Turf News

All it took for trainer Kenneth Westlye to change the fortunes of My Little Rosy – and the fortunes of her backers at the mutuel windows – was to change the surface she competes on. After five failed attempts at breaking her maiden on dirt tracks, the 3-year-old filly by Handsome Mike turned it all around yesterday on the lush turf course at Tampa Bay Downs. And the tote board exploded with her win price – $84.40.

Odilon Martinez, who had been aboard the filly in three of her five starts, shot My Little Rosy out of the gate and she took an easy lead in the 1 1/16th-mile test, posting quick early fractions of :22.74 and :47:67. She remained comfortably in front for the rest of the trip, finally holding on by one-half length in 1:44.80. Her first victory was worth $7,860 to owner Jose Ramirez plus a breeder’s award for Ponder Hill Inc. My Little Rosy became the first winner of 2019 for second-crop sire Handsome Mike.

Treasure Beach made it two winners in two days when Celtic Treasure proved to be way too much to handle in a mile and one-sixteenth race at Laurel Park yesterday. The 3-year-old gelding bred by Irish Eyes Stable jumped right to the lead under Victor Carrasco and never looked back. He put up quick early fractions of :23.28 and 46.96 and was never really threatened en route to a 6 1/4-length score in 1:43.94.

Off at 3/5 and paying $3.40, Celtic Treasure earned a check for $18,810 and raised Treasure Beach’s earnings in just five days to $53,272.

Sand Drift wasted little time getting Treasure Beach his first winner of 2019, coming from out of the clouds in a one-mile race over the Gulfstream Park grass yesterday to break her maiden in style. In just her second start, at odds of 21-1, the filly owned and bred by former FTBOA president Leverett Miller and his wife, Linda, was off slowly under Luca Panici, and was listed on the Daily Racing Form chart as being 12 1/2 lengths behind the leaders at the half. It looked like more to the naked eye.

Panici swung her five wide on the final turn and Sand Drift put it in overdrive, with announcer Pete Aiello bellowing, “Sand Drift is really rolling now.” She rolled past the pack as if the others were standing still and wound up with a 2 1/4-length victory and a check for $19,600 plus a breeders’ award for the Millers. In the first four days of the new year, Treasure Beach has already racked up $34,462 in progeny earnings.

A pair of solid winners at Tampa Bay Downs made for another super Saturday for Treasure Beach, as the stallion by Galileo reached two milestones. First, A Girls Bestfriend won the fourth race and became his sire’s 31st winner of 2018, then stakes-winner Decorated Ace captured the eighth race and vaulted Treasure Beach over the $1.3 million mark in progeny earnings with just two days left on the racing calendar.

A Girls Bestfriend was awarded victory in his second start after he set the pace for more than three-quarters in the mile and one-sixteenth grass race. While engaged in a tough stretch battle with Uncle Curly, his rival first came over and soundly bumped A Girls Bestfriend, then cut him off nearing the wire, and the gelding owned and bred by Endsley Farm lost all chance. The stewards studied the film for quite a while before disqualifying Uncle Curly, and A Girls Bestfriend earned $13,750 for the score.

Decorated Ace, winner of the Sorority at Monmouth Park earlier in the season, came from off the pace in the one-mile race on the turf and took the lead heading toward the wire. In a furious finish, she held on by a head to run her record to 2-1-1 in seven starts and her earnings to $79,250. The filly gave Joe and Helen Barbazon another breeders’ award, and the $13,750 winner’s check put Treasure Beach at $1,313,533 for the year, and more than $1.9 million for his first two crops.

After kicking off her career with a second and two thirds in her first three starts, Naughty Me now sports a two-race winning streak. The daughter of Handsome Mike bred by Beth Bayer turned in a powerful performance last night in a $44,000 allowance optional claiming race at Delta Downs.

Leaving from post position No. 5, Rohan Singh settled the filly into a comfortable fourth heading down the backstretch in the seven-furlong test. He moved her up on the outside after the half, and Naughty Me gobbled up the leaders, taking over at the top of the stretch. She coasted home by one length, collected a check for $22,200, and boosted her earnings to $55,100, best among Handsome Mike’s runners.

Handsome Mike is all alone in second place on the Florida freshman sire list after the maiden victory of J’s Handsome Fana at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday. The filly bred by Faraway Farm enjoyed a dream rail trip under Ronnie Allen Jr. in the race that came off the grass, scoring by 2 1/4 lengths and becoming winner No. 9 for her sire.

In her fourth try, J’s Handsome Fana lit up the tote board with a payoff of $33.20 and earned a check of $7,860 for owner Ralph E. Whitney. My Little Rosy, another daughter of Handsome Mike, missed getting third by half a length at odds of 91-1.

As the year 2018 has progressed, Treasure Beach has sired winners at such venues as Belmont Park, Gulfstream Park, Gulfstream West, Monmouth Park, Tampa Bay Downs, Finger Lakes and several tracks in Argentina. Yesterday, the son of Galileo added Turf Paradise to the list when Thirty Seconds Out broke his maiden racing six furlongs under veteran Scott Stevens.

The 2-year-old gelding owned and bred by Carl and Sherry Walker shot right to the lead and continued on to a wire-to-wire score, winning by three-quarters of a length in 1:11.71 and paying $4.40 as favorite (he had been second by a neck in his previous try). Thirty Seconds Out became winner No. 30 this year for Treasure Beach, whose progeny earnings are approaching $1.3 million. 

At San Isidro in Argentina, where runners by Treasure Beach have enjoyed great success this year, Mirta finished second in the Gr. I Copa de Plata-Roberto Vasquez Mansilla Internacional, earning a check for $14,472.  

Treasure Beach’s runners continue to excel on the grass and Tigerbeach added to the record in the first race at Gulfstream Park yesterday. With Luis Saez in the irons, the 3-year-old stakes-placed gelding posted a sharp wire-to-wire performance, never being threatened throughout the 7 1/2-furlong trip and scoring by 3 1/4 comfortable lengths.

Tigerbeach earned $14,700 for the victory and boosted his earnings to $83,527 on a record of 3-4-2 in 14 starts. The gelding bred by John C. Pereira has been worse than fourth just twice. 

It isn’t often that a first-time starter trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Paco Lopez goes to the post at odds of 53-1. But it happened yesterday with What a Beaut, a 2-year-old Beau Choix filly bred by Linda Evans who turned in one of the most awesome performances at Gulfstream Park in recent memory. 

Racing in a $60,000 maiden special at the distance of “about” 7 1/2 furlongs over the turf course, Lopez broke What a Beaut smartly from the No. 10 post and quickly had her settled in third on the rail. She moved up on the inside along the backstretch and went up to battle 3/2 favorite Hidden Facts as they turned into the lane. The stretch battle ended when What a Beaut edged away in the final yards to score by a neck. 

What made the victory more significant, other than the win price of $109, was that she finished in 1:27.92, just 28/100ths of a second off Bow Tie Affair’s course record of 1:27.64. What a Beaut became the fourth winner from eight starters for Beau Choix, and collected a check of $24,000 for owner Gary Barber. 

Trainer Kathleen O’Connell and jockey Daniel Centeno combined to give Treasure Beach his 29th winner of 2018 yesterday, Paradise Island scoring a comfortable victory over the lush turf course at Tampa Bay Downs. Centeno settled the 3-year-old in just behind the leaders, swung him three wide on the turn, and the gelding who had broken his maiden at Saratoga drew off to score by nearly two lengths. Paradise Island was clocked in 1:36.81 for the mile, paying $9.40 and earning a check of $8,150 plus a breeders’ award for Debora C. Morgan. He boosted his earnings to $61,530, while Treasure Beach’s progeny earnings for the year jumped to $1,229,943.