Turf News

Fulanito returned to action after a three-month vacation and came close to a five-furlong track record in a $54,000 allowance optional claimer over the Tapeta course at Gulfstream Park.

The 4-year-old Neolithic gelding bred by Angel Roman, a $50,000 OBS June 2-year-old, drew the No. 1 post with Luis Saez and exploded out of the gate to take the early lead. He posted sizzling fractions of :21.14 and :43.84, and coasted to the wire one length ahead of fast-closing Fast Fixer, clocked in :55.80 seconds, just nine-tenths off the record.

Fulanito became the 16th winner for his sire since Jan. 1, and paid $6.60. His check for $32,400 boosted his earnings to $77,360 on a record of 2-1-2 in seven starts.

R Morning Brew appeared to be in a little over her head in the $115,000 Any Limit Stakes at Gulfstream Park, and the fans agreed. The 3-year-old filly by Curlin’s Honor went off as the 12-1 fifth choice in the field of six going six furlongs.

But rider Edgard Zayas didn’t elect to contest the hot pace, and R Morning Brew was sixth and last after half a mile. She had already more than paid back the $30,000 owner Richard Averill paid for her at the last OBS April Sale, via victories in the Desert Vixen and Susan’s Girl, and fourth in the rich My Dear Girl. This time, although she was no match for the first two finishers, Zayas was able to bring her from behind to finish third, good for a check of $11,900. She’s now 2-0-2 in six tries with earnings of $140,900.

Bodexpress added a pair of first-time winners to his resume on back-to-back days over the weekend on the West Coast, both bred in California by Richard Barton Thoroughbreds. Hothead went wire-to-wire at Santa Anita, while Hellova Louella scored convincingly at Los Alamitos.

HOTHEAD -In a $67,000 maiden special, the 3-year-old gelding put up fractions of :22.19, :45.07 and :56.92 en route to his nearly three-length turf victory under Ricardo Gonzalez, with a final six-furlong clocking of 1:09.16. The $17,000 RNA as a Fasig-Tipton California yearling, also owned by Barton, paid $13 and earned a check for $39,000, raising his total to $60,860. He received an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 92, best of his six-race career.

HELLOVA LOUELLA – The 3-year-old filly was successful in her fourth start, stalking the early pace through a :22.75 first quarter with Francisco Ramirez, then cruising to the lead and going on to win by 2 1/2 lengths. She raced 4 1/2 furlongs in :53.78 and paid $33.20.

Big Bucksalot became Neolithic’s first three-time winner of 2025 with a convincing victory in a six-furlong, $18,600 starter allowance at Mahoning Valley.

The 5-year-old gelding bred by Julie Jackson broke well with Luis Batista and went with pacesetter Khakfani down the backstretch. Batista sent him after Khalfani coming to the turn and Big Bucksalot took the lead into the stretch, then drew off to win by 3 1/2 lengths in 1:11.96, paying $3.20. He’s won two in a row, three of his last four, and raised his record to 7-1-2 in 25 starts.

The winner’s share of $10,560 boosted his earnings to $86,362.

After their twin victories at Gulfstream Park on Friday, Neolithic and Curlin’s Honor repeated the performance on Sunday at Tampa Bay Downs and Fair Grounds.

TAMPA BAY DOWNS – All handicappers with a German heritage got this one – Das Ist Alles Ally made it two victories in her last three starts and became Neolithic’s 14th winner of 2025. The 3-year-old filly owned and bred by Terry Bruner was off slowly in the race at one mile on the turf and was still ninth and last after half a mile. Sam Marin revved her up on the inside nearing the turn and Das Ist Alles Ally bulled her way through traffic in the stretch to get up by a nose in a head bob finish, then had to survive a foul claim before they put up her number. She raced the mile in 1:37.41, paid $4.80 and her owner collected $16,500, raising her seven-race (2-0-2) total to $34,680.

FAIR GROUNDS – Honor That Dude has also won two of his last three after his 6 1/4-length romp in New Orleans. The 3-year-old Curlin’s Honor colt bred by Maverick Stables, a $10,000 OBS October yearling, earned a check of $9,000 for owner/trainer Angel Rodriguez and has now banked $$35,640. Honor That Dude paid $5.00 after getting six furlongs in 1:11.52 with Jareth Loveberry aboard. He has won his two races by a combined total of 12 lengths.

Pleasant Acres stallions led the way at Gulfstream Park on Friday with a pair of winners on the nine-race program, both going one mile on the grass and both posting their best-ever Equibase ‘E’ speed figures.

The second race was won by Quizler, a 3-year-old Curlin’s Honor colt who broke his maiden guided by Paco Lopez in his seventh start, a $50,000 maiden special. The $15,000 OBS June 2-year-old bred by Belinda Kitos at SCF Inc. raced up close down the backstretch, then was involved in a three-horse battle to the wire which he won by half a length in 1:35.32 for the mile. Quizler paid $7.20 and collected $30,000, lifting his earnings to $56,220 on a record of 1-3-1 in his seven tries. His speed figure best is now 84.

Three races later it was Neolithic’s turn, and his 5-year-old Kentucky-bred mare New Rome made a return from a 10 1/2-month vacation in mid-season form with Javier Castellano aboard. New Rome hadn’t raced since April of 2024, but she had several sub-49-second works for trainer Jena Antonucci, and was sent off at odds of 2-1. She was sent right to the lead, and put up fractions of :23.59, :46.89 and 1:10.21 en route to winning by nearly three lengths in 1:34.15 for the mile. She picked up a check for $19,200, ballooning her total to $144,469 on a record of 6-1-1 in 12 starts. Her new best-ever speed figure is 96.

Big Bucksalot became the third runner by Neolithic to win twice in 2025 with a wire-to-wire score over a sloppy track at Mahoning Valley.

With Brandon Tapara in the saddle, the 5-year-old gelding bred by Julie Jackson cruised past the markers in :22.91 and :46.68 and was drawing off nearing the wire to win by nearly three lengths in 1:04.96 for the 5 1/2 furlongs. Big Bucksalot paid $5.60, earned a check for $7,800 and is now 6-1-2 in 24 starts with a bank account of $75,802. Before his pair of victories in Ohio, he had previously won three times at Tampa Bay Downs and once at Gulfstream Park.

The gelding was claimed out of the race.

At odds of 14-1, Neoequos led for more than three-quarters of a mile in the Gr. II, $415,000 Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, then held on to finish third, less than three lengths behind winner Sovereignty and runner-up River Thames.

The 3-year-old Neolithic colt bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon and Matalona Thoroughbreds collected a check for $41,250, which increased his earnings to $179,050. After losing his rider in his career debut last July, Neoequos has posted a record of 2-2-1 in five starts, including seconds in both the Dr. Fager and Affirmed stakes. He was a $22,000 OBS October yearling.

At odds of 14-1, highest in the field, Irad Ortiz Jr. took Neoequos away quickly from the No. 7 post, and he took the lead in a :23.12 quarter with River Thames glued to his side. They continued that way through fractions of :47.07 and 1:10.68 and into the stretch before Neoequos tired to finish third.

Great Venezuela, who had previously been stakes-placed twice, captured her first black-type race Saturday and extended her unblemished record: she hasn’t been worse than third in her 10 career starts.

The 4-year-old Neolithic filly, owned and bred by Ocala’s Orlyana Farm, won the $125,000 Lightning City Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs under Leonel Reyes and extended her record to 7-2-1, including five victories in her last six starts. She had finished second in her previous start in the Sunshine Filly and Mare Turf at Gulfstream Park.

Great Venezuela came from back in the pack at Tampa, made a five-wide sweep into the stretch and was going away at the finish, winning by two lengths in :55.75 for the five furlongs on the grass. The clocking is less than two seconds off the course record and afforded her an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 100, best of her 10 starts. She paid $6.20 and earned a check for $77,500, raising her bank account to $270,400.

Over the years, several track announcers have spiced up their race calls with patented lines that became familiar to every racegoer in North America. To name a few, there was multi-track Dave Johnson’s “And down the stretch they come,” Chicago’s Phil Georgeff with his “Here they come, spinning out of the turn,” Calder’s Phil Saltzman’s “And they’re not gonna get him today,” and Trevor Denman’s “And (so-and-so) can see them all,” referring to the last horse in the field, a call that several of today’s announcers have adopted for themselves.

The latest addition to the group is Gulfstream Park’s Pete Aiello, who, when faced with a stretch cavalry charge with five or six horses in contention, always bellows his patented line, “Who do you like here?”

Pete’s call is now etched in history with co-owner/breeder Breeze Easy LLC’s naming of the now 3-year-old filly Whodoyoulikehere, a daughter of Curlin’s Honor who broke her maiden at Delta Downs on Friday in her sixth career start. A $45,000 OBS October yearling, she made up eight lengths on the turn under Alex Birzer and went on to win a stretch battle by a head with 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:24.26. She paid $14.40 and earned a check for $9,600.