Bernie Dickman

Handsome Mike’s freshman season moved forward yesterday with the victory of his second winner – Levy Land – in a 5-furlong race at Gulfstream Park. The filly was bred by her owner, Midwest Thoroughbreds, one of the leading racing stables in North America. With Emisael Jaramillo riding, Levy Land became locked in an early pace battle, but she outgamed her rivals to the wire to break her maiden in just her second start. She won by three-quarters of a length, paid $10.40 and earned a check for $23,650.

Gulfstream Park enjoys many important racing days during the year – Pegasus World Cup Day, Florida Derby Day, Donn Handicap Day and Summit of Speed Day, to name just a few. Saturday, June 23 could easily have been called “Pleasant Acres Stallions Day.”

The ninth race was won by Galileo’s Affair, a 3-year-old filly by Treasure Beach; No. 11 was taken by Spicy Nelly, a 3-year-old filly by Beau Choix, and the 12th by Miss Marisol, a 3-year-old filly by Poseidon’s Warrior. Even race No. 7 got into the act, having been won by Bimini, a 2-year-old filly by former Pleasant Acres stallion Brethren.

Galileo’s Affair handled the sloppy track with ease after the race was taken off the grass. The filly bred by Joe and Kris Carroll settled in at the  rear of the field under Jonathan Gonzales, moved outside and began her run on the turn, reached the leader a sixteenth out, and drew out by nearly three lengths at the wire. The $37,000 OBS August yearling is now 2-1-2 in 10 starts with earnings of $74,370 and is 2-0-1 in four tries this year.

Spicy Nelly, owned and bred by Just For Fun Stable, shot to the lead with Leonel Reyes and was 2 1/2 lengths in front at the end of seven furlongs in 1:24.72 in another race that came off the grass. She’s won two in a row and sports a record of 3-3-1 in 10 starts with earnings of $81,557.

Miss Marisol went wire-to-wire in the slop with Romero Maragh aboard despite being bumped twice at the break, and she also reported home by nearly three lengths. It was her first victory in three starts. The three Pleasant Acres winners collected a combined $47,700 for their efforts.

After taking more than five months off between her two and 3-year-old racing campaigns, Sparkle Sammy has now won two in a row after a more-than-eventful trip over six furlongs on the grass at Woodbine yesterday. 

The Poseidon’s Warrior filly, bred by Pleasant Acres Stallions owners Joe and Helen Barbazon, was taken to the lead by Gary Boulanger and was in front through a quarter in :22.29. Then, a loose horse shot inside her and Sparkle Sammy was forced to the outside, dropping back to second. Boulanger was able to get her back on stride and sent her to the lead again, and Sparkle Sammy continued on to a commanding score, drawing off by four lengths under a hand ride. She had broken her maiden five weeks earlier by 4 1/2 lengths.

Sparkle Sammy’s clocking of 1:08.18 is just one and one-fifth seconds off the Woodbine turf course record for six furlongs and there’s no telling what she might have posted if not for the incident on the first turn. 

Treasure Beach’s career progeny earnings surpassed the $1 million mark yesterday when Steel Beach broke his maiden with a wire-to-wire victory on the grass at Gulfstream Park. The 3-year-old gelding had started twice on the dirt before switching to the turf course and showing great improvement.

With Jose Alvarez aboard, Steel Beach took the lead out of the gate, held off 7/10 favorite Nonno Nino throughout the mile and one-sixteenth run, and prevailed by a neck at the wire. The gelding owned and bred by Hart Farm LLC paid $67.80 while becoming his sire’s 13th winner of 2018 and earning a check for $11,600, raising Treasure Beach’s earnings to $1,011,525.

After breaking his maiden at Santa Anita in late October, Treasure Hunter started seven times under a string of journeyman jockeys and finished second in four of those races. All it took to end that runner-up string yesterday was a switch to one of the top riders in the country – Rafael Bejarano.

Competing in a six-furlong starter allowance with a purse of $33,345, Bejarano shot the 3-year-old Treasure Beach colt to the lead and the two were in full control as Treasure Hunter posted sizzling fractions of :21.87, :45.19 and :57.65. The colt bred in Kentucky by Norman G. Houston III, a $61,000 OBS April purchase, was never threatened and went on to score by 1 3/4 lengths in a final time of 1:10.76. The $19,800 winner’s check raised Treasure Hunter’s bank account to $62,580 and vaulted his sire within less than $15,000 from the $1 million mark in career progeny earnings.   

Walter De La Cruz enjoyed a rocking chair ride with Raise a Warrior in a mile and 40-yard race at Thistledown yesterday. De La Cruz took the 3-year-old colt out quickly and the son of Poseidon’s Warrior settled into second down the backstretch. With three furlongs remaining, he urged the colt into action and Raise a Warrior did the rest, cruising by the leader in a  matter of seconds and leaving the field in his wake. The 6/5 favorite opened up a four-length lead in the lane and stretched it to nine lengths at the wire.

The colt bred by Pleasant Acres owners Joe and Helen Barbazon is 2-3-0 in his seven starts as a 3-year-old  and 2-2-0 in his last five.

To say the morning line maker blew it with Navy Commander in a wild eighth race at Parx yesterday would be a gross understatement. He had the 3-year-old Poseidon’s Warrior gelding listed at 12-1 in the line in the $40,000 allowance race at six furlongs. However, when the field broke from the gate, the Pennsylvania-bred was a solid 2-1 on the tote board.

Frankie Pennington shot Navy Commander right to the lead, but when three others went with him, he wrapped up on the gelding and dropped him into a comfortable fourth. Navy Commander stalked the leaders until the turn, where he made a five-wide move and began eating up ground. In the final sixteenth, they were three abreast straining for the wire, with Navy Commander in the middle, when the horse outside him lugged in and knocked him to the left, and he was simultaneously bumped by the inside horse bearing out. The pinball effect caused the outside horse to take a bad step and his rider was dumped to the ground.

From there, Navy Commander proved to be much the best; he drew away from the others to score by 1 1/2 lengths. There was a stewards’ inquiry and the positions behind him were eventually rearranged, but Navy Commander was safely home with his fourth victory in his last seven starts. He was clocked in 1:11.92 and collected a check of $23,400 for owner/breeder Swilcan Stables. That raised his earnings to $126,663, second best among his sire’s runners behind Firenze Fire, and Poseidon’s Warrior’s earnings jumped to $600,366 for the year.

Forty Fathoms has won two of his four starts after a convincing victory racing 5 1/2 furlongs at Gulfstream Park yesterday. The 3-year-old son of Poseidon’s Warrior battled for the lead early under Reylu Gutierrez, putting up a :22.69 quarter. He shook free on the turn and it was over quickly as he cruised to the wire 2 3/4 lengths in front, clocked in 1:05.93. The colt bred by Peaches Robinson collected $13,500 for the victory and lifted his sire’s earnings to $575,516, good for 10th place on Florida’s general sire list despite the fact that as a second-crop stallion he has many fewer runners than the rest. 

Poseidon’s Warrior was represented by a sharp stakes-placed runner at Gulfstream Park yesterday when Powerful Valenzuela lived up to his name by employing a powerful stretch run to just miss in the $75,000 Ocala Flame Stakes. Ridden by Emisael Jaramillo, the 3-year-old colt sat third about four lengths behind the leaders for much of the 6 1/2-furlong test. The 17-1 shot exploded heading into the stretch, rapidly closing the margin held by 2/5 favorite King Humor, only to fall one-half length short at the wire.

It was just the third career start for Powerful Valenzuela, who collected a check of $14,850 for owner/breeder Orlyana Farm.

In Argentina, Treasure Beach picked up a 2-year-old winner when April Season broke his maiden at San Isidro, earning $5,053.

Treasure Beach is less than $42,000 from reaching the $1 million mark in career progeny earnings after Tyler Gaffalione’s heads-up ride aboard Treasure for Gold in a $41,000 allowance optional claiming race at Gulfstream Park yesterday.

The 3-year-old filly broke alertly from the rail in the one-mile race on the turf, and Gaffalione settled her comfortably into third on the inside heading down the backstretch. When no hole opened on the turn, Gaffalione remained on the rail with his filly until they straightened out for home, where he steered her between horses and engaged pacesetter One Direction Song to the wire. Treasure for Gold was the better of the two late and pulled away by three-quarters of a length, clocked in 1:36.20.

Treasure for Gold is now 2-0-1-2 in five starts and the $24,000 winner’s check boosted her earnings to $74,950 for owner/breeder Robyn Thompson.