Lightweight rider guides Bucchero colt to maiden score

Bucchero picked up winner No. 14 over the weekend when Free Smoke broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park in his fourth start as a 3-year-old.

The colt bred by Philip and Karen Matthews was a generous 4-1 with Angel Morales despite the fact that he had finished second in his previous two tries. With apprentice Morales in at a light 112 pounds, six less than each of Free Smoke’s five rivals, the son of Bucchero broke well behind the leaders in the five-furlong turf race, made a strong three-wide move on the turn and into the stretch, then outgamed the closers late to score by a neck in :56.46.

The $145,000 OBS April 2-year-old is 1-2-0 in his four starts, and the check for $30,700 lifted his bank account to $50,450.