Turf News

Miguel Vasquez showed why he is, arguably, the best rider among the current roster at Gulfstream Park with a picture perfect ride aboard Right Angle, a 2-year-old Gunnevera filly making her debut in a race at 5 1/2 furlongs over the Tapeta surface.

The filly bred by Frank Mermenstein and Tom McCrocklin was away quickly and stalked the early pace in the three path. Vasquez floated her wide on the turn and Right Angle proved easily best down the lane, winning by two lengths in 1:04.19 and giving her freshman sire his third winner. She paid $20 and earned a check of $19,300 for her owners, McCrocklin and Weila Ye.

There appears to be no letup of Super Saturday weekends at Gulfstream Park for Neolithic, and this Saturday vaulted the Pleasant Acres hero into second place again on Florida’s general sire list for 2024.

It began in race No. 5 with the victory of Great Venezuela, who was sent off at odds of 7/5 in a $62,500 allowance claimer at five furlongs on the grass. Leonel Reyes was aboard the 3-year-old filly, who was winning her third in a row for owner/breeder Orlyana Farm. Great Venezuela stalked the early pace down the backstretch while three wide, then ran down the leaders and was going away by 2 1/2 lengths at the wire, clocked in :54.99, less than 1 3/5 seconds off the course record. She paid $4.80 and earned a check for $33,700, jumping her total to $154,100 on a record of 5-1-1 in seven starts.

The eighth race was the $200,000 Affirmed, second division of the Florida Sire Stakes for 2-year-old colts and geldings, going seven furlongs. Drayden Van Dyke was in the irons aboard Neoequos, a colt bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon and Matalona Thoroughbreds who had finished second to superstar Rated By Merit in the $100,000 Dr. Fager in his previous start, and repeated his performance in the Affirmed. He chased the 1/5 favorite through fractions of :22.74, :45.45 and :1:09.83 and fell short at the wire by less than four lengths, but was 7 1/4 lengths ahead of the third-place finisher. A $22,000 OBS October purchase, he collected $40,000, raising his total to $105,400.

The fillies went in race 11, the $200,000 Susan’s Girl, and Kip the Distance came from off the pace under Jonathan Ocasio to finish second behind Win N Your In, after seven furlongs in 1:25.23. Owned, bred and trained by Angel Rodriguez, she also earned $40,000, and now has banked $117,350.

The three checks brought Neolithic’s progeny earnings for 2024 to $2,394,161.

One hour apart – that’s how long it took Saturday for Pleasant Acres freshman stallions Curlin’s Honor and Gunnevera to get their third and second winners, respectively, at Gulfstream Park.

CURLIN’S HONOR: The third race, a $45,000 maiden special at 6 1/2 furlongs, went off at 2 p. m. Latch the Hatch prompted the early pace over the sloppy surface under apprentice rider Micah Husbands, then out-gamed 9/5 Oleg to the wire by a neck in a time of 1:18.07. The 2-year-old gelding, a $22,000 OBS October yearling bred by John Penn and making his first start, paid $24 and collected a check for $29,000.

GUNNEVERA: The fifth race, off at 3 p. m., went at a mile and 70 yards over the Tapeta surface. Bold N Breezy, making his second start in the race at a mile and 70 yards over the Tapeta surface, had Drayden Van Dyke in the irons. The 2-year-old colt, bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon and Matalona Thoroughbreds, was a $50,000 OBS yearling, coming out of the same sale as Latch the Hatch. Third down the backstretch, he won the race to the wire, scoring by nearly two lengths in 1:43.00. He paid $5.60, collected a check for $16,200, and was claimed out of the race.

Pleasant Fantasy completed a triple play for Pleasant Acres Stallions when he scored a convincing victory at the Meadowlands in his third start on Friday.

First: The 2-year-old colt became the second winner for the farm’s freshman sire, Curlin’s Honor. Second: He was bred by the farm’s owners, Joe and Helen Barbazon. Third: He’s owned in partnership by Breeze Easy LLC and Helen Barbazon.

Francisco Martinez was aboard Pleasant Fantasy, who stalked the pacesetter in the two path down the backstretch, went up to take the lead on the turn, and proved easily best down the lane to break his maiden by 2 1/2 lengths, clocked in 1:45.55 for the mile and a sixteenth on the turf. He paid $5.80 and earned a check for $12,000.

Another blockbuster Sunday at Gulfstream Park for Neolithic!

Race 1: Scarecrow wins and pays $12.20; earns $29,000. The 2-year-old colt bred by Endsley Oaks Farm was sold to Ocala’s Arindel for $19,000 at the OBS Winter sale. At OBS March, the colt was a $47,000 RNA and wound up racing for Arindel, winning in his debut. In the $45,000 maiden special, he came from out of the clouds and ran over the field late, scoring by 1 1/4 lengths over 7/5 favorite Excuses, who led all the way and had no excuses. The mile and 70 yards over the Tapeta surface went in 1:42.34.

Race 9: Private Thoughts wins and pays $8.00; earns $38,700. Prevent finishes second, earns $12,800. Private Thoughts was bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon, is owned by attorney David Romanik and trainer Ron Spatz, and was an $11,000 OBS March 2-year-old. After three scratches, there were just four left in the field for the $62,000 allowance optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles over the Tapeta surface. The 3-year-old gelding won by 4 1/4 lengths and received an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 98, his best in an 11-race career in which he has posted a record of 4-1-2 with earnings of $152,744.

Race 10: Dialithic finishes second, earns $5,600. Neolithic’s earnings total for the day came to $86,100 and he’s second to Khozan among Florida’s active sires with $2,240,807 in the bank for 2024.

Neolithic recently passed the $2 million mark in 2024 progeny earnings for the first time and at the rate he’s going, it looks like he’ll reach $2.5 million – or more – by year’s end.

The son of Harlan’s Holiday enjoyed an exceptional weekend, with Most Handsome making it 2-for-2 with an impressive score in the $95,000 Hollywood Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park, Ghost Bike romping over a sloppy track at Belterra Park, and Neophyte doing likewise over the Tapeta surface at Gulfstream.

MOST HANDSOME – The 2-year-old gelding bred by Julie Ann Jackson and owned by the successful duo of attorney David Romanik and trainer Ron Spatz, has made buyers look bad as he was an RNA at the last OBS March sale, and has now earned $98,650 in his two winning efforts. In the Hollywood Beach, Drayden Van Dyke sent him out quickly, edged him into the lead on the turn, and Most Handsome held on by a head, clocked in :57.60 for the five furlongs. He paid $5.60 and collected a check for $53,650.

GHOST BIKE – The 4-year-old gelding bred by Shade Tree Thoroughbreds, Geoff Roy and Tom Fitzgerald engaged in a head-and-head battle on the turn in the race at one mile, then proved to be a ton the best in the drive, winning by nearly five lengths in 1:39.49. He paid $16.60 and earned a check for $5,820, boosting his career total to $55,157 on a record of 4-1-6 in 26 starts.

NEOPHYTE – The 5-year-old gelding bred by Belinda Kitos (SCF Inc.), coming off a second in his last, paid $7.20 for his first victory of 2024. He won by 3 1/4 lengths under Jonathan Ocasio, clocked in :56.63 for the five furlongs on the turf. The check for $15,000 increased his bank account to $139,117 on a record of 4-6-9 in 28 tries.

Neolithic now has two stakes-winners and six stakes-placed runners in 2024, and his earnings have reached $2,145,952, less than $9,000 from third place on Florida’s general sire list.

It took Andylithic 17 tries to break his maiden, but when he did, he did it with style at Mountaineer Park last night.

With Luis Tapana aboard for the one-mile trip, the 4-year-old Neolithic gelding sat on the inside about six lengths off the pace heading down the backstretch, put it in overdrive on the turn, used the rail for his drive to the wire and drew off to score by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:41.47. The gelding bred by Ian Parsard paid $23.60, earned a check for $4,466 and became the 39th winner this year for Neolithic, who now has 56 percent winners to starters for 2024.

Neolithic has surpassed the two important milestones he has been chasing in recent weeks – his progeny earnings for 2024 have reached $2,049,999, his first season over the $2 million mark, and his lifetime earnings now stand at just over $5 million.

Expecting a Winner added $12,000 to Neolithic’s totals, capturing a $22,050 starter optional claimer at Delaware Park. With Paul Luna Obregon aboard, the 3-year-old filly bred by Patricia Generazio came from well off the pace in the race at a mile and 70 yards over the turf course, went wide into the stretch and drew off to score by 2 1/4 lengths. She paid $7.40 and raised her earnings to $53,025, with $41,035 coming this year.

Dancing N Dixie didn’t get a chance to exhibit her usual closing kick when she was blocked behind horses in the stretch in the $1.6 million Pepsi Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational at Kentucky Downs and finished off the board. The 3-year-old filly, who is closing in on $400,000, still earned $15,000.

Kip the Distance earned a check for $12,550 for her third-place finish in the $95,000 Hallandale Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The 2-year-old filly, who has now earned $77,350, went off at 85-1.

A strong two-day performance by Neolithic’s runners at Gulfstream Park has the red-hot stallion just a stone’s throw away from second place on Florida’s general sire list.

It began on Friday, when Trumpets won the fifth race and collected a healthy check for $38,100, followed by a runner-up finish by Neophyte in the eighth worth $5,450. On Saturday, Prevent won the third race and a check for $40,500, and Brawn finished fourth in a $75,000 handicap, earning $3,330. In the 10th race, Neoequos finished second in the $100,000 Dr. Fager for an additional $20,000. Adding a few odds and ends, and Neolithic’s take came to $107,560, lifting his sensational season’s progeny earnings to $1,991,027, less than $4,000 from second as he heads for his first $2 million year.

PREVENT – The 3-year-old colt bred by Katia Perez Ozuna was a $15,000 OBS Winter purchase, and he’s now earned $239,997, of which $155,477 has come in eight starts in 2024. He’s been stakes-placed three times, including in his latest, the Bear’s Den. In Saturday’s race at a mile and 70 yards over the Tapeta surface, Edgard Zayas had him right on the pace down the backstretch, put him in gear on the turn, and Prevent was up at the wire to prevail by a neck in 1:41.70. He received an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 90, his fourth straight race in a row at 90 or better.

TRUMPETS – The 3-year-old filly bred by Matalona Thoroughbreds, an $8,000 OBS October yearling, raced once at two and finished second, and is now 3-1-0 in five starts at three. In a $61,000 allowance optional claimer at five furlongs over the Tapeta after the race came off the grass, Edgar Perez took her wire-to-wire, putting up fractions of :21.87 and :45.12 and continuing on to score by nearly two lengths in :56.93, while receiving her best ‘E’ figure – 91. She’s 3-2-0 in her six tries with earnings of $121,910.

NEOEQUOS – After getting a DNF in his first start, the 2-year-old colt bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon and Matalona Thoroughbreds coasted to an easy score under Miguel Vasquez in a maiden special. Back for his third try in the $100,000 Dr. Fager, he was second best in a sharp performance behind coming superstar Rated By Merit, who was the 2/5 favorite and raced six furlongs in 1:09.45. Neoequos has earned $65,400.

Neolithic is about to pass $2 million in 2024 progeny earnings, and $5 million lifetime.

l

Attorney David Romanik and trainer Ron Spatz’s great success with Pleasant Acres stallions shows no letup as first-time starter Most Handsome broke his maiden in a $63,900 maiden special at five furlongs over Gulfstream’s Tapeta surface.

The 2-year-old gelding by Neolithic had Drayden Van Dyke aboard and Most Handsome trailed by six or seven lengths heading down the backstretch. He made a strong move on the turn, then ran down 6/5 favorite Itza Boss in deep stretch, winning by a length in 1:04.50. The gelding bred by Julie Ann Jackson paid $11.80 and collected $45,000 for the Romanik/Spatz stable.

Neolithic is less than $18,000 from reaching $1.9 million in 2024 progeny earnings. He now has 38 winners from 69 starters, best percentage (55%) among Florida’s Top 15 sires this year.