Turf News

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.

Treasure Beach solidified his hold on sixth place on Florida’s general sire list when Sydney’s Treasure went wire-to-wire under Emmanuel Esquivel in a $34,500 allowance race at Indiana Grand yesterday.

Esquivel sent the 3-year-old filly to the front in the mile and 70-yard race and she held a short lead over stalking favorite Shy Money until the top of the stretch. In the lane, Sydney’s Treasure said goodbye to the field and cruised to the wire for a 4 1/4-length score in 1:45.15.

The filly bred in Indiana by Larry Rivelli and Richard Ravin earned a check for $20,700 and paid $12.80, while getting her second victory in seven starts.

It was easy to tell Uncle Boogie was a colt with class when he broke his maiden by 6 1/4 lengths in his Santa Anita debut on Oct. 12. It was reiterated when the $38,000 OBS June 2-year-old finished a good second at Del Mar on Oct. 31.

Again at Del Mar, the colt bred by Pinky Mendoza became the latest to defy the Equibase charts, coming from ‘out of the clouds’ under Flavien Prat to finish second yesterday in the $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes. At the same time, he also became the second stakes-placed runner for freshman sire Ride On Curlin in the last nine days.

Off last in a field of six in the 7-furlong, Gr. III Hope, Uncle Boogie was about 15 lengths off the pace after a quarter in :22.73, even though Equibase listed it as 8 1/2 lengths. Going to the half, he was so far back he was out of the TV picture, which finally picked him up well into the turn for home. At the top of the stretch, it didn’t appear as if he had any chance to collect a meaningful check, but Prat never gave up, and Uncle Boogie closed a big gap to get second, although winner Red Flag was already gone.

Uncle Boogie earned $20,000, lifting his total for three races to $39,650.

Luca Panici proved once again why he might be the best finisher in the Gulfstream West riding colony, guiding Our Fantasy to an eye-catching victory yesterday in another race that came off the turf and went at one mile on the main track.

The 3-year-old daughter of Amira’s Prince, a $50,000 OBS April 2-year-old, stalked the leaders in fourth over the sloppy track, split horses at the top of the stretch, and exploded down the lane, winning by five lengths. As the filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon drew off in the stretch, the substitute track announcer said, “Our Fantasy is just bounding home easily.”

She raced the mile mile in 1:38. 37, paid $14.60 and collected a check for $14,800.

Treasure Beach picked up his 39th winner of 2020 yesterday at Gulfstream West, where the weather was responsible for a great many scratches, and Big Treasure wound up facing just three others in a 1 1/16th-mile race that predictably came off the grass.T

Luca Panici, arguably the best rider at the track when it comes to getting horses to finish, was aboard the 3-year-old colt, who broke his maiden in his 13th try. Big Treasure was away fourth, and Panici kept him there down the backstretch and into the turn, where the colt went three wide. Then Panici did what he does best, urging Big Treasure to get up at the wire for a one half-length victory.

The colt bred by Ramon Murphy paid $11.40 and earned a check for $10,400.

Despite the impressive Keeneland score at odds of 19-1 by Roc’s Princess in her Oct. 10 debut, the 2-year-old filly by Ride On Curlin was allowed to go off at 70-1 in the $125,000 Songbird Stakes preceding Friday’s Breeders’ Cup races. She wasn’t able to handle the first two finishers in the 6 1/2-furlong race, but Jon Court brought her home third, giving Ride On Curlin his first stakes-placed runner in his first crop. She paid $19 to show.

Roc’s Princess left from the rail, and raced on the inside down the backstretch. She moved up on the turn, then found room at the top of the stretch and closed well, but the two leaders were already gone and she out-gamed another pair for third, earning a check for $12,500. With just two races behind her, the filly bred by Kris Del Guidice has now earned $45,920.

After briefly losing his spot on Florida’s general sire list, Handsome Mike re-took ninth place when Caffeine Rush scored a stunning maiden-breaking victory at Gulfstream West, and first-timer Alabama Slammer followed suit four races later. They were the only runners competing yesterday for the son of Scat Daddy.

Racing five furlongs in a race that came off the turf, Caffeine Rush had to overcome the difficult No. 12 post with Leonel Reyes aboard. The 3-year-old filly jumped out of the gate and quickly took the lead, passing the furlong markers in :22.35 and :45.88, never giving anybody a chance to challenge. She opened up daylight on the turn, and in the stretch, just kept widening the lead. By the time she hit the wire, Caffeine Rush was 10 1/4 lengths in front and the teletimer read :58.16.

Caffeine Rush didn’t race at two, and her first victory in five starts this season was worth $14.60 to her backers, and $13,500 and a breeder’s award for Just For Fun Stable.

Alabama Slammer scored in a different fashion in his five-furlong race that also came off the grass, stalking the pace while off the rail with Edgard Zayas and proving best in the stretch to win by three-quarters in :59.77. The 2-year-old colt bred by Dr. Ross Russell earned $14,100 and increased Handsome Mike’s progeny earnings for the year to $1,171,907; he now has 37 winners.