Turf News

Everything was coming up roses for My Little Rosy at Delaware Park yesterday, as the 5-year-old daughter of Handsome Mike picked up her second victory in her last three starts with a powerful wire-to-wire performance.

Erasmo Martinez was aboard My Little Rosy, who broke on top from the rail in the race at about a mile and 70 yards on the turf and never gave it up. She turned away a brief challenge on the first turn, then skipped away down the backstretch and was in front by 10 on the final turn. At one point in the backstretch, it was 20 lengths from front to back.

The mare bred by Ponder Hill coasted home by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:43.28 and earned a check for $10,800.

Caffeine Rush closed with a rush in the eighth race at Gulfstream Park yesterday, leaving the field in her wake and giving Handsome Mike his 24th winner of 2021.

The 4-year-old filly bred by Just For Fun Stable was coming off an excellent work of :48.35 for four furlongs at Palm Meadows and went off as the 2-1 favorite in the 5 1/2-furlong race contested over a sloppy track. Leonel Reyes broke her quickly from the rail and she settled in second behind pace-setter Foolish Heart.

After a :22.39 first quarter, Reyes drove Caffeine Rush through inside Foolish Heart and easily took the lead into the stretch. From there, it was all but over as she cruised away to a 6 1/2-length score, raising her record to 2-6-1 in 14 starts.

Caffeine Rush paid $6.80 and collected a check for $20,900, raising her total to $70,840. She earned her best ‘E’ speed figure from Equibase – an 86.

The “light bulb effect” is a theory that a great many sharp racing analysts have long embraced, and Happy Hill Lil joined the club yesterday at Saratoga.

The theory goes that some horses who have raced poorly for a time, have a light bulb click on over their heads (as in so many of the old cartoons) and they suddenly realize why they’re in the race. Happy Hill Lil fits the profile perfectly.

In her first eight career starts, the best the 4-year-old daughter of Handsome Mike could muster up was a third-place finish at Belmont Park back in June of 2020. In every race, she trailed near the rear of the pack, sometimes making up an insignificant bit of ground in deep stretch. In start No. 9, the light apparently came on somewhat and Happy Hill Lil came from way back to finish fourth, only four lengths behind the winner.

Yesterday, Happy Hill Lil completed her racing transformation. With Eric Cancel aboard in a race at 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass, she broke slowly from the 12 post, trailed by some 9 or 10 lengths down the backstretch, then uncorked a monster wide run on the turn and ran down the leaders as announcer John Imbriale bellowed, “Happy Hill Lil is putting in a furious run . . . here is Happy Hill Lil to win the finale . . . at a price.”

That price for the first career victory for the New York-bred filly was $35.40, and she earned $27,500 for owner/breeder Roger Cimboya Jr., enough to buy a truckload of light bulbs.

In her first 27 career starts, And I Know was able to produce just one victory. In her last nine, she’s upped the total to four.

The 5-year-old daughter of Handsome Mike raised her record to 4-8-6 in 36 tries yesterday at Belterra Park, and it was probably her easiest score. Veteran Perry Ouzts sent And I Know out second from the No. 4 post, but she quixkly took over the lead around the first turn and never gave it up.

The mare bred by Adolpho and Felicia Exposito led by two lengths down the backstretch and into the final turn, where she received a minor challenge from 6-1 shot Maliced. But And I Know stepped it up and drew off as announcer Ed Meyer chimed in with, “And I know has more in the tank.” She coasted away to win by 3 1/4 lengths in 1:44.48 for the mile and 70 yards, paid $6.60, and earned $5,580, increasing her lifetime total to $53,398 while sending Handsome Mike’s progeny earnings to $803,960.

Handsome Mike picked up his 22nd winner of 2021 with the stylish victory of Handsome Prince in a 5 1/2-furlong race at Gulfstream Park yesterday.

The 4-year-old bred by Just For Fun Stable had little-known Ronney Betancourt in the irons, but it mattered little as he guided the gelding to a 4 3/4-length score while getting the best out of him – a career-topping Equibase ‘E’ speed rating of 89.

Handsome Prince was off fourth and Betancourt was content to keep him out in the four path down the backstretch. He cruised up to third coming to the turn, challenged the leader turning for home, and coasted to the wire without a challenge as announcer Pete Aiello shouted, “They’re all left in the wake of Handsome Prince.”

The gelding was clocked in 1:04.68, paid $20.80 and earned a check for $11,600, which bumped Handsome Mike up to $791,406 as he heads for his third straight $1 million season. Handsome Prince is 3-3-5 in 20 tries with earnings of $71,290.

Handsome Mike is eighth on Florida’s leading sire list among active stallions.

Handsome Mike picked up two more winners yesterday, Do What It Takes at Finger Lakes and Mike Mike at Mountaineer Casino and Resort, giving the stallion 21 for the year and moving him into 10th place among Florida’s active sires with 2021 progeny earnings of $745,829.

Michael Davila Jr. was aboard Do What It Takes, who raised her record to 6-6-8 in 34 starts with a strong finish after a five-horse cavalry charge to the first quarter. The 5-year-old mare bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon went three wide on the turn and won a three-way duel to the wire by two lengths. The $10,000 OBS April 2-year-old paid $7.90 and earned a check for $7,560, boosting her total to $78,968.

Mike Mike gained his first victory this year with Angel Diaz emulating the ride by Davila on Do What It Takes. The 5-year-old gelding bred by Judy Carlin was up close while five-wide down the backstretch and into the turn, and still had the most left in the battle down the lane, scoring by 1 1/4 lengths. The victory was worth $8,869 and he paid his backers a healthy $18.80.

When going over his latest victories at Gulfstream Park, it’s quite possible jockey Edgard Zayas won’t find one that was any easier than yesterday’s maiden score by first-timer Night Jumper.

The 2-year-old daughter of Amira’s Prince drew the No. 5 post for her debut in a $35,000 claiming race at ‘about’ 7 1/2 furlongs on the grass, and Zayas settled her in fifth place on the inside leaving the gate and into the backstretch. Announcer Pete Aiello picked her up several times along the way, noting that Night Jumper was dying to run, and he was right on the money.

When Zayas swung her to the outside heading to the final turn, Night Jumper inhaled the four in front of her, swept into the lead at the top of the stretch, and coasted to the wire 3 1/2 lengths in front, with her rider never once raising the whip.

Night Jumper was clocked in 1:30.76, paid $9.80, and earned a check of $23,650 for her owner and breeder, Darsan Inc. She became the sixth winner this year for Amira’s Prince, who has progeny earnings of $265,209 despite having just 10 starters.

Many hours after Night Jumper’s sensational debut, and as far across the country as is possible, Galileta finished a bang-up third in the $50,000 Emerald Downs Distaff at a mile and one-sixteenth.

Kevin Orozco was aboard the 4-year-old filly, and he sent the daughter of Amira’s Prince right to the lead. Galileta galloped along comfortably in front until she was collared in the stretch and wound up missing second by half a length. She earned $6,000, which raised her total to $32,106 on a record of 2-0-1 in eight starts.

Neolithic retained his lead over Noble Bird in Florida’s freshman sire race via an eye-catching victory by first-timer Splenda Gail in a $32,000 maiden special weights test on the grass at Evangeline Downs last evening.

With Ty Kennedy in the irons, the filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon became winner No. 4 for Neolithic, two better than Noble Bird. She broke sharply from the No. 1 post, took the lead nearing the first quarter, which went in :22.33, and opened up daylight through a half in :46.92. She was never challenged throughout and coasted to the wire in front by 4 1/4 comfortable lengths, clocked in :57.53 for the five furlongs.

Splenda Gail earned a check for $16,800 and lifted Neolithic’s total to $114,750. With just six starters, the son of Harlan’s Holiday has a batting average of 66.6 percent, and all four of his winners have scored in their first start.

Sir Seamus scored a wire-to-wire victory on the turf at Woodbine yesterday, his sixth score in a 19-race career, tying him with Here Comes Jackie for most winner’s circle visits by any of Handsome Mike’s runners. It was only his second race back after a vacation of 5 1/2 months.

Gary Boulanger was aboard the 5-year-old, and the veteran rider had Sir Seamus on the lead from the outset. The gelding bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon, and sold for $13,000 at the 2018 OBS Open sale, sailed by the markers in :22.98, :45.83 and 1:09.42 and was never seriously threatened. He reached the finish line in front by three-quarters of a length clocked in 1:21.96 for the seven furlongs, and his check for $32,453 in U. S. dollars brought his career total to $143,979.

Although it’s much too early for making end-of-the-year predictions, Neolithic is currently No. 1 on Florida’s 2021 freshman sire list with respect to number of winners.

The stallion by Harlan’s Holiday, who had become the first Florida freshman to get two winners, now has three thanks to a highly-professional maiden-breaking victory by Cattin in his first try at Gulfstream Park.

Cattin was bred by long-time Florida breeders Curtis Mikkelsen and Patricia Horth, and was a $25,000 OBS Winter yearling. He was ridden by Emisael Jaramillo in yesterday’s debut in a $50,000 claiming race at 5 1/2 furlongs. Sent off at odds of 3-1, Cattin broke fifth and hugged the rail down the backstretch, until Jaramillo slipped him through to stalk the three leaders into the turn for home.

The veteran rider waited for the inside to open up, and when it did, he shot Cattin through the hole and in the blink of an eye, he left the three challengers in the dust. Never leaving the rail, Cattin widened the margin through the lane and at the wire he was nearly four lengths in front, clocked in 1:05.38. He paid $8.40 and earned a check for $28,550, which raised Neolithic’s total to $97,950 despite having only five runners thus far. Among 63 first-year sires in North America, he stands at No. 20.