Bernie Dickman

Handsome Mike picked up his 31st winner of 2020 yesterday at Parx Racing, and it came from a surprising source. Babbo Babbo Babbo, a 4-year-old gelding bred by Christine Jones, won a $22,000 waiver maiden claiming race after being sidelined for more than 14 months.

Babbo Babbo Babbo was a $10,000 OBS March 2-year-old, and he raced just once at two, finishing second at Monmouth Park. Then he was off for a year, returning at Parx on July 30 of 2019, finishing fifth, and getting claimed for $20,000. He hadn’t been seen since until yesterday when he showed up in a 5 1/2- furlong race with Jeremy Laprida aboard.

The layoff led to a price of 12-1 but the gelding didn’t look anything like a long shot when Laprida rushed him out of the gate to tackle pace-setter Dynamic Dynasty through quick fractions of :22.27 and :45.91. On the turn, Babbo Babbo Babbo came alongside the leader, and put him away as they straightened out in the stretch. He drew off by two lengths, then held off just one rival late to win by three-quarters and earn a check of $12,600.

Handsome Mike is less than $33,000 away from reaching $1 million in progeny earnings for 2020.

Red-hot Treasure Beach added two more winners to his 2020 total yesterday, in different stratospheres as far as the betting public is concerned. J J Junior went wire-to-wire at Thistledown and paid $3.20, while Special Beach lit up the tote board at $48.20 at Indiana Grand, boosting Treasure Beach’s number of winners to 37.

J J Junior, owned by Shade Tree Thoroughbreds, bolted to the lead out of the gate with Yarmarie Correa in the six-furlong race, and was never threatened as he skipped to a three-length victory. The 5-year-old gelding had finished third in his previous race just eight days before. He collected $5,340 and raised his earnings to $41,805.

A van ride from Gulfstream Park to Indiana was all Special Beach needed to turn her fortunes around. With Alex Achard aboard, the 3-year-old filly was saddled with the No. 14 post in the one-mile race on the grass, and was a good 10 lengths behind in eighth place heading down the backstretch. A three-wide move on the turn shot Special Beach up to second in mid-stretch and she continued on to win by 1 1/4 lengths. She earned $7,200 for her maiden-breaking victory for owner/breeder Just For Fun Stable.

Passionfortreasure gave Treasure Beach his 35th winner of 2020 with a hard-fought victory in the first race at Monmouth Park yesterday.

The 3-year-old filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon didn’t race at two, and broke her maiden racing a mile on the turf course in her seventh try this year. After finishing third in her previous two races, Passionfortreasure was bet down to 4/5 with veteran Jose Ferrer in the saddle.

Ferrer sent her out quickly and the filly raced comfortably in fourth place down the backstretch, about five lengths off the pace. Coming to the final turn, she went after the two pace-setters and was head-and-head for the lead at the top of the stretch. In the drive to the wire, she out-gamed Baby Girl by a neck, earning the winner’s share of $11,400.

Imperador is an Argentine-bred son of Treasure Beach who presents a little bit of a puzzle. He was foaled in Argentina on Oct. 26 of 2016, which makes him a 4-year-old for racing purposes in South America, but a 3-year-old in the U. S.

In Argentina, Imperador was one of five Gr. I winners sired by Treasure Beach, starting eight times and posting a record of 3-2-0. He captured two Gr. I stakes, was second in a Gr. I, and second in a Gr. III, while earning $104,503. He hadn’t been seen his last race at San Isidro on March 14 until yesterday, when he showed up in an $81,000 allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs.

The betting public obviously dismissed his success down south and Imperador was sent off at 13-1 in the race at 1 1/16 miles on the grass. With Joe Talamo aboard, he sat a perfect trip in second for a mile, and in the final sixteenth was engaged in a three-way battle to the wire, finally ending up second by half a length. He earned $11,680, boosting his career total to $116,183, while posting an excellent Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 106. Expect better things ahead.

Galileo’s Affair, Treasure Beach’s leading race-winner, added to her victory total at Parx Racing with an overwhelming performance yesterday, at the same time missing by a whisker of becoming her sire’s second $200,000 earner.

The 5-year-old mare bred by Joe and Kris Carroll won for the ninth time, and her $9,000 check increased her career total to $199,060 in her quest to reach the next earnings level ahead of Raymundo’s Secret, Decorated Ace and Tigerbeach.

Jermaine Burke was aboard Galileo’s Affair as she made it a milestone afternoon for trainer Haleem Lee, who registered his initial victory as a trainer with just his second starter. Unfortunately, he won’t have a chance to repeat with her as Galileo’s Affair was claimed out of the race.

Off slowly from the No. 10 post in the mile and one-sixteenth race, Galileo’s Affair was a good 10 lengths out of it heading down the backstretch when Burke put her in overdrive nearing the final turn. She closed to within five lengths of the leaders at the top of the stretch, then quickly buried them en route to an 8 1/4-length score. The $37,000 OBS April 2-year-old now sports a record of 9-6-7 in 36 starts.

It isn’t often that a 2-year-old filly finishes second at odds of $13.90-1 in just her second start and makes such an impression that she is sent off at 1/2 in her next race. But that’s what happened yesterday with Yafa, a daughter of Handsome Mike bred by Troy Levy’s Tropical Racing and owned by his Circle 8 Ranch.

Yafa is the Jewish word for ‘beautiful,’ and there’s no other way to describe the filly’s maiden-breaking victory on the turf at Gulfstream Park. Ronnie Allen Jr. was aboard the filly in the one-mile race, and he was able to settle her in nicely in fourth place early, within short hailing distance of the two leaders. Down the backstretch, Allen urged Yafa closer to the pace, and when he revved her up coming to the turn, she coasted past the pace-setters and was comfortably in front as they hit the stretch.

As they headed down the lane, Yafa was widening her margin with every stride, and announcer Pete Aiello brought her home with “Yafa wins by as much as she wants,” which turned out to be eight lengths. She earned a check for $24,950 and raised her total to $36,950 after getting the mile in 1:37.12.

Yafa became Handsome Mike’s 30th winner of 2020 and the son of Scat Daddy is two away from siring the winners of 100 races.

In his last start at Gulfstream Park on Aug. 9, El Pillo led from the outset under Emisael Jaramillo only to be nailed at the wire by a nose after drifting out in deep stretch and being disqualified back to third. The 3-year-old Treasure Beach gelding had no such problems yesterday, with Jaramillo guiding him to a maiden-breaking wire-to-wire score.

Leaving from the No. 7 post, El Pillo shot to the front, opened up a little daylight down the backstretch, and never let anybody get close – the final margin was 4 1/4 lengths. The gelding bred by Orlyana Farm was clocked in 1:35.05 for the mile on the turf as he became winner No. 34 for Treasure Beach this year.

El Pillo collected a check for $21,400 and raised his total to $43,660 while paying $6.80 as favorite. He earned an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 92, his best in nine starts.

In her first four career tries, Sugar Fix was able to muster up just one second-place finish. After her stylish score at Kentucky Downs yesterday, she’s 7-2-0 in her last 10, including five victories in her last six starts.

The 3-year-old filly by Treasure Beach was ridden by Floridian Tyler Gaffalione, who nailed down the leading rider’s title at the Kentucky Downs meeting with his victory aboard Sugar Fix in the $101,500 starter allowance at a mile and 70 yards on the grass.

Sugar Fix, bred by Ballybrit Stable, stalked the early pace within a short distance of the front-running pack, and when Gaffalione asked her to run, she powered past the leaders and drew off to win by nearly two lengths in 1:39.03. She paid $5.20 as favorite, and the winner’s check of $60,000 raised her career total to $170,293. She received a 94 Equibase ‘E’ figure, best of her seven winning races.

Treasure Beach also added two graded stakes-placed runners at the Hipodromo Argentino De Palermo in Argentina in the last week. Sharkan, a 2-year-old colt, finished third in the Gr. I Estella Juvenile, and Henestrosa, a 3-year-old filly, finished second in the Gr. II Chile.

Wednesday proved to be another big day for Pleasant Acres stallions, with John’s Promise and La Flamenca winning for Handsome Mike and New Found Treasure scoring for Treasure Beach.

It took Raul Mena one prep race to get acquainted with John’s Promise at Delaware Park, and now the duo has won three in a row in the span of one month. The 4-year-old gelding tracked the leaders in fourth place in the $32,000 starter allowance going 5 1/2 furlongs, while the leaders put up sizzling fractions of :21.61 and :45.93.

Mena swung him four wide into the stretch and John’s Promise did the rest, drawing off to win by 1 1/4 lengths. He paid $13.40 and collected a check for $19,200, raising his total to $55,303 on a record of 4-1-1 in 10 starts.

In the previous race, La Flamenca set all the pace (:22.84, :46.34) with Roberto Alvarado Jr. and went on to win by two lengths in 1:12.05 for the six furlongs, paying $5.80 as favorite. The 3-year-old filly is 3-4-3 in 18 tries with earnings of $57,190. She earned an Equibase ‘E’ rating of 80, her best ever.

At Penn National, New Found Treasure prevailed following a furious stretch run on the grass that wound up with the first four favorites having their noses on the wire at the end of a mile and 70 yards.

Julio Hernandez aboard New Found Treasure tracked the leaders on the inside down the backstretch. The rider swung the 4-year-old Treasure Beach filly to mid-course heading for home and it took a quite a while for the placing judges to get the order straight. The filly bred by Stonehedge Farm paid $8, raising her record to 6-2-7 in 28 starts and her earnings to $91,968. Her clocking of 1:38.73 is only 1 1/2 seconds off the course record that has stood since 1978.

More Than Striking struck for the second straight time yesterday at Finger Lakes, winning at 5 1/2 furlongs and collecting a check for $6,000.

The 4-year-old gelding by Handsome Mike went wire-to-wire under Luis Perez, opening up a four-length lead in mid-stretch and coasting home by two in 1:06.43. In winning for the third time in a nine-race career, More than Striking paid $3.40 as favorite. Handsome Mike’s 2020 progeny earnings are up to $854,046 as he closes in on a second straight million-dollar year.