Turf News

In the three-day span from Thursday through Saturday, Pleasant Acres stallions went bananas!

On Thursday, Iconic Rock (Neolithic) won the second race at Belterra Park. On Friday, Miss Emily (Gunnevera) won the third race at Evangeline Downs and Santa Barbarian (Bodexpress) won the first race at Santa Anita, but the big day came Saturday. Chill Bean (Gunnevera) captured the second race at Gulfstream Park, followed by Lennilu (Leinster) winning the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, and Squire finishing second in the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile. Neolithica (Neolithic) put a cap on the day with a score in the 10th race at Pimlico.

ICONIC ROCK – The 4-year-old gelding bred by Joan A. DiLibero won by two lengths in a one-mile race under Lexander Sanchez, clocked in 1:41.91. The $15,000 OBS October yearling has won two of his last three and is 2-3-1 in his last seven. He paid $15.20 and collected a check for $8,450, increasing his career total to $38,765.

MISS EMILY – The 3-year-old filly was the poster girl for “from first to last,” getting off sixth and last from the No. 1 post in a race at 6 1/2 furlongs, and falling 10 lengths behind at the first quarter. Out of the TV picture until the final turn, she made a monster wide run and swept by the field in mid-stretch, breaking her maiden by 3 1/2 lengths in 1:21.13. She paid $7.40 and earned a check for $8,400.

SANTA BARBARIAN – Another winner from the highly-successful Richard Barton barn of California-bred runners by Bodexpress. The 3-year-old gelding chased High King for the entire mile on the grass in the $60,500 maiden special, then out-gamed the 11-1 shot to the wire by a neck to break his maiden in his fourth start, clocked in 1:36.91. Santa Barbarian paid $29.80 and the Barton bank account prospered by $36,000.

CHILL BEAN – The 3-year-old filly didn’t run at two for Amy Dunne and her trainer/co-owner Patrick Biancone. After a pair of thirds at three, Chill Bean broke her maiden to kick off the big Saturday Gulfstream card. With Jonathan Ocasio up, she pressed the pace in a mile and 70-yard race on the Tapeta surface, and proved best in the lane, winning by a length in 1:44.08. She paid $4.60 and earned a check for $15,750, but the co-owners lost her for $12,500.

LENNILU – The daughter of Leinster has put Pleasant Acres atop all freshman sire categories early in 2025. After breaking her maiden at Keeneland, the filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon won the $100,000 Royal Palm Stakes at Gulfstream under Luis Saez, getting five furlongs on the grass in :56.99, and scoring by nearly four lengths. She earned $47,500, increasing her two-race take to $81,615, and putting Leinster in the U. S. lead with $157,926. Lennilu is trained by Biancone and owned by Amy Dunne and seven partners.

SQUIRE – Another from the Dunne/Biancone stable, the Leinster colt was favored in the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile but fell 1 1/2 lengths short. He earned $21,560 for second and has $71,560 overall.

NEOLITHICA – Add the 4-year-old Maryland-bred filly to the growing list of Neolithic runners being claimed. Coming off a seven-length score in a $26,460 starter optional claimer, she went for a bargain $12,500. The $30,000 Timonium yearling bred by Maria Haire paid $7.80 and earned a check for $16,560, boosting her total to $130,000 on a record of 6-2-1 in 16 starts.

Robert G. Smith is a long-time Marion County horseman who has raced with great success at Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs, and many of his winning performers have been sired by Pleasant Acres stallions. The latest is Derby Effort, a 3-year-old filly by Curlin’s Honor who was the recipient of a great deal of patience from Smith, who is her breeder, trainer and co-owner.

In her first nine starts, Derby Effort managed just a single third-place finish. That ended on Tampa’s closing weekend, where she broke her maiden at odds of 15-1, paying a generous $33.80. Marcos Meneses was aboard Derby Effort, who set a pressured pace in a race at one mile over the turf course, and held off 7/5 favorite Michaela late to win by three-quarters of a length.

Derby Effort was clocked in 1:37.22 and her first winner’s check came to $11,700, raising her total to $17,655.

Ladys Chant won the first race at Tampa Bay Downs on Sunday and earned a check for $10,850, then Notable Exchange finished second in the fourth race good for another $6,600, and Neolithic rolled past the $1 million mark in 2025 progeny earnings at $1,011,128.

Ronnie Allen Jr. was aboard Ladys Chant, a 4-year-old filly bred by Martin and Emily Goodell who had finished second in her previous start and was sent off at odds of 4/5. She battled head-and-head for the lead early, took over after a quarter, continued to battle with 10-1 Chilling Factor and beat her to the wire by a nose, clocked in 1:41.71 for the mile and 40 yards. She’s now 3-4-6 in 20 starts with earnings of $61,525.

Notable Exchange, a 3-year-old filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon, has banked $48,100.

Neolithic is less than $7,000 away from reaching the $1 million mark in 2025 progeny earnings after the huge upset by Willow Case in a $70,000 maiden special at Gulfstream Park.

The 2-year-old filly bred by the veteran breeding team of Sherry R. Mansfield and Kenneth H. Davis, in her second start, won a stretch duel by a neck over Drama, the prohibitive favorite at 20 cents to a dollar. It was 14 1/2 lengths back to the third finisher.

With Edgar Perez aboard, Willow Case chased Drama through fractions of :22.69 and :47.57, then out-gamed the favorite to the wire in :54.21 to pick up a check for $40,000. After a fourth-place finish in her debut in which she lost by 16 lengths at odds of 30-1, Willow Case paid $31.80 in this one. She became Neolithic’s 23rd winner this year, second best among all Florida sires. .

Just Trust Me is the leading race winner and second-leading money-winner for Bodexpress following his wire-to-wire score in a $28,000 allowance race on the grass at Turf Paradise.

Kevin Krigger was aboard the 3-year-old colt bred in California by Richard Barton Enterprises, and he kept Just Trust Me going for the entire 7 1/2 furlongs, winning by a head in 1:30.47 and paying $4.00. He’s won two in a row, upping his record to 4-4-1 in 13 starts, and the check for $16,800 increased his earnings to $107,540.

After a mediocre beginning to his career during which he went 1-3-2 in 12 tries, adding his most recent victory Mister Abarrio has become an in-the-money star, posting a record of 3-3-9 in his last 17 starts.

The 5-year-old Neolithic gelding, a $30,000 OBS October yearling, scored a neck victory in a 7 1/2-furlong race on the grass under Micah Husbands at Gulfstream Park. The gelding bred by Dr. Tiffany A. Atteberry and Scott Brown sat comfortably in fifth place on the inside down the backstretch, remained on the rail into the stretch, and out-gamed his rivals to the wire to win by a neck. His clocking of 1:26.84 is less than one second off the track record.

Mister Abarrio paid $13.20 and earned a check for $21,700, leaving him less than $500 from reaching $200,000.

With just seven races under his belt, Bold N Breezy has been responsible for four breeders’ awards, three for winning efforts and one for second, for Joe and Helen Barbazon and their partners, Matalona Thoroughbreds.

The latest score for the 3-year-old Gunnevera colt came at Gulfstream Park in a mile and 70-yard test over the Tapeta surface. Emisael Jaramillo took the $50,000 OBS October yearling away in fifth place on the inside down the backstretch, then slipped him through on the rail turning for home. Bold N Breezy ran away from the field in the final sixteenth and won by 4 1/4 lengths, clocked in 1:42.47. He paid $3.20 as favorite, and the winner’s check of $19,800 boosted his total to $63,420.

Attorney David Romanik and his trainer, Ron Spatz, have had an exceptionally good run with many runners by Pleasant Acres stallions. Their latest success is with Most Handsome, a 3-year-old gelding by Neolithic who went wire-to-wire under Emisael Jaramillo at Gulfstream Park in a $56,000 allowance optional claimer at five furlongs on the grass.

Jaramillo sent Most Handsome to the lead and the gelding bred by Julie Ann Jackson never looked back, winning by three-quarters of a length and getting the distance in :54.92, just over one second from the course record. He paid $12.20 and collected $33,100 for his co-owners.

Most Handsome increased his record to 3-0-1 in six starts with earnings of $146,360. Neolithic now has 21 winners in 2025 and progeny earnings of $898,545.

Bodexpress picked up his fifth winner in his second crop when Just Trust Me went virtually wire-to-wire under Kevin Krigger in a $22,000 allowance optional claimer at Turf Paradise.

Coming off a pair of seconds, the 3-year-old colt bred by Richard Barton Enterprises shot out to the lead, battled head-and-head through sizzling fractions of :21.42, :43.86 and :56.22, then took over by himself in the lane and drew off to score by nearly two lengths, clocked in 1:09.34 for the six furlongs. He paid $6.40 and the check for $13,200 raised his earnings to $90,740 on a record of 3-4-1 in 12 starts.

After becoming the nation’s first freshman sire of 2025 to get a winner, Leinster also became the first to get two winners when Joe Bravo piloted Squire to a narrow victory in a $79,000 maiden special at Gulfstream Park.

Making his debut, Squire was off in mid-pack and raced about eight lengths off the pace down the backstretch. Bravo let him roll nearing the turn and the colt bred by co-owner Amy E. and Ciaran Dunne responded with a strong wide run into the stretch and was up in the final strides to win by a head. He was clocked in :54.11 for the 4 1/2 furlongs and received an Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 79. Amy Dunne and co-owner/trainer Patrick Biancone collected a check for $50,000 for the score.

Leinster has already racked up progeny earnings of $86,866.