Turf News

The honor of getting the first 2-year-old winner of 2025 not only goes to a freshman sire from Pleasant Acres Stallions, but to breeders Joe and Helen Barbazon as well.

The first race for 2-year-olds in North America, a $72,826 maiden special at 4 1/2 furlongs, was held at Keeneland Race Course on Sunday. It was won by Lennilu, a filly by Leinster bred at Pleasant Acres who had four listed workouts at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach. Each one was better than the last, culminating with a bullet :35.90 for three furlongs, best of 30 trials at the distance that day, and responsible for the filly’s 5/2 price on the tote board.

Luis Saez was aboard Lennilu, who was a $25,000 OBS Winter Mixed yearling. Saez sent her out quickly and Lennilu raced down the backstretch in fourth place over a sloppy surface, while saving ground. She remained inside into the stretch, swung off the rail for the run down the lane, and out-gamed Kadabra to the wire by one length. Lennilu was clocked in :52.32 and paid $7.50, while earning a check for $34,115.

On Monday, the same race for colts was run at Keeneland, and the Leinster colt Monster from Arindel Farm finished a fast-closing but non-threatening fourth after he was murdered from both sides leaving the gate, and trailed by about 12 lengths down the backstretch. Also a $25,000 OBS Winter Mixed yearling, he earned $2,751, giving Leinster a total of $36,866 for the two days.

Hot Girl Walk and Going Deep, California-breds and Bodexpress’s leading two money-winners, finished third and fourth in the $126,000 Evening Jewel Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Hot Girl Walk had previously become her sire’s first stakes-winner when she captured the Generous Portion Stakes at Del Mar. Under Antonio Fresu, she was up close early in the 6 1/2-furlong Evening Jewel, but hung late and finished 3 3/4 lengths back. The 3-year-old filly earned a check for $15,000 for owner/breeder Richard Barton, raising her total to $133,000 on a record of 2-1-1 in six starts.

Going Deep, with Edwin Maldonado, ran evenly for fourth place and collected $7,500, bringing her earnings to $102,900 and her record to 2-2-0 in six starts.

With the victories of Landman Friday (on Saturday) and Iconic Rock, Neolithic edged closer to the $1 million mark in progeny earnings for 2025 while moving into a tie for second place on Florida’s general sire list with 20 winners.

LANDMAN FRIDAY – The 3-year-old colt bred by Grassroot Training & Sales had Rajiv Maragh aboard for his second start, a one-mile trip over the Gulfstream Park turf course. In the $43,000 maiden special, he was off fifth down the backstretch, dropped back briefly, then used the rail to his advantage with an unreal run and was up to win by a neck. The $175,000 OBS April 2-year-old was clocked in 1:34.79, paid a generous $41.40, and earned a check for $25,800.

ICONIC ROCK – On January 28 of 2024, John Hayek and trainer Kathleen O’Connell claimed the then 3-year-old gelding out of his second start for $16,000. In that race, Iconic Rock finished second, but was disqualified and placed fourth. In his next 15 races, the gelding bred by Joan Angelena DiLibero added three more fourths, but was never able to muster up a top three finish.

That all changed early this season, with the $15,000 OBS October yearling getting three seconds and a third in four tries, before breaking his maiden at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday under Hector Diaz Jr. In the race at a mile and 40 yards, Iconic Rock made a wide run from fifth place down the backstretch and won a three-way stretch battle by a head. He was clocked in 1:42.69, paid $9, and collected a check for $10,085. And, after 20 races in the Hayek/O’Connell barn, they lost him for $8,000.

In his quest for his first $3 million season, Neolithic’s progeny earnings for 2025 stand at $842,279.

For the first six races of Quizler’s career at Gulfstream, Edgard Zayas was aboard five times and Samy Camacho once – without a visit to the winner’s circle. Then trainer Kelly Breen claimed the 3-year-old colt for $35,000, put Paco Lopez up, and the son of Curlin’s Honor has won two in a row.

His latest came in a $38,000 starter optional claimer at a flat mile on the grass, same as in his previous score. Lopez had a stranglehold on Quizler in third place on the inside down the backside , swung him five wide turning into the stretch, and the colt bred by SCF Inc. drew off to win by nearly two lengths, clocked in 1:34.60. He paid $4, and the check for $22,800 jumped his earnings to $79,020 on a record of 2-3-1 in his eight races.

It’s hard to find a word to describe it, but bizarre may be the right one.

Last year, in his first crop, Bodexpress had eight winners, all California-breds, six bred by Richard Barton and two by Barton and Richard Traynor in partnership. This week, the stallion by Bodemeister, now making his second stand at Pleasant Acres, added his fourth winner of 2025, Inxpress, bred in California by Richard Barton, as were two of the others. The fourth was bred by Barton and Traynor. That’s 12-for-12, all with Barton alone or with his partner. That’s bizarre.

Inxpress, a $5,000 Fasig-Tipton California yearling owned and trained by Jacque Guerra, won at Turf Paradise in her sixth start. With Daniel Vergara in the saddle in the race at about one mile on the turf, the 3-year-old filly came from mid-pack with a four-wide move on the backstretch and into the lane, and won by 1 1/4 lengths. She was clocked in 1:39.93 and paid $11.20. The check for $12,390 lifted her total to $17,780.

With Saturday’s third-place finish in the $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park added, Neoequos now has four of the stakes-placed variety through his first seven races.

The 3-year-old Neolithic colt bred by the partnership of Joe and Helen Barbazon and Matalona Thoroughbreds held a slight lead at the top of the stretch in the race at a mile and one-eighth, and held on for a big piece of the purse after being passed by 2-1 Tappan Street and 8/5 favorite Sovereignty in the final sixteenth.

Third place was worth a healthy $112,000 to the colt’s quartet of owners, and raised the earnings of the $22,000 OBS October yearling to $291,050, third best among all Neolithic runners. He has compiled a record of 2-2-2 in his seven tries.

Neolithic is currently third on Florida’s general sire list for 2025 with progeny earnings of $780,276.

After finishing second in three straight races at Sunland Park, it came as no surprise that Scorpion Shot would be 8/5 in the morning line for his next effort, which came on Friday. The surprise came when the 4-year-old Neolithic gelding was right around that number getting into the gate, but when the field headed for the first quarter and the tote board changed for the last time, he was down to 2/5.

With leading rider Alfredo Juarez Jr. in the irons, Scorpion Shot was away slowly and was a good 10 lengths back early down the backstretch in the race at six furlongs. He began picking up horses coming to the turn, and was still five lengths back in mid-stretch. But a strong final sixteenth powered him to the lead and he drew off to win by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:11.88.

It’s the first victory for Scorpion Shot in eight starts and the check for $6,900 boosted his earnings to $18,300. Neolithic is third on Florida’s general sire list with $633,166 in 2025 progeny earnings, and third in number of winners with 18.

With only his third crop at the races in 2023, Neolithic generated more than $1.4 million in progeny earnings. Last year, with four crops, he doubled that with more than $2.8 million.

Less than three full months into 2025, the son of Harlan’s Holiday has already run up $647,824 in earnings, and at that pace he would end up somewhere around last year’s total. But he has 42 named 2-year-olds in the hole, and without complications, could easily wind up well past the $3 million mark.

Neolithic’s latest two winners are Notable Exchange, who lit up the tote board at Tampa Bay Downs to earn another healthy breeders’ award for Joe and Helen Barbazon, and Cajun Vibes, who continued an eye-catching 2025 season with a popular victory at Penn National.

NOTABLE EXCHANGE – The 3-year-old filly didn’t start at two, but has raced three times in the last 40 days and picked up two victories. In her latest, at odds of 18-1, Jesus Castanon had her way back in the pack early, out of the TV picture, but put her in gear coming to the turn and she made a strong run between horses, then was up late to win by half a length. She was clocked in 1:37.17 for the mile on the grass, paid a juicy $38 and earned a check for $19,500, boosting her three-race total to $34,600.

CAJUN VIBES – When two scratches trimmed the field to four, it made it that much easier for Maical Inirio to negotiate the six furlongs with the 4-year-old gelding bred by Curtis Mikkelsen and Patricia Horth. Cajun Vibes proved to be much the best down the lane and won by three lengths in a time of 1:12.35, paying $3.40. He’s now 4-3-1 in 10 starts with earnings of $50,800, and 3-1-0 in five starts this season with a bank account of $31,500.

Neolithic is third on Florida’s general sire list and has 16 winners of 23 races this year.

Fulanito returned to action after a three-month vacation and came close to a five-furlong track record in a $54,000 allowance optional claimer over the Tapeta course at Gulfstream Park.

The 4-year-old Neolithic gelding bred by Angel Roman, a $50,000 OBS June 2-year-old, drew the No. 1 post with Luis Saez and exploded out of the gate to take the early lead. He posted sizzling fractions of :21.14 and :43.84, and coasted to the wire one length ahead of fast-closing Fast Fixer, clocked in :55.80 seconds, just nine-tenths off the record.

Fulanito became the 16th winner for his sire since Jan. 1, and paid $6.60. His check for $32,400 boosted his earnings to $77,360 on a record of 2-1-2 in seven starts.

R Morning Brew appeared to be in a little over her head in the $115,000 Any Limit Stakes at Gulfstream Park, and the fans agreed. The 3-year-old filly by Curlin’s Honor went off as the 12-1 fifth choice in the field of six going six furlongs.

But rider Edgard Zayas didn’t elect to contest the hot pace, and R Morning Brew was sixth and last after half a mile. She had already more than paid back the $30,000 owner Richard Averill paid for her at the last OBS April Sale, via victories in the Desert Vixen and Susan’s Girl, and fourth in the rich My Dear Girl. This time, although she was no match for the first two finishers, Zayas was able to bring her from behind to finish third, good for a check of $11,900. She’s now 2-0-2 in six tries with earnings of $140,900.