Two late bloomers add to Neolithic’s sizzling run toward $3 million

After winning just once in her first 19 starts, I Love Venezuela captured her third straight with a career best wire-to-wire beauty over the Tapeta surface at Gulfstream Park.

The 4-year-old Neolithic filly carried Cipriano Gil to a 2 1/4-length victory with a mile and one-sixteenth in 1:42.92, receiving an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 84. She had won her previous two by 4 and 4 1/4, giving her the three in a row by a combined total of 10 1/2 lengths. The filly bred by Orlyana Farm paid $8.40 and collected a check for $16,000, increasing her lifetime total to $84,512 on a record of 4-5-0 in 22 starts.

On the same day, Zaddy repeated the unusual feat, winning at Belterra Park and raising his record in his last nine starts to 4-4-0 after having gone 0-1-0 in his first seven. The 3-year-old Neolithic gelding, a $20,000 OBS October yearling, stalked the early pace under apprentice Summer Pauly, launched a challenge on the turn, then outdueled 1/5 favorite El Peje to the wire, winning by a neck in 1:12.15 for the six furlongs.

Zaddy paid $24.80 and picked up a check for $6,600, increasing his total to $47,037, with $35,057 coming this year. With the great recent surge by his runners, Neolithic is certain to reach his first $3 million season well before the end of December.