Turf News

Last year was Neolithic’s best: he accumulated progeny earnings of $2,884,398, in third place among all stallions on Florida’s general sire list. When Willow Case captured the $75,000 Hallandale Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park yesterday, with its $44,550 to the winner, Neolithic’s current progeny earnings jumped to $2,703,520, making his first $3 million season a virtual certainty.

Leonel Reyes was aboard the 2-year-old filly again, after he had guided Willow Case to a 3 1/4-length victory in the $75,000 Sharp Susan Stakes in her previous start. Reyes sent her out slowly and she was sixth heading down the backstretch. When he gave her the go sign, Willow Case made a strong wide move, caught the leaders at the top of the stretch and went on to win in a hard drive by three-quarters of a length, clocked in 1:38.02 for the mile.

Willow Case has now won three straight, and as opposed to the $56 win payoff in her last race, this time she paid $8.80. The filly bred by Sherry R. Mansfield and Kenneth M. Davis has earned $130,850 in four starts.

After breaking her maiden in her career debut at Gulfstream Park, then winning the $100,000 Desert Vixen Stakes, R Morning Brew contested four black-type races and posted two thirds, a fourth and a fifth. That string ended with a sharp score in a $57,000 allowance optional claimer over a muddy surface at Gulfstream with Edgard Zayas in the saddle.

The 3-year-old Curlin’s Honor filly left the gate running, battled up front through fractions of :22.64 and :46.35, surged into the lead on the turn and widened down the lane as announcer Pete Aiello barked “R Morning Brew has given them the slip.”

The $30,000 OBS April 2-year-old bred by Dori Morgan Hyatt was 3 1/2 lengths to the good at the wire, clocked in 1:17.87. She paid $7.20 and collected a check for $33,000, increasing her total to $177,500 on a record of 3-0-2 in seven starts for owner Richard Averill. She received an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 91, best of her career.

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.

Pleasant Acres Stallions kicked off the weekend on Friday on a high note, with freshman sire Leinster getting his fourth winner, at Aqueduct, and Curlin’s Honor getting No. 13, at Presque Isle Downs.

LEINSTER – Coming off a second-place finish, St. Brigid’s Cross broke her maiden in her fourth start and paid $5.64 as favorite. She raced head-and-head for the early lead in the race at 6 1/2 furlongs, then sprinted away under the expert handling of Javier Castellano and scored by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:18.80. The 2-year-old filly bred in New York picked up a check of $26,400 for owners /breeders Amy and Ciaran Dunne, raising her total to $48,200.

CURLIN’S HONOR – It took just two starts for Leftnateawalkin and Rosario Montanez to get fully acquainted, and in start No. 3, the 2-year-old gelding bred by Breeze Easy went wire-to-wire in a $40,000 maiden special at six furlongs over the all-weather surface. He passed the markers in :22.51, :45.87 and :57.99, won by half a length in 1:10.61, and collected a check for $24,000, boosting his three-race earnings to $27,750.

Neolithic runners continued their quest for their sire to reach the $3 million level in 2025 progeny earnings with a pair of victories on Saturday, Orquidea Real breaking her maiden at Colonial Downs and Private Thoughts adding to a blockbuster weekend at Gulfstream Park for long-time Pleasant Acres client David Romanik.

ORQUIDEA REAL – The 3-year-old filly bred by Lynn and Chris Boutte took 15 races to win for the first time, but when she did, it was eye-opening. With Joe Trejos aboard for the 5 1/2 furlongs over the outer turf course, she sat fifth on the inside early, about three lengths off the pace, made her move on the turn, and drew off with ease in the lane to score by 4 1/2 lengths in a quick 1:03.32.

Coming off a second in her previous race, the $7,500 OBS March 2-year-old paid $8.20 and earned a check for $19,200, lifting her total to $45,920. She became Neolithic’s 45th winner this year, and received a 76 Equibase ‘E’ speed figure, best of her 15 races.

PRIVATE THOUGHTS – Just an hour and 10 minutes after David Romanik’s Argos captured the $500,000, Gr. I bet365 Summer Stakes at Woodbine with the attorney on hand for the winner’s circle presentation, his 4-year-old gelding Private Thoughts, in partnership with trainer Ron Spatz, won a $57,000 allowance optional claimer at Gulfstream Park. In a test at 1 1/16 miles over the Tapeta course, after the race came off the grass, the gelding bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon sat second under Leonel Reyes while stalking pace-setter Fredo, took over the lead entering the stretch and drew off to score by two lengths in 1:41.74.

Private Thoughts, an $11,000 OBS March 2-year-old, has won two in a row and is 3-1-0 in his last four. He paid $7 and collected a check for $34,200, jumping his total to $221,774 on a record of 6-2-2 in 14 starts. He received an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 98, tied for best of his career. Neolithic’s progeny earnings have reached $2,612,371 en route to his first $3 million season and he’s firmly entrenched in second place on Florida’s general sire list for 2025.

After sitting in third place on Florida’s general sire list for most of the year, Neolithic moved into a clear-cut second via the exploits of Prevent and Camigol over the weekend.

PREVENT – The 4-year-old colt bred by Katia Perez Ozuna, who sold for $15,000 at the 2022 OBS Winter Mixed Sale, captured a $70,000 handicap at Gulfstream Park in a race that was scheduled for the turf but was switched to the Tapeta surface. With Emisael Jaramillo in the saddle, Prevent was off fourth early, but rushed up to take the lead after a quarter and held it the rest of the way, winning by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:39.46 for the mile and 70 yards.

Prevent, who has won two of his last three, paid $7.20 and added $41,500 to his bank account, which now stands at $347,447 on a record of 6-5-1 in 23 starts. He received an excellent Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 97.

CAMIGOL – For a colt who was a $9,000 RNA as an OBS October yearling, the 2-year-old has performed admirably. At odds of 3-1, he finished second under Marcos Meneses in the $100,000 Dr. Fager Stakes and picked up a check for $20,000, raising his four-race total to $90,200 on a record of 1-2-1. The two checks increased Neolithic’s progeny earnings for 2025 to $2,541,911 as his first $3 million season draws closer.

Leinster enjoyed a banner afternoon on Saturday, with Lennilu winning the $100,000 Desert Vixen Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Gulfstream Park and Triskelion finishing second in a $170,000 handicap at Kentucky Downs.

LENNILU – The filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon was a $23,000 OBS Winter Mixed Sale graduate. With Jonathan Ocasio in the irons, she went head-and-head with 2-1 Finding Strength for the entire six furlongs through sizzling fractions of :22.15, :45.50 and :57.87, and with track announcer Peter Aiello bellowing “a thrilling Desert Vixen,” Lennilu prevailed by a nose in a stakes-record 1:10.72. She paid $4.80 and collected a check for $60,000, ballooning her total to $163,289 on a stellar record of 3-0-1 in four starts.

TRISKELION – The $75,000 FTK July yearling stalked the early pace in third in the maiden special at 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf, then closed well to get the runner-up spot and earn a check for $18,000. With a third at Ellis Park in her debut, she’s collected $22,933 in two starts.

Blitz: “A lot of activity to achieve something in a short time, often used in various contexts, like marketing or sports.” Neolithic had six runners compete at four tracks between Wednesday and Friday, resulting in four victories, a second and a third. That’s a blitz!

WEDNESDAY: At Penn National, High Vibes raised her record to 6-3-7 in 38 starts with a sharp performance under Inoel Beato in a race at ‘about’ one mile over the turf course. The 6-year-old mare bred in Maryland by Maria and Mary Haire sat just outside 3-1 pacesetter Sweet No No for half a mile, surged into the lead turning for home and won by half a length in 1:36.51, less than two seconds off the course record. The $45,000 OBS June 2-year-old earned $12,000, increasing her bank account to $116,310.

At Thistledown, Big Bucksalot pressed the pace early in a $20,000 starter optional claimer before tiring to finish third. The 5-year-old gelding bred by Julie Jackson collected $2,000 and jumped his earnings to $101,567.

THURSDAY: A certain sharpie (or sharpies) was/were no doubt expecting a winner in the fifth race at Delaware Park. The 4-year-old filly Expecting a Winner was sitting at 10-1 as the field entered the gate for the race at a mile and 70 yards over the turf course, and the first change of the odds board down the backstretch showed her at 3-1. It wasn’t easy, but the filly bred by Patricia Generazio won it by a nose, and paid $8.60 to satisfy the plunger(s).

Expecting a Winner, a $7,000 RNA at the OBS June sale, was making her fourth start after a break of 8 1/2 months. She lifted her record to 4-1-3 in 15 starts, and the check for $13,200 raised her earnings to $68,700.

FRIDAY: After three ho-hum efforts, Little Torch woke up under Leonel Reyes and went wire-to-wire in a mile and 70-yard race over Gulfstream’s Tapeta surface. The 2-year-old filly was clocked in 1:43.24 and paid $32.20, while earning a check for $22,200 plus a healthy breeders’ award for Joe and Helen Barbazon.

Five races later, the Barbazons added another breeders’ award when Dialithic finished second, also in a mile and 70-yard test over the Tapeta track. The 4-year-old filly earned $5,250, upping her bank account to $74,570.

At Colonial Downs, West Virginia-bred Spotlight Girl was another wire-to-wire and first-time winner, scoring in her sixth career start for owner/breeder/trainer Angel Rodriguez. Under Francisco Arrieta, the 2-year-old filly won by a neck after 5 1/2 furlongs over the inner turf course in 1:03.98, also less than two seconds off the course record. The victory, worth $24,000 to Rodriguez, gave Neolithic 44 winners from 80 starters this year, or 55 percent.

In her career debut in August of 2023, Neolithica finished last by 36 lengths and received an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 0. In her latest race, at Timonium, the 4-year-old Maryland-bred Neolithic filly won by 9 1/4 lengths and received her highest ‘E’ figure, a 96.

Neolithica has come a long way since that horrendous debut. She’s run 21 times overall and has posted a record of 9-2-1, with earnings of $196,976. J. D. Acosta was aboard for the latest, and the filly bred by Maria M. Haire paid $9 after a wire-to-wire score under high-weight of 126 pounds, getting 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:18.25. It was her second victory in a row, fifth in her last eight, and was worth $26,400. She won her previous start at Charles Town by 9 1/2.

Victories by Mister Abarrio and Kip the Distance on Thursday added $59,400 to Neolithic’s 2025 progeny earnings. He’s closing in on $2.4 million, leaving him within a stone’s throw of second place on Florida’s general sire list, and $600,000 away from his initial $3 million season.

MISTER ABARRIO – The 5-year-old gelding bred by Dr. Tiffany Atteberry and Scott Brown, a $30,000 OBS October yearling, made it two victories in a row and three of his last four plus a second, coming from behind to score in a $75,000 allowance optional claimer at Colonial Downs. In a 1 1/8-miles trip over the outer turf course, with Micah Husbands aboard, Mister Abarrio broke well, then dropped back to a comfortable sixth along the inside down the backstretch.

Husbands shot him between horses, wheeled to the outside down the stretch, and the gelding was up in the final strides to win by a neck in 1:48.55. He paid $13.20 and earned $44,400, boosting his lifetime earnings to $295,410 on a record of 6-7-11 in 32 starts.

KIP THE DISTANCE – Also winning her second in a row, a $25,000 starter allowance claimer at Penn National, the 3-year-old filly picked up another $15,000 for owner, breeder and trainer Angel Rodriguez, raising her total to $178,670. With Jose Lopez in the irons, she broke sharply in the six-furlong test, chased the leaders while close-up down the backstretch, fanned three wide on the turn, and proved to be best in the lane by 2 1/4 lengths, clocked in 1:11.14. In running her record to 3-4-3 in 19 starts, she received her best career Equibase ‘E’ speed figure, a 79.