Turf News

The sharpies at the OBS sales may have missed the boat on a couple of Thursday’s Gulfstream winners, both by stallions from Pleasant Acres.

CAMIGOL – The 2-year-old colt by Neolithic was a $9,000 RNA as an OBS October yearling, and now he has a victory and a second to show for two starts. After the runner-up finish by a neck in his debut, he came back in a $53,000 maiden special and went wire-to-wire with Edwin Gonzalez, winning by 5 3/4 lengths in a sharp :52.17 for 4 1/2 furlongs, and paying $2.60. The colt bred by DeLuca and Sons Stable earned a check for $35,800 and has a two-race take of $46,200.

CARROLL’S HONOR – Breeder Don Ming brought the 3-year-old Curlin’s Honor filly home from the October OBS sale after the final bid of $27,000 failed to reach her reserve. She broke out of a four-race out-of-the-money slump and went wire-to-wire going six furlongs under apprentice Luis Fuenmayor. She put up fractions of :22.53 and :45.86 en route to a strong 7 1/2-length score, clocked in 1:11.07.

Carroll’s Honor paid $4.20 for her third victory in eight tries and the check of $14,550 for her patient owner/breeder raised her earnings to $51,520.

Gunnevera’s 10th winner of 2025 is Gunner’s Gold, a 3-year-old New York-bred gelding who surprised the handicappers with a $46 win payoff after breaking his maiden at Thistledown in his fifth start.

Luis Rivera was in the irons in the race at six furlongs and he rushed Gunner’s Gold out quickly, and settled him in second on the rail going to the first quarter, which went in :22.68. Rivera then sent him through on the inside and the gelding bred by Dorothy Bailin took the lead and continued on in front all the way to the wire, scoring by 2 1/2 lengths. The $50,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga purchase was clocked in 1:13.25 and earned a check for $7,860.

Just Trust Me just missed making it four straight victories. The 3-year-old California-bred colt by Bodexpress lost a stretch-long battle by a neck to 1/2 favorite Medicine Dog in the $50,000 Golden Boy Stakes at Assiniboia Downs

Coming off three in a row, Just Trust Me went off as the 6/5 second choice in the race at six furlongs. Antonio Whitehall sent him to the lead where he was joined by the favorite, and they were glued to each other sides all the way to the wire with Medicine Dog finally gaining the upper hand, clocked in 1:12.71. It was 9 1/2 lengths back to the third horse.

Just Trust Me now sports a record of 5-5-1 in 15 starts, and the runner-up check (in U. S. dollars) of $7,426 increased his total to $125,817. He received an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 92, best of his 15 races.

Neolithica has won seven times in her career, and six of her successes have come at Laurel Park.

The latest Laurel score by the 4-year-old Maryland-bred filly by Neolithic was a convincing wire-to-wire performance in a $32,780 starter optional claimer at seven furlongs. Horacio Karamanos was aboard the $30,000 Timonium October yearling, and he guided to a 4 1/2-length victory in 1:24.77, her third in her last five starts.

The filly bred by Maria M. Haire paid $7.20 and earned a check for $20,010. She raised her record to 7-2-1 in 18 starts, and boosted her bank account to $150,590, with $63,310 coming this year.

Highstakes Hustler’s first victory was a thing of beauty.

Making his fourth career start at Evangeline Downs, the 3-year-old Gunnevera gelding sat sixth under a stranglehold down the backstretch in the race at ‘about’ one mile on the turf. As the field approached the final turn, Timothy Thornton sent Highstakes Hustler up on the outside and the gelding bred in Kentucky by Southern Comfort Farm swept into the lead without taking a deep breath, then ran away down the lane to win by three lengths.

Gunnevera’s ninth winner of 2025 was clocked in 1:37.98, paid $10.20 and earned a check for $10,800.

Besides the first letter of their names, there were many similarities between the victories of Latch the Hatch and Lido Beach heading into the weekend at Gulfstream Park.

Both are by Curlin’s Honor, both are 3-year-olds, both won at 5 1/2 furlongs with very similar clockings, both came out of the OBS October sale, both paid $4.80 and both were bred by men with John in their name.

Latch the Hatch, a gelding bred by John B. Penn, went wire-to-wire under Edwin Gonzalez in a $57,000 allowance optional claimer over the main track, clocked in 1:04.57. He put up fractions of :22.50, :45.27 and :57.81 en route to a 4 1/4-length score and picked up a check for $33,600, increasing his lifetime earnings to $$133,790 on a record of 3-2-1 in eight starts. His Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 92 is his best.

Lido Beach, a filly bred by David John Osterhoit, raced in mid-pack with Cipriano Gil, made a 5-wide rally turning into the stretch and was up by a neck in 1:05.03. It was her first victory in three starts and was worth $22,500.

Lennilu didn’t lose any of her luster traveling across the sea despite losing her unbeaten status, finishing third in Royal Ascot’s Group II Queen Mary Stakes with its purse of 110,000 euros.

Luis Saez made the trip to UK with the 2-year-old Leinster filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon, and she finished less than two lengths behind winner True Love, and half a length behind runner-up Flowerhead. She beat 22 others (not a typo) in the process in the cavalry charge at five furlongs.

Third was worth $21,674 to Lennilu’s eight owners and increased her earnings for three races to $103,289. A $23,000 OBS Winter yearling, she had previously won a maiden special, followed by a victory in the Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Honor That Dude was off to a slow start as a 2-year-old, but he’s making up for it at three in Louisiana. The Curlin’s Honor gelding could only muster up a second and a third in seven 2024 races, but this season, after a mammoth winning race at Evangeline Downs, he’s 3-1-0 in his last seven.

C. J. McMahon was aboard for Honor That Dude’s latest, which went at seven furlongs over the main track. The $10,000 OBS October yearling bred by Maverick Stables battled through the first quarter, took over by himself at the half, then sprinted away from the field and won by an eye-popping 12 3/4 lengths. His clocking of 1:24.01 was just two seconds off the track record.

The Louisiana-bred gelding paid $2.40 and earned a check of $7,800 for owner/trainer Justin Jeansonne, boosting his total to $46,550, with $37,250 coming this year.

Way up north at Parx Racing, the Curlin’s Honor 3-year-old filly J J’s Honor went wire-to-wire to break her maiden under Eliseo Ruiz in her ninth start, also at seven furlongs. A $37,000 OBS 2023 Winter Mixed purchase bred by Sharon J. and Thomas R. Equi, J J’s Honor won by five lengths in 1:26.73 and collected $11,400.

Neolithic picked up two more winners, Poiema at Gulfstream Park and Mr Ramirez at Evangeline Downs, and he now has 29 from 60 starters this year, a 48.3 percentage.

POIEMA – The 6-year-old mare bred by Cheryl and James Maguire has turned out to be a major bargain. She was a $14,000 OBS June 2-year-old, and the winner’s share of her first victory of 2025 – $23,600 – boosted her career total to $300,913, third highest of all Neolithic runners.

Eddie Perez was in the irons for the $40,000 starter allowance at six furlongs, and he put Poiema on the lead early. She held her rivals at bay via fractions of :22.61, :45.18, and :57.53 before crossing the finish line 1 1/4 lengths in front in 1:10.67, and paying $5.20. She’s now 6-7-4 in 32 starts.

MR RAMIREZ – The 4-year-old colt is another bred by the ultra-successful partnership of Joe and Helen Barbazon, Ed Seltzer and Beverly Anderson. Jose Rodriguez had him close to the early pace down the backstretch before making a strong late run to win by two lengths. Coming off second and third-place finishes, he went off at 7/5 and paid $4.80, clocked in 1:25.44 for the seven furlongs, while earning a check for $6,600. His 75 Equibase ‘E’ speed figure is best of his 11-race career.

The two victories pushed Neolithic over $1.3 million in 2025 progeny earnings.

Neolithic’s 27th winner of 2025 is Loana, a 5-year-old mare bred in Pennsylvania by Mary K. Haire. With Elvin Gonzalez aboard in a race at one mile and 70 yards at Prairie Meadows, the $65,000 Timonium yearling sat comfortably in the two path early, following a slow pace up front.

After a crawling half mile in :51.08, Loana went up for the lead on the turn, cruised by the leader in the stretch and drew off to win by 3 1/4 lengths, clocked in 1:44.93. She paid $3.40 and earned a check for $10,980, increasing her lifetime total to $126,974. In 23 starts, she’s compiled a record of 4-3-5.

Neolithic runners have made 1,321 starts, and they have finished first, second or third in 44.7 percent of those races.