Bernie Dickman

Handsome Mike’s first winner of 2021 came at Mahoning Valley yesterday, where Weber looked more like a 1/5 shot than a 15-1 proposition.

The 4-year-old gelding is an Indiana home-bred of trainer Michelle Elliott and her Elliott Ventures, and in his first 13 races was able to produce just one third-place finish. However, after this sharp victory, Weber is 2-1-1 in his last five tries.

David Haldar was aboard Weber in the one-mile race, and he placed the gelding perfectly behind the pace-setter down the backstretch. They went up for the lead on the turn, took over in the stretch and coasted the last 100 yards to win by five widening lengths. He paid $32.60 and earned a check for $5,880.

Two days from turning six, Kentucky-bred Small Hope won at Gulfstream Park yesterday, becoming Treasure Beach’s 43rd winner of 2020 and boosting his sire’s number of winning races in four seasons to an even 200.

The son of Galileo has progeny earnings of $1,578,395 and he’ll wind up as Florida’s sixth-leading sire at midnight tomorrow.

Small Hope had Paco Lopez aboard in the race at 1 1/8 miles over the turf course, and was sent off as a lukewarm 5/2 favorite. The $20,000 Keeneland September yearling was off last in a field of nine, and saved ground along the inside down the backstretch. He angled out in upper stretch, came between horses and took command in mid-stretch and went on to win by three-quarters of a length, clocked in 1:50.38.

Small Hope, bred by the Helen Groves Revocable Trust, earned $14,400 and increased his total to $75,968 on a record of 3-7-3 in 21 starts.

Treasure Beach continues to have great success in Argentina, with group stakes-winner Milione winning at San Isidro on the 23rd, and Sharkan finishing second in the Gr. I Provincia de Buenos Aires at La Plata three days earlier.

Three days after Handsome Mike picked up his 42nd winner of 2020, Treasure Beach did likewise when Dixieland Darling broke her maiden at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday in her third start.

The 2-year-old filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon had to overcome being pinched between horses leaving the gate and dropping back to last in the seven-horse field. Jose Batista didn’t panic, though, and kept Dixieland Darling within hailing distance of the leaders down the backstretch in the 1 1/16th-mile race on the grass.

When even-money Spin Class began a three-wide move coming to the turn, Batista had his filly right on the favorite’s tail, and they moved to the lead together, with Dixieland Darling then proving best in the run to the wire. She won by 2 1/4 lengths, paid $10.60, and earned a check for $9,295 plus a breeder’s award for the owners of Pleasant Acres Stallions.

The way Mike Mike performed over a muddy track in the first race at Mountaineer Casino Wednesday night, he didn’t look like a horse who had not yet broken his maiden.

With Luciano Hernandez aboard in the 5 1/2-furlong race, the 4-year-old gelding by Handsome Mike left from the No. 9 post and stalked the early pace while four wide down the backstretch. He made a strong outside move on the turn, took the lead into the stretch, and widened it all the way to the wire, winning by four lengths and paying $3.80 as favorite.

Mike Mike became winner No. 42 for his sire this year and only seven Florida stallions have more; but three of those have 43 so Handsome Mike has a week left to move into a tie for fifth, or even better.

Handsome Mike’s only Friday entrant around the country was Darlindiva, at Tampa Bay Downs, and the 4-year-old filly moved her sire to within less than $5,000 of $1.3 million in the progeny earnings department.

Oldsmar newcomer Alonso Quinonez gave Darlindiva a picture-perfect ride, shooting her to the lead out of the gate and never allowing her to give it up despite being pressured every step of the way down the backstretch in the mile and 40-yard race. The filly owned and bred by Joe and Vivi Serena turned away four challengers at the top of the stretch, leaving them in the dust late, and winning by 2 1/2 lengths.

Darlindiva paid $15.20 while earning a check for $8,395 and a breeder’s award for the Serenas. The filly is now 4-3-5 in 22 starts with earnings of $50,799.

Last year, Handsome Mike finished 15th on the Florida general sire list with progeny earnings of $1,096,071, and 29 winners. After Cutie Pie’s victory at Mahoning Valley yesterday, and a runner-up finish by Carletta at Delta Downs, the son of Scat Daddy moved up to ninth place on the list, raising his total for 2020 to $1,285,120. This, despite the fact that Covid-19 has reduced racing days, number of races and purses at most tracks around the U. S.

Cutie Pie, one of Handsome Mike’s 41 winners this year, has now won two of her last three starts. With Chelsey Keiser aboard, the 3-year-old filly went out quickly and was part of a cavalry charge down the backstretch in the 5 1/2-furlong race. She closed in on the pace-setter on the turn and outlasted a quartet of challengers down the lane, winning by three-quarters of a length.

Cutie Pie, bred by Just For Fun Stable in Indiana, paid $10.60 and earned a check for $6,180.

Pleasant Acres stallions enjoyed a second straight multiple-winning day yesterday, at the same time adding a stakes-placed filly on Gulfstream Park’s lucrative Claiming Crown program.

Sugar Fix, Treasure Beach’s leading money-winner of 2020, finished a bang-up second in the $95,000 Tiara Stakes, only succumbing to a filly who ran her eyeballs out in the final sixteenth. Red-hot Tyler Gaffalione was aboard Sugar Fix, a 3-year-old filly bred by Ballybrit Stable who came into the 1 1/16-mile turf race approaching the $200,00 mark in earnings. She swept into the lead on the final turn and led by 1 1/2 lengths in mid-stretch, but was unable to hold off the powerful late run of Queen’s Embrace. The $19,646 runner-up check raised her earnings to $195,114 on a record of 7-4-0 in 16 starts.

Earlier in the day, the Treasure Beach colt Formal Treasure broke his maiden at Tampa Bay Downs in his seventh start for Maryolen and Luis Aleman, his owners and breeders. Newcomer Isaac Castillo had to use every trick in the book to maneuver the 2-year-old colt in, out and around traffic for most of the one mile trip on the grass, before guiding Formal Treasure down the middle of the course to win by one length over 2-1 favorite Unidentified Man. The colt paid $46.80 and collected a check for $8,425 while becoming his sire’s 40th winner of 2020.

Three races later, Beauty Genius gave Handsome Mike his 41st winner with a wire-to-wire beauty for Ocala owner/trainer Robert Smith. The 2-year-old filly broke on top with Roberto Alvarado Jr. and held off several challenges en route to a three-length victory in her sixth start, getting the 1 1/16 miles on the turf in 1:45.02 and earning a breeders’ award for Joe and Helen Barbazon.

A pair of 3-year-olds won back-to-back at Gulfstream Park yesterday – one by Handsome Mike and the other by Treasure Beach – both continuing to show great improvement after slow career beginnings.

In the second race, Took a Cab went virtually wire-to-wire for long-time Florida owner/breeder Joel Sainer and trainer David Braddy, despite Edgar Prado losing his whip on the turn for home and hand-riding to the wire. The 3-year-old Handsome Mike gelding opened up by three lengths in mid-stretch and won it by 2 1/2, clocked in 1:12.24 for the six furlongs. He paid $17.60 and earned a check for $11,600. In his first 16 starts, Took a Cab went 0-1-5; in his last four, he’s 1-2-1 and has now earned $40,720.

In the next race, Josefa also led from the start with Paco Lopez, winning the “about” 7 1/2-furlong turf test by 1 1/4 lengths and paying $7.60. She earned $14,700 after getting the distance in 1:28.91, just two seconds off the course record. The 3-year-filly by Treasure Beach began her career with one third-place finish in her first seven tries; she’s 2-2-1 in her last six. Treasure Beach is sixth on Florida’s leading sire list and is less than $18,000 from reaching $1.5 million in progeny earnings this year.

Many racetrack announcers pride themselves on coming up with certain unique calls that stick with them for the length of their careers. Dave Johnson’s “And down the stretch they come,” is one of the most notable, as is Tom Durkin’s “Aaaargh,” Phil Saltzman’s “And they’re not gonna get him today, “and Trevor Denman’s “And (insert name) can see them all.”

Phil Georgeff’s legacy was, “Here they come spinning out of the turn,” and imagine how much fun the late, great Chicagoan would have had if Don’t Spin Me was competing at Arlington Park and Hawthorne.

At Charles Town last night, 10-1 Don’t Spin Me engaged in a race-long head-to-head battle with Wiggle It Jiggleit through fractions of :22.15 and :46.06, and as they spun out of the turn, the 4-year-old Handsome Mike filly was sitting just outside the 9/5 second choice. As they cruised toward the wire, jockey Christian Hiraldo stepped on the gas and Don’t Spin Me drew off with ease to win by two lengths, clocked in :52.48 for the 4 1/2 furlongs.

It was the fifth career victory for Don’t Spin Me, who was bred by the veteran quartet of Ed Seltzer, Beverly Anderson and Joe and Helen Barbazon. The $8,250 winner’s check spun her earnings to $50,912.

As the field headed around the final turn in the third race at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday, Handsome Effort appeared to be going backward, prompting track announcer Richard Grunder to say, “Handsome Effort is under a ride and is not responding.”

But rider Samy Camacho, who had already won the first race on Tampa’s opening-day program, did not seem to agree. He swung the Handsome Mike 2-year-old out to the middle of the turf course and the gelding made a furious run down the stretch, getting up by a head in the last jump to prevail in a three-horse photo.

It was Handsome Effort’s first race back after shipping in from Indiana, and he broke his maiden in his eighth try for owner/breeder Thomas Foley. He paid $7.20 and earned $7,380, completing the mile in 1:39.02 to become Handsome Mike’s 39th winner of 2020 and solidifying his hold on ninth place on Florida’s leading sire list.