Turf News

Saratoga Treasure was more than impressive in winning on the grass at Belmont Park yesterday, and in getting her first victory this year took over as Treasure Beach’s top money earner.

The 4-year-old filly left from the No. 3 post with Jose Ortiz aboard in the $72,000 allowance optional claimer at six furlongs over the inner turf course. Ortiz settled her into seventh place in the eight-horse field and never took her off the inside until they were midway around the turn. Then, he swung her to the far outside and the filly mowed down the front-runners, making up six lengths in the stretch and winning going away by 2 1/4. She was clocked in 1:08.59 and became winner No. 44 for Treasure Beach this year.

The $40,425 winner’s check increased Saratoga Treasure’s earnings to $182,650 on a record of 3-2-2-4 in 13 starts as she passed Ambassador Jim as her sire’s money leader. The filly owned and bred by Patricia Generazio paid a generous $15.80 and boosted her sire’s lifetime progeny earnings to $3,507,009.

Yesterday proved to be Grand Slam Sunday for Pleasant Acres stallions, with Handsome Mike and Treasure Beach each picking up two maiden winners, three coming at Gulfstream Park and the fourth at Woodbine.

Handsome Mike is now the sire of 27 winners in 2019 with progeny earnings of $879,484 as he shoots for a million-dollar season with just two crops racing.

Aptly-named Slammin’ Mike picked up his first victory in five starts for owner/breeder Bert Pilcher’s Shade Tree Thoroughbreds, winning at one mile over the Gulfstream turf course under Jonathan Gonzales. The 3-year-old gelding was off second, rushed into the lead after a quarter, opened up by five in the stretch and cruised to the wire 3 1/4 lengths in front. He earned a check for $10,400.

Handsome Lil Devil also broke his maiden at Gulfstream despite looking like a runaway train in deep stretch. The 2-year-old colt bred by Bull Dog Racing made a wide, winning move on the turn and was headed for an easy score when he took a funny step, then was all over the course late – near the outside fence. Luca Panici still guided him to the wire and he won anyway, by 1 1/2 lengths, earning $23,000.

Treasure Beach continues to excel in three countries, with Extravagant Rose breaking her maiden at one mile on the grass at Gulfstream under Emisael Jaramillo, and Cerrado getting his first score at Woodbine with Alan Garcia. Extravagant Rose shot right to the lead, had no challenges until the stretch, then held off Shell Shocker by a neck. Vicino Racing Stable prospered to the tune of $38,000, plus the breeder’s award.

Cerrado came from sixth place going 1 1/6 miles on the turf, swept into the lead in the stretch, and went on to win by three-quarters. The 3-year-old gelding earned $12,480 ($9,395 U. S.).

Treasure Beach has 43 winners of 61 races in 2019, progeny earnings of $1,552,763, and a good chance to reach $2 million by Dec. 31.

Aside from his lofty standing as Florida’s fourth-leading active sire this year, Treasure Beach’s success in Argentina has shown no signs of let-up. The Stronach Group’s frequent simulcasting of those South American races has given U. S viewers a chance to share in that success, especially since the huge fields often make it possible to make substantial scores.

Laurel Park’s 13th race yesterday was simulcast from San Isidro, where sons and daughters of Treasure Beach have fared extremely well all year. April Season drew the No. 6 post in a field of 16 racing 1200 meters on the turf (6 furlongs), all carrying 126 pounds. With Ivan Monasterolo aboard, the 4-year-old colt emulated a scenario that Treasure Beach’s runners seem to have adopted down south. He sat in good position down the backstretch, moved up on the turn, then uncorked a monster run down the extra-long stretch, making up about five lengths late and getting up by a head at the wire.

April Season was clocked in 1:11.30 and paid generously across the board – $13.80, $8.40 and $6.40.

Earlier in the month, at Hipodromo Argentino De Palermo, Glorious Moment won the Gr. I General San Martin and earned a check for $26,850, with Emiterio finishing second and collecting $8,055. The two 3-year-old colts had previously finished in the same order in the Gr. II Chacabuco, earning $15,600 and $4,680.

Treasure Beach is the sire of three Gr. I winners in Argentina this season, plus six stakes seconds and two stakes thirds, and five of those eight races are graded.

In her last start, Sunshine Treasure was fouled while making a strong run in deep stretch and she finished second, then was moved up to first by disqualification. At Gulfstream Park yesterday, the 4-year-old filly by Treasure Beach encountered no such trouble and made it two in a row, getting up to win by one-half length in a one-mile race on the grass.

With Jairo Rendon aboard, Sunshine Treasure languished near the rear of the eight-filly field, and still had three or four lengths to make up in deep stretch. She closed that gap while five wide and registered her third career victory, earning a check for $12,900 for owner Patricia Generazio, who bred the filly in partnership with Joe and Helen Barbazon.

Sunshine Treasure increased her bank account to $70,270 and left her sire in fourth place on Florida’s list of active stallions with 2019 earnings of $1,489,533.

When Celtic Treasure broke his maiden at Laurel Park earlier this year, he went wire-to-wire at odds of 70 cents to a dollar, and won by 6 1/4 lengths. The 3-year-old Treasure Beach gelding turned in an almost exact duplicate of that effort while getting his second victory yesterday at Delaware Park.

With Trevor McCarthy aboard, Celtic Treasure stumbled out of the gate but recovered quickly and shot right to the lead in the one-mile race. He remained there racing in the two-path throughout, left the field behind on the turn and went on to an easy score by 8 1/4 lengths. Once again, he went off at 70 cents to a dollar. He earned a check of $13,800 for owner Joseph E. Besecker.

It took Ocean Delight until her 10th race before the “lightbulb” effect kicked in at Delaware Park in August and she finished second with Lucas Berticelli aboard.

After a third-place finish in her next start, the 3-year-old Treasure Beach filly broke her maiden yesterday with Berticelli taking her wire-to-wire racing “about” 7 1/2 furlongs on the grass. The filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon won by a length, paid $8.40 and earned a check for $7,800 as she became her sire’s 41st winner of 2019.

Wine at the Beach made it two victories in his last three starts via another strong performance on the turf at Colonial Downs yesterday.

The 3-year-old Treasure Beach gelding was destined to be severely hampered after he originally drew the No. 14 post for the one-mile race, but two late scratches made a huge difference, moving him into the No. 12 slot. When the gate opened, Mychel Sanchez shot Wine at the Beach out for the lead and he was quickly able to guide him toward the rail and settle into a comfortable second, about a length and a half off the pacesetter. Sanchez kept him there for more than half a mile, then sent him up for the lead on the turn. The gelding bred by Christine Jones took over at the top of the stretch, then held off the late runners to prevail by a neck.

Wine at the Beach earned a check for $15,000, which raised his total to $41,880, and he received an ‘E’ rating of 77 from Equibase, his highest in 11 starts. Treasure Beach remained in fourth place among active stallions on Florida’s general sire list with 2019 earnings of $1,419,964.

Here Comes Jackie took over as the leading money-earner for Handsome Mike via an exciting head victory at Saratoga yesterday in a $75,000 claiming race with a purse of $80,000.

The 3-year-old stakes-placed filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon sat just off the early pace with Javier Castellano, then sliced her way between horses in the stretch and prevailed in a photo, raising her record to 2-3-2 in 15 starts. She was clocked in 1:35.98 for the one-mile trip over the inner turf course.

The $44,000 winner’s check lifted Here Comes Jackie’s bank account to $136,450 and she passed Naughty Me as her sire’s top money-earner. Handsome Mike’s progeny earnings jumped to $813,408 as he heads toward a $1 million season with just two crops racing.

Kyle Frey guided Tigerbeach on a rail-skimming ride and the stakes-placed gelding responded with his first victory of 2019 at Golden Gate Fields yesterday.

Frey settled Tigerbeach into fourth place, about four lengths off the leaders in the 5-furlong turf race, then used the inside to perfection, slipping through at the top of the stretch and going on to score a 1 1/2-length victory. The John Pereira-bred was clocked in :56.25, exactly one second off the course record.

Tigerbeach earned $13,800 for the effort, raising his career total to $134,577 on a record of 5-8-3 in 25 starts. He became the 40th winner for Treasure Beach, whose progeny earnings edged over the $1.4 million mark for the year.

The endless parade of winners by Treasure Beach and Handsome Mike in August continued unabated yesterday, with Pleasant Acres’ red-hot stallions getting one at Gulfstream and another at Colonial Downs.

Galileo’s Affair scored a 1 3/4-length victory at one mile over a sloppy track at Gulfstream in a race that came off the grass. The 4-year-old daughter of Treasure Beach sat second for most of the trip and drove past the pacesetter in the stretch to earn the $13,600 winner’s check. The $37,000 OBS April purchase is 6-4-7 in 26 lifetime starts with earnings of $153,240 and she’s won three of her last four starts.

At Colonial, Lucky Mike gained his first victory in his ninth try, collecting a check for $30,000 in the $54,000 maiden special. The 3-year-old gelding bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon, who had finished second in the Juvenile Turf Stakes at Gulfstream West in his second career start, rushed up to take the lead on the final turn in the one-mile turf race, then held off three challengers nearing the wire to score by three-quarters of a length. He’s 1-3-2 in his nine starts with earnings of $73,320.