Pleasant Acres stallions reaching new heights

Handsome Mike and Treasure Beach made significant upward moves on Florida’s general sire list yesterday, with the former’s second crop breaking the million-dollar mark, and the latter’s third crop coming within $50,230 of reaching $2 million.

Love Daddy, the daughter of Handsome Mike whose earnings have been compromised by the difference in value of U. S. and Canadian funds, continued to impress as a 3-year-old with a neck victory in a 1 1/16ths-mile race over the all-weather track at Woodbine. Despite having to steady twice down the backstretch, the filly bred in New York by Joe and Helen Barbazon was able to recover and get up in time with a strong late run to raise her record to 4-2-2 in nine starts.

Canadian owner Paul Mouttet, who purchased Love Daddy for a bargain $9,000 at the 2018 OBS June 2-year-old sale, benefited to the tune of $27,000 in north-of-the-border funds, but Handsome Mike was only credited with $20,330 U. S. on the sire list. With all of her races having come at Woodbine, Love Daddy has totaled $85,179 on the list, while Mouttet has collected $113,367. Even so, Handsome Mike’s earnings jumped to $1,006,353.

Treasure Beach had six runners competing from Gulfstream to Aqueduct and three tracks in between on Friday. He came away with two winners, a second and two thirds, adding $35,558 to his 2019 earnings, which now stand at $1,949,770.

Celtic Treasure scored a wire-to-wire victory at Laurel Park, winning by seven lengths in 1:44.96 for the mile and one-sixteenth. The 3-year-old gelding bred by Irish Eyes Stable paid $4.80, earned $10,830, and is 4-1-1 in 13 starts lifetime with a bank account of $72,435. He’s won two in a row and three of his last four.

At Tampa Bay Downs, Small Hope carried Samy Camacho to a one-length, come-from-behind allowance score with a mile on the turf in 1:35.61, less than two seconds off the course record. The 4-year-old gelding bred in Kentucky by Helen Groves Revocable Trust didn’t race at two and three, and is 2-5-1 in nine starts since May 18; the $11,600 check boosting his earnings to $42,413.