Turf News

Stallions who enjoyed their beginnings in the breeding shed at Pleasant Acres hit the jackpot yesterday at Florida’s tracks, accounting for four winners at Tampa Bay Downs and one at Gulfstream Park. The four at Tampa earned a total of $50,735, and the one at Gulfstream $31,800; $82,535 in all.

3rd race Tampa: China Beach, 4yo g by Treasure Beach won by 7 1/4 with Jose Alonso; paid $21.80, earned $10,095. Bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon.

4th race Tampa: Handsome Playboy, 2yo g by Handsome Mike won by 4 1/4 with Pablo Morales; paid $4, earned $19,850. Owned and bred by Gerald and Mary Bennett.

5th race Tampa: Fierce Warrior, 3yo g by Poseidon’s Warrior won by 4 1/2 with Angel Arroyo; paid $7.60, earned $10,395. Bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon.

8th race Tampa: Lord Berrier, 4yo g by Poseidon’s Warrior won by a head with Hector Diaz Jr; paid $5.60, earned $10,395. Bred by Bonnie Heath Farm.

1st race Gulfstream: Keanu, 2yo g by Brethren won by 1/2 with Juan Alvarado; paid $17.20, earned $31,800. Owned and bred by Arindel.

Gone Astray’s run toward $15 million in career progeny earnings is close to fulfillment after the dominating victory of The Biggest One in the third race at Parx yesterday.

The 4-year-old filly bred by Inversiones Fl won her second straight in the space of 14 days with Ruben Silvera in the irons, the first on Dec. 7 coming by 4 3/4 lengths, and yesterday’s by three. She raised her record to 4-4-3 in 24 starts and the check for $13,200 increased her total to $90,960. This year alone, she’s 3-2-3 in 14 tries with earnings of $57,620, and Gone Astray stands at $14,979,892; he could reach the $15 million milestone in the next couple of days.

In yesterday’s race at six furlongs, The Biggest One was off in the two path, head-and-head for the lead in a :22.86 quarter. She then shook loose on the turn and drew off in mid-track down the stretch, winning in 1:14.77 without a challenge and paying $7.40.

Daughters of Bucchero played a major role in several major payoffs on the front end of the Gulfstream Park program Sunday. Clay Soldier boosted her record to 2-for-2 by winning the third race and paid $21.20, followed by Sherlyn Go Go’s maiden-breaker in the fourth race at $6.00. The 50-cent Pick 3 on races 2-3-4 paid $1,422; the Pick 4 on races 2-3-4-5 paid $4,221, and the Pick 5 on races 1 through 5 was through the roof – $94,330.

CLAY SOLDIER – The 2-year-old filly owned and bred by retired Ocala dentist Sonny Link captured a $39,000 Starter Optional Claimer under Leonel Reyes, stalking a :21.80, :44.73 pace until the top of the stretch, then proving easily best in the lane to score by two lengths. She raced the five furlongs over the Tapeta surface in :57.17 and collected a check for $23,800, boosting her two-race total to $41,600. She’s the first of red-hot Bucchero’s runners to win twice in the stallion’s freshman season.

SHERLYN GO GO – In his first trip aboard her, former Eclipse Award winner Tyler Gaffalione piloted the filly bred by Dominique Damico and Fly By Breeding to her first victory in four starts, giving Bucchero winner No. 13 and putting him one ahead of Awesome Slew for the Florida freshman lead with less than two weeks remaining in the chase. He’s also tied for first with former Pleasant Acres stallion Brethren for number of 2-year-old winners among all Florida sires. The $22,000 OBS October yearling won by a neck and earned $31,800, increasing her total to $59,400. She raced a mile and 70 yards over the Tapeta course in 1:41.75 after the race came off the grass.

With just 14 days remaining in the 2022 racing year, Bucchero has again tied Awesome Slew for the Florida freshman sire lead in the winners’ department. It took her eight tries to accomplish it, but Major Pryce became winner No. 12 for Bucchero with a dominating performance in the second race at Gulfstream Park yesterday.

A main difference between her first seven starts and No. 8? Yesterday, champion rider Irad Ortiz Jr. was aboard for the first time. Major Pryce broke well in the race at a mile and 70 yards over the Tapeta surface, and Ortiz settled her into third place on the inside down the backstretch. She began a powerful run approaching the final turn, came three wide into the stretch, and cruised to the wire a widening 6 1/2 lengths in front fueled by announcer Pete Aiello’s call – “at one-to-two Major Pryce is easy money!”

Major Pryce, bred by Judy Bassett and Debora Morgan and a $27,000 OBS March 2-year-old, was clocked in 1:41.93 and paid $3 as the heavy favorite. She earned a check for $19,600, boosting her total to $38,200.

It took Leonel Reyes one race – and a sixth-place finish – to get acquainted with Heiresstray, a 3-year-old Gone Astray filly owned and bred by Purple Haze Stable.

In her second try with Reyes at Gulfstream yesterday, Heiresstray rocketed to the lead out of the gate, opened up daylight on the backstretch through fractions of :22.30 and :45.30, then coasted through the stretch to win by six lengths in 1:11.55 for the six furlongs as announcer Pete Aiello bellowed, “Heiresstray has run them off their feet.”

She became winner No. 48 for Gone Astray this year and was worth $12,800, which raised the stallion’s lifetime progeny earnings to $14,957,819.

In his first five career starts, Pluma Roja had the services of four different jockeys, never raced longer than six furlongs, and never finished better than sixth. At Gulfstream Park yesterday, trainer Nestor Cascallares made two changes – he picked new rider Jose Morelos to take the 2-year-old gelding a mile and 70 yards over the Tapeta surface. Result: Pluma Roja looked like a different horse.

The son of Amira’s Prince was away fifth on the inside down the backstretch and remained there until the turn. A good eight or nine lengths behind midway on the turn, Pluma Roja appeared to have no chance to even make the board. But he put it in another gear and closed a huge gap, then remained on the rail in the stretch and ran over the leaders to win by a neck, clocked in 1:42.99. He paid $58.

Pluma Roja became the eighth winner from 11 starters for Amira’s Prince, earning a check for $14,700 and getting another breeders’ award for Joe and Helen Barbazon.

Ohio-bred Kid Russell is the latest Gone Astray runner to pass the $100,000 mark in career earnings after his hard-fought victory over an off-track at Mahoning Valley yesterday.

The 5-year-old gelding bred by W. John Bourke jumped out of the gate quickly and took up a position in second place, tracking one length behind the pacesetter in the two path. After a quarter in :23.55, Kid Russell ranged up on the outside, took the lead entering the stretch, then out-gamed Honor the D to the wire by half a length to nail down his second victory of 2022.

The check for $10,440 increased Kid Russell’s bank account to $101,072 on a record of 4-6-1 in 29 starts, with $38,142 coming this year.

Bucchero remained one winner behind Awesome Slew on Florida’s freshman sire list when Miss Bellimbusto won the eighth race at Golden Gate Fields last evening in her second start.

The 2-year-old filly bred by Blue River Bloodstock, a $40,000 OBS April 2-year-old, became winner No. 11 for her sire. With her $18,000 paycheck, Bucchero surpassed $500,000 in progeny earnings for the year.

Armando Ayuso put Miss Bellimbusto in perfect stalking position on the inside down the backstretch in the $34,860 maiden special race at 5 1/2 furlongs over the all-weather track. The filly closed the gap on the turn and Ayuso shifted her into the two path between horses at the head of the stretch. From there, she proved best, winning a cavalry charge to the wire by a neck, clocked in 1:04.65.

Adding a late result coming in from Puerto Rico, it turns out that Gone Astray’s runners have now won 600 races.

Amor Elviva, a 7-year-old mare bred by Walter Stipa, scored at Camarero Race Track last week and raised her record to 9-10-6 in 51 races. But with the dearth of big money available in PR, she has earned just $51,985.

Francisco Maysonett rode Amor Elviva, who carried highweight of 120 pounds in the race at 5 1/2 furlongs. He kept his mare pressed to the flank of the leader in the two path, took over in the stretch and she went on to score by 3 1/4 lengths in 1:08.33, paying $3.10. She had been off for more than a year until Nov. 6, and this was just her second outing since returning.

Gone Astray’s 600 winning rides have been accomplished by 197 winners, with 47 winners coming this year

Penn National’s handicappers watched Gone Dreaming shoot right to the front in the fourth race last night, then never saw her again until she cruised under the wire 10 1/4 lengths in front. In between, the field was enveloped by dense fog and was virtually invisible as they headed down the backstretch of the mile and 70-yard race.

The 4-year-old filly became Gone Astray’s 47th winner of 2022, and her check for $6,480 sent the son of Dixie Union over the $1.8 million mark in 2022 progeny earnings. In addition, Gone Dreaming’s first victory of the year left Gone Astray’s runners one short of making 600 career visits to the winners’ circle. The filly bred by Tom McCrocklin paid $4.80 after getting the distance in 1:45.82 over a sloppy track.