Turf News

The way Mike Mike performed over a muddy track in the first race at Mountaineer Casino Wednesday night, he didn’t look like a horse who had not yet broken his maiden.

With Luciano Hernandez aboard in the 5 1/2-furlong race, the 4-year-old gelding by Handsome Mike left from the No. 9 post and stalked the early pace while four wide down the backstretch. He made a strong outside move on the turn, took the lead into the stretch, and widened it all the way to the wire, winning by four lengths and paying $3.80 as favorite.

Mike Mike became winner No. 42 for his sire this year and only seven Florida stallions have more; but three of those have 43 so Handsome Mike has a week left to move into a tie for fifth, or even better.

Handsome Mike’s only Friday entrant around the country was Darlindiva, at Tampa Bay Downs, and the 4-year-old filly moved her sire to within less than $5,000 of $1.3 million in the progeny earnings department.

Oldsmar newcomer Alonso Quinonez gave Darlindiva a picture-perfect ride, shooting her to the lead out of the gate and never allowing her to give it up despite being pressured every step of the way down the backstretch in the mile and 40-yard race. The filly owned and bred by Joe and Vivi Serena turned away four challengers at the top of the stretch, leaving them in the dust late, and winning by 2 1/2 lengths.

Darlindiva paid $15.20 while earning a check for $8,395 and a breeder’s award for the Serenas. The filly is now 4-3-5 in 22 starts with earnings of $50,799.

Last year, Handsome Mike finished 15th on the Florida general sire list with progeny earnings of $1,096,071, and 29 winners. After Cutie Pie’s victory at Mahoning Valley yesterday, and a runner-up finish by Carletta at Delta Downs, the son of Scat Daddy moved up to ninth place on the list, raising his total for 2020 to $1,285,120. This, despite the fact that Covid-19 has reduced racing days, number of races and purses at most tracks around the U. S.

Cutie Pie, one of Handsome Mike’s 41 winners this year, has now won two of her last three starts. With Chelsey Keiser aboard, the 3-year-old filly went out quickly and was part of a cavalry charge down the backstretch in the 5 1/2-furlong race. She closed in on the pace-setter on the turn and outlasted a quartet of challengers down the lane, winning by three-quarters of a length.

Cutie Pie, bred by Just For Fun Stable in Indiana, paid $10.60 and earned a check for $6,180.

Pleasant Acres stallions enjoyed a second straight multiple-winning day yesterday, at the same time adding a stakes-placed filly on Gulfstream Park’s lucrative Claiming Crown program.

Sugar Fix, Treasure Beach’s leading money-winner of 2020, finished a bang-up second in the $95,000 Tiara Stakes, only succumbing to a filly who ran her eyeballs out in the final sixteenth. Red-hot Tyler Gaffalione was aboard Sugar Fix, a 3-year-old filly bred by Ballybrit Stable who came into the 1 1/16-mile turf race approaching the $200,00 mark in earnings. She swept into the lead on the final turn and led by 1 1/2 lengths in mid-stretch, but was unable to hold off the powerful late run of Queen’s Embrace. The $19,646 runner-up check raised her earnings to $195,114 on a record of 7-4-0 in 16 starts.

Earlier in the day, the Treasure Beach colt Formal Treasure broke his maiden at Tampa Bay Downs in his seventh start for Maryolen and Luis Aleman, his owners and breeders. Newcomer Isaac Castillo had to use every trick in the book to maneuver the 2-year-old colt in, out and around traffic for most of the one mile trip on the grass, before guiding Formal Treasure down the middle of the course to win by one length over 2-1 favorite Unidentified Man. The colt paid $46.80 and collected a check for $8,425 while becoming his sire’s 40th winner of 2020.

Three races later, Beauty Genius gave Handsome Mike his 41st winner with a wire-to-wire beauty for Ocala owner/trainer Robert Smith. The 2-year-old filly broke on top with Roberto Alvarado Jr. and held off several challenges en route to a three-length victory in her sixth start, getting the 1 1/16 miles on the turf in 1:45.02 and earning a breeders’ award for Joe and Helen Barbazon.

A pair of 3-year-olds won back-to-back at Gulfstream Park yesterday – one by Handsome Mike and the other by Treasure Beach – both continuing to show great improvement after slow career beginnings.

In the second race, Took a Cab went virtually wire-to-wire for long-time Florida owner/breeder Joel Sainer and trainer David Braddy, despite Edgar Prado losing his whip on the turn for home and hand-riding to the wire. The 3-year-old Handsome Mike gelding opened up by three lengths in mid-stretch and won it by 2 1/2, clocked in 1:12.24 for the six furlongs. He paid $17.60 and earned a check for $11,600. In his first 16 starts, Took a Cab went 0-1-5; in his last four, he’s 1-2-1 and has now earned $40,720.

In the next race, Josefa also led from the start with Paco Lopez, winning the “about” 7 1/2-furlong turf test by 1 1/4 lengths and paying $7.60. She earned $14,700 after getting the distance in 1:28.91, just two seconds off the course record. The 3-year-filly by Treasure Beach began her career with one third-place finish in her first seven tries; she’s 2-2-1 in her last six. Treasure Beach is sixth on Florida’s leading sire list and is less than $18,000 from reaching $1.5 million in progeny earnings this year.

Many racetrack announcers pride themselves on coming up with certain unique calls that stick with them for the length of their careers. Dave Johnson’s “And down the stretch they come,” is one of the most notable, as is Tom Durkin’s “Aaaargh,” Phil Saltzman’s “And they’re not gonna get him today, “and Trevor Denman’s “And (insert name) can see them all.”

Phil Georgeff’s legacy was, “Here they come spinning out of the turn,” and imagine how much fun the late, great Chicagoan would have had if Don’t Spin Me was competing at Arlington Park and Hawthorne.

At Charles Town last night, 10-1 Don’t Spin Me engaged in a race-long head-to-head battle with Wiggle It Jiggleit through fractions of :22.15 and :46.06, and as they spun out of the turn, the 4-year-old Handsome Mike filly was sitting just outside the 9/5 second choice. As they cruised toward the wire, jockey Christian Hiraldo stepped on the gas and Don’t Spin Me drew off with ease to win by two lengths, clocked in :52.48 for the 4 1/2 furlongs.

It was the fifth career victory for Don’t Spin Me, who was bred by the veteran quartet of Ed Seltzer, Beverly Anderson and Joe and Helen Barbazon. The $8,250 winner’s check spun her earnings to $50,912.

As the field headed around the final turn in the third race at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday, Handsome Effort appeared to be going backward, prompting track announcer Richard Grunder to say, “Handsome Effort is under a ride and is not responding.”

But rider Samy Camacho, who had already won the first race on Tampa’s opening-day program, did not seem to agree. He swung the Handsome Mike 2-year-old out to the middle of the turf course and the gelding made a furious run down the stretch, getting up by a head in the last jump to prevail in a three-horse photo.

It was Handsome Effort’s first race back after shipping in from Indiana, and he broke his maiden in his eighth try for owner/breeder Thomas Foley. He paid $7.20 and earned $7,380, completing the mile in 1:39.02 to become Handsome Mike’s 39th winner of 2020 and solidifying his hold on ninth place on Florida’s leading sire list.

After 13 unsuccessful tries, 12 of them at his home grounds of Indiana Grand, Weber lived up to the name of his dam yesterday, breaking his maiden with an explosion at Mahoning Valley Race Course in Ohio.

The 3-year-old gelding by Handsome Mike is out of the Mineshaft mare Nowurcookinwithgas, and that’s just how to describe Weber’s initial score, which resulted in monster across-the-board payoffs of $157.60, $33.00, and $16.40. It was a tribute to the patience of Michelle Elliott, who is the owner, breeder and trainer of the Indiana-bred gelding.

Renzo Diaz settled Weber in fourth place off the rail down the backstretch in the race at 5 1/2 furlongs, and waited until the turn to ask him for his best. When Diaz said go, Weber fanned six wide into the stretch then left the field behind, cruising to the wire 2 1/2 lengths in front. He became winner No. 38 for Handsome Mike this year.

Pleasant Acres client Circle 8 Ranch celebrated its first black-type runner on Gulfstream West’s Millions Preview program yesterday when Yafa finished a strong second for trainer Michele Nihei in the $60,000 Juvenile Fillies Turf Stakes under Victor Lebron.

The 2-year-old daughter of Handsome Mike-Red Baroness was off well in the one-mile race on the grass, and sat comfortably in third down the backstretch. Lebron sent her up to battle for the lead on the turn and Yafa took over heading down the lane, holding off several challenges until a powerful late run by Itsinthewinnerscircle overtook her nearing the wire.

One of the other challenges to Yafa down the lane was offered by Double Blessed, a filly by Treasure Beach. Bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon, Double Blessed had started just once, finishing fourth at Monmouth Park, yet went off at just 14-1 with Miguel Vasquez aboard. She slipped through on the inside nearing the wire and fell one-half length short of Yafa, finishing third and earning $5,700.

Yafa, who has a yearling full sister at the farm, earned $11,400 for her runner-up finish, raising her total for four races to $48,350.

Handsome Mike went over the $1.2 million mark in progeny earnings for the year with the seven-furlong victory of Handsome Prince yesterday at Gulfstream West.

Mario Fuentes rode the 3-year-old gelding, who sat close to the early pace, moved on the turn to take over the lead, and drew off to win by nearly two lengths. Handsome Prince, who is owned and bred by Just For Fun Stable, was clocked in 1:23.97, paid $3.80 as favorite and earned a check for $11,600, raising his total to $53,100. He has posted a record of 2-3-3-2 in 11 starts in 2020.

At Camarero Race Track in Puerto Rico, the 3-year-old filly Chasing Zeros won her third distance test in a row over the past five weeks, scoring by 1 1/4 lengths at a mile and one-sixteenth. The $7.000 OBS June 2-year-old had previously won by six lengths at the same distance and by 2 1/2 lengths at a mile and one-eighth, all with Sasha Ortiz aboard.