Turf News

Neolithic’s 11th winner of 2026 is I Forgot to Ask, who wired the field in a 5-furlong test for maidens over the all-weather track at Turfway Park under Yarmarie Correa.

Racing in a showery atmosphere, I Forgot to Ask took the lead nearing the first quarter, opened up daylight on the turn and into the stretch, then held on to score by three-quarters of a length in a time of :59.20. The 3-year-old gelding bred by Kelly Lynn Lupton paid $6.40 and earned a check for $10,782, boosting his total to $20,162 after four races.

Owner/breeder Tom McCrocklin has been a familiar figure on the Ocala thoroughbred scene for many decades, but his presence has multiplied both at the sales and on the racetrack in the last couple of years, much of it due to great success with Pleasant Acres stallions.

Currently, McCrocklin is the owner of Viable Asset, a 3-year-old Neolithic filly who broke her maiden in her career debut, winning by 1 1/2 lengths at Gulfstream Park under Irad Ortiz Jr. on Jan. 8. The filly bred by Mike Whiddon then came back to make it 2-for-2 under Joel Rosario, scoring by two lengths in a $42,000 starter optional claimer at five furlongs on the grass, despite not getting off to a quick start.

Viable Asset paid $10.40 after getting the distance in :55.02, less than 1 1/2 seconds off the course record. She earned a check for $19,800, lifting her two-race total to $36,600, and giving her owner a cause for much optimism for the rest of the meeting.

Add Landman Friday/Peppermint Man to the growing list of Neolithic exactas.

It happened at Gulfstream Park in a race at one mile and one-sixteenth on the grass. Edgar Perez was aboard 15-1 Peppermint Man, a 4-year-old gelding who took the lead out of the gate and continued on in front while 3/5 Landman Friday rested comfortably in sixth with Irad Ortiz.

Landman Friday then made a wide, sweeping move on the turn and ran past the field midway down the stretch, drawing off to score by 2 1/4 lengths in 1:41.23. The 4-year-old colt bred by Grassroots Training and Sales paid $3.20 and earned a check for $21,200, raising his total to $68,950 on a record of 2-1-1 in 8 starts. He became Neolithic’s 10th winner of 2026, and was claimed out of the race.

Peppermint Man held on for second and collected $7,880, boosting his total to $32,820. The exacta paid $37.

Neolithic is just three winners away from a significant milestone after Courageous Diane scored an impressive come-from-behind victory at Tampa Bay Downs under Joseph Trejos. The 3-year-old filly bred by Maria Haire became her sire’s ninth winner of 2026 and left him just three short of having 100 winners in his career.

Courageous Diane had gone seven races without an in-the-money finish, but she revved it up in Oldsmar in a $32,000 maiden claimer at one mile on the grass. With Trejos deftly taking advantage of the inside for most of the trip, the $3,000 OBS Winter yearling rocketed past the leaders down the lane and won by a length in 1:37.66, earning a check for $13,360. She paid $13.60 and achieved her best Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 74.

It was a strong last-to-first performance at Gulfstream Park Saturday for If Not For Luck, who made it three Tapeta victories in a row – under co-highweight of 123 pounds and a confident ride from Irad Ortiz Jr.

The 7-year-old son of Neolithic became his sire’s eighth January winner, and raised his record to 7-2-7 in 22 starts. The check for $16,200 for the $35,000 OBS April 2-year-old increased his career total to $244,470.

Ortiz settled If Not For Luck in sixth place early in the race at 5 1/2 furlongs over the all-weather surface, and when he asked him to run, if Not For Luck inhaled the opposition with a wide run and drew off to score by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:02.44, just four-fifths of a second off the track record. He paid $2.80 and was claimed out of the race.

In one of the strange twists of racing, two sons of Neolithic, Private Thoughts and Prevent, have faced each other in five straight overnight handicaps s at Gulfstream Park dating back to Oct. 4, the first two with purses of $70,000, and the last three worth $100,000 each. In the five, Private Thoughts has knocked out two victories, two seconds and a third; Prevent has two posted victories and three off the board.

In the latest on Saturday, the 5-year-old Prevent rebounded from one of his off-the-board efforts and went wire -to-wire in the mile and 70-yars test over the Tapeta course under Hall of Famer John Velazquez. They lulled the field to sleep with a :24.79 first quarter and continued on in front to a neck victory over 3-1- favorite Horsepower in 1:37.67. Bred by Katia Perez Ozuna, Prevent, a $15,000 OBS Winter yearling, earned a check for $60,000, boosting his career total to $469,177 on a record of 8-5-1 in 28 starts.

Private Thoughts, a 5-year-old gelding bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon, had won the last handicap on Dec. 27 but didn’t fire this time at odds of 3-1, finishing third for attorney David Romanik and trainer Ron Spatz, 2 1/2 lengths back. He earned $9,000 and now has a bank account of $368,474 on a record of 8-4-3 in 19 tries.

Six races after Chicken Dance became Neolithic’s fifth January winner at Gulfstream Park, Neoequos became No. 6, at the same time becoming his first black-type winner of 2026.

NEOEQUOS – The 4-year-old colt bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon in partnership with Matalona Thoroughbreds captured the $75,000 Sunshine Turf Stakes in his 13th start, and first try over the grass.

Tyler Gaffalione was aboard the $22,000 OBS October yearling and took him out quickly, settling into third place in the three path. They stalked the pace down the backstretch, then went after the two pace-setters into the lane, proving best by two lengths at the wire. Neoequos was clocked in 1:40.36 for the 1 1/16 miles over the turf course and paid $13. Neolithic’s biggest money-winner, he earned an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 98 and a check for $44,250, raising his total to $501,725 on a record of 4-3-2 in his 13 races.

CHICKEN DANCE – Owned and bred by one of Pleasant Acres most successful clients, Tom McCrocklin, the 3-year-old gelding is now 2-for-2 after his victory in a $35,000 starter optional claimer at six furlongs. Ridden by Micah Husbands, Chicken Dance won by a nose in 1:11.55, paid $6.40, and collected $20,700, boosting his two-race take to $35,100.

After breaking his maiden at Sunland Park under Alfredo Juarez on March 28 of last year, Scorpion Shot went on a six-race losing streak at Sunray Park, Albuquerque and Zia Park. Back at Sunland over the weekend, and with Juarez aboard, the 5-year-old Neolithic gelding ended the streak with an eye-catching daylight victory going a flat mile.

Scorpion Shot broke in mid-pack and began moving toward the leaders leaving the backstretch. He split the front pair as they rounded the turn, then began to draw off with ease late as announcer Eric Alwan bellowed, “Scorpion Shot streaks home a three-length winner.” The gelding bred by Debbie Walsh and Larry Anderson, manager at Getaway Farm, was clocked in 1:38.12, paid $21, and earned a check for $13,300, lifting his total to $29,682.

Scorpion Shot, a $17,000 OBS Winter Mixed purchase, received an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 77, best of his 15-race career, and became Neolithic’s fourth winner in January.

In the year that just ended, Neolithic racked up 53 winners from 90 starters, an average of 4.4 per month. He’s almost a cinch to beat that average for January, getting winner No. 3 for this month – Cademan – on Friday at Tampa Bay Downs. It also marked the first breeders’ award of 2026 for Joe and Helen Barbazon.

The next day, Neolithic enjoyed his first stakes-placed runner of 2026, the promising 3-year-old Ridgie missing second by a neck in the $125,000 Gasparilla Stakes, also at Tampa.

In his fourth start, with Samy Camacho in the irons in a $32,000 maiden claimer, Cademan got away in good early position in the race at 6 1/2 furlongs, went wide on the turn, then ran down 9/2 One Last Bullet in the final sixteenth to win by a length in 1:17.72. The 3-year-old colt paid $8.80 and earned a check for $16,700.

In the Gasparilla, Ridgie, who was riding a 3-race win streak, was away sixth, then closed a big gap late, but missed second on the last jump. The race at seven furlongs went in 1:23.58 and Ridgie’s check for $12,500 boosted her bank account to $89,000.

Longtime Pleasant Acres client Tom McCrocklin has the honor of getting Neolithic’s second winner of 2026: first-timer Viable Asset capturing a $25,000 maiden claimer at Gulfstream Park under leading rider Irad Ortiz Jr.

The just-turned 3-year-old filly bred by Mike Whieldon tracked the early pace in second place in the two path, commenced a strong wide run on the turn and drew off late to score by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:12.78 for the six furlongs. She paid $8.20 and her first check of $16,800 promises not to be her last.