heading for his first $2 million season.

FULANITO – With Emisael Jaramillo aboard, the 3-year-old gelding bred by Angel Roman jumped to the lead in a $43,000 maiden special at five furlongs over the Tapeta surface, passed the poles in a sizzling :21.65 and :44.25, then was all out to win by a nose. The $50,000 OBS June 2-year-old was clocked in :56.60 and paid $3.80. He earned a check for $25,800 and is the only Florida sire in the top 15 who is over 50 percent with 35 winners from 66 starters in 2024.

MISS NEO – The 4-year-old filly bred by the highly successful partnership of Joe and Helen Barbazon, Ed Seltzer and Beverly Anderson, was coming off a second-place finish on July 21 and like Fulanito, was sent off at 4/5. From the rail with Jorge Gonzalez in the irons, she was off last in a field of six, some five lengths from the lead. But Gonzalez wasted little time making his move, sending Miss Neo up five wide before the turn. She looped the field in a few strides and went on to an easy score by nearly nine lengths as track announcer Matt Dinerman chimed in with “Miss Neo has turned on the afterburners from the three-eighths pole – from last to first.”

Miss Neo collected $10,500 for her second 2024 score, boosting her earnings to $31,275.

Neolithic edged closer to second place on Florida’s 2024 general sire list via the victory of Neoequos in a five-furlong, $63,600 maiden special at Gulfstream Park yesterday. It was the second start for the 2-year-old colt bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon in partnership with Matalona Thoroughbreds after his July 21 debut in which he was bumped leaving the gate and dumped rider Drayden Van Dyke. Ironically, the race was won by a Rogueish colt bred by the Barbazons, Ed Seltzer and Beverly Anderson.

For his second try, Neoequos had Miguel Vasquez in the irons, and the colt broke quickly from the No. 9 post. He then rushed up to vie for the lead while four wide, battled into the stretch with Macho Music, then drew off to defeat the 4/5 shot by 2 1/2 lengths. Neoequos was clocked in :58.55, paid $6.20, and earned a check for $45,000, which lifted Neolithic’s progeny earnings for the year to $1,698,069, less than $30,000 from second place. He became winner No. 34 for Neolithic in 2024.

Richard Averill has been winning races for years with his Florida-breds, most of whose names begin with the letter R. At Gulfstream Park yesterday, one of those ‘R’s not only broke her maiden in her 2-year-old debut, she became the first winner for Pleasant Acres’ freshman sire Curlin’s Honor.

R Morning Brew broke on top under Edgard Zayas, rolled through the slop behind fractions of :22.66, :45.91 and :58.28, and was 4 1/2 lengths in front at the wire, clocked in 1:11.45 for the six furlongs. The filly bred by Dori Morgan Hyatt, widow of the late former NFL player Freddie Hyatt, paid $7.20 and earned a check for $29,000 for Averill Stables.

R Morning Brew is the third foal out of the Uncaptured mare Foolhearted Woman. She’s a half-sister to the 3-year-old filly Dancing N Dixie, two-time stakes-winning and four-time graded stakes-placed filly by Neolithic. Owned by Gary Barber, Rocky Top Stables (Jackie Ventura) and LEMB Stables, Dancing N Dixie has earned $368,550.

Flawless Cat won a six-furlong test at Thistledown yesterday and gave Neolithic another statistical distinction. Aside from closing the gap on second place among Florida’s active sires for 2024, the 4-year-old gelding bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon became his sire’s 33rd winner from 65 starters this year, for a percentage of 50.7. He’s the only stallion in the top 15 over 50 percent.

Luis Rivera was aboard Flawless Cat, who was bumped leaving the gate and off last. Rivera quickly sent him up three wide, and the gelding went after the pace-setters on the turn. He took the lead entering the stretch and coasted to the wire, winning by three-quarters of a length in 1:12.66. After finishing second in his previous start, Flawless Cat went off at 6/5 and paid $4.60. He collected a check for $8,100, lifting his career total to $56,730 on a record of 2-1-3 in 17 starts.

A victory by Mister Abarrio, and stakes-placed performances by Dancing N Dixie, Brawn and Prevent, have lifted Neolithic to within $80,000 of second place on Florida’s leading active sire list for 2024. The son of Harlan’s Holiday has progeny earnings of $1,637,771, and at his current pace he’s a certainty to reach his first $2 million season well before the end of December.

Mister Abarrio extended his in-the-money streak to nine in a row Sunday with a come-from-behind victory under newcomer Teshawn Hazelwood in a $48,000 allowance optional claimer at Gulfstream Park. The 3-year-old colt bred by Dr. Tiffany A. Atteberry and Scott Brown, a $30,000 OBS October yearling, was up by a neck in a race at one mile on the grass, clocked in 1:33.50. He paid $15.80 and collected $30,800, increasing his career earnings to $144,250, of which $83,870 has come this year. He’s 3-5-7 in 21 starts, and 2-2-5 in his last nine.

Dancing N Dixie, Neolithic’s leading money-winner, finished third in the Gr. II, $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes at the Spa. The 3-year-old filly bred by the late NFL defensive back Freddie Hyatt was the fourth choice at 6-1 in the race at a mile and three-sixteenths on the turf, which went in 1:54.92. The third-place check for $48,000 increased Dancing N Dixie’s total to $368,550 for owners Gary Barber, Rocky Top Stables (Jackie Ventura) and LEMB Stables. She’s 3-0-4 in 11 career starts and 1-0-4 in six tries with a bank account of $278,940 this year.

Brawn and Prevent finished second and third in the $95,000 Bear’s Den Stakes at a mile on the grass at Gulfstream Park. At odds of 8-1, Brawn finished just a neck behind 3/5 favorite Grand Mo the First and picked up a check for $20,850, increasing his earnings to $124,563 for owners/breeders Just For Fun Stable on a record of 2-2-0 in 11 starts.

Prevent collected $12,910 for third, and has now earned $199,497. He’s 3-4-1 in 14 starts.

The four checks added $112,560 to Neolithic’s bank account for 2024.

In his first 16 starts, Cattin never raced on the turf, so it was no problem when the $25,000 claimer at one mile on the grass that he was entered in at Gulfstream Park Sunday was switched to the Tapeta surface at a mile and 70 yards.

With Emisael Jaramillo in the irons, the 5-year-old Neolithic gelding, coming off a runner-up finish in his previous try, took the lead at the break and controlled the pace throughout, winning by two lengths in 1:41.46. The gelding bred by Curtis Mikkelsen and Patricia Horth, a $25,000 OBS yearling, paid $8, and tied his career best Equibase “E” speed figure of 94. The winner’s check of $24,100 raised his bankroll to $243,485 on a record of 4-1-3 in his 17 starts. He became winner No. 32 for Neolithic this year, tying his final total from 2023.

Last year, Neolithic enjoyed his best season at stud, with 32 winners and $1,422,736 in progeny earnings. Yesterday, a victory by Lil Poker Face in a $30,800 maiden special at Evangeline Downs, plus a runner-up finish by Brawn in a $61,000 allowance optional claimer at Gulfstream Park, and the son of Harlan’s Holiday reached a new high – $1,444,224 – and it’s a long way off to Dec. 31.

My Lil Poker Face became Neolithic’s 31st winner, so he’s close to setting a personal record in that category, too. Over a sloppy surface, with Joel Dominguez in the saddle, the 2-year-old filly bred by Matalona Thoroughbreds battled on the lead in a :22.28 quarter, took over in the stretch and drew off to a 1 1/2-length score, clocked in 1:00.92 for the five furlongs in a race originally scheduled for about five furlongs on the grass. She collected a check for $18,000.

Brawn’s runner-up finish at Gulfstream was worth $12,140.