Turf News

Gulfstream Park track announcer Pete Aiello is one of the best in the business when it comes to innovative stretch calls, and he added to his long list in Sunday’s second race, just hours before the Super Bowl kickoff in Tampa.

As Just Like Mike and Irad Ortiz Jr. were annihilating the field while looking like Secretariat winning the Belmont Stakes, Aiello entertained his vast audience with, “Just Like Mike can take a knee . . . and run out the clock.” And that’s just what the son of Handsome Mike did, winning the one-mile race by 16 1/2 lengths, and if they had gone another sixteenth it could have been 31.

It was only the third start in the career of the 5-year-old horse bred by Mary K. Haire, who was a $47,000 OBS June 2-year-old in 2018. But he never started at two or three for owners David and Teresa Palmer, finally making his career debut at four on July 5 of last year and finishing seventh. It was six months and five days before he went to the post again, finishing fourth on Jan. 10 after leading for half a mile.

So it was surprising to see Just Like Mike on the board at 8/5, but the bettors proved to be right on the money. Leading rider Ortiz had him sitting a stalking third down the backstretch, and when he swung Mike three wide and asked him to go on the turn, it turned into no contest in a matter of seconds. Just Like Mike became his sire’s fourth winner in the last five days, earning $11,600 for the Palmers and a 94 ‘E’ rating from Equibase, while providing another unique entry to Pete Aiello’s stretch call resume.

If ever the connections of one farm dominated a particular race it happened to Pleasant Acres in the 12th at Gulfstream Park yesterday.

The six-furlong race contested over a sloppy track was won by Lalali, a 4-year-old filly by Pleasant Acres stallion Handsome Mike who was bred by long-time partners Ed Seltzer, Beverly Anderson and Pleasant Acres owners Joe and Helen Barbazon.

Finishing second was Cookie Cove, another daughter of Handsome Mike owned and bred by long-time Pleasant Acres client Patricia Generazio, who has benefited from a slew of winners by the farm’s stallions over the years.

The third-place finisher was Miss Over There, owned by Troy Levy’s Tropical Racing, another Pleasant Acres client boasting of a good number of winners by the farm’s stallions.

Cookie Cove was right up near the lead for the entire three-quarters, while Lalali sat a comfortable fourth on the rail, and Miss Over There was content to come from off the pace. Everybody moved on the turn, and the trio was 1-2-3 heading down the stretch, with Lalali in mid-track winning by 1 3/4 lengths, and Cookie Cove second on the rail, 3 1/2 lengths ahead of Miss Over There.

Lalali earned $10,400 and raised her total to $50,280; Cookie Cove collected $3,400 and jumped to $44,990 – and both were claimed out of the race.

By the length of two noses, Handsome Mike gained his third and fourth winners of the year yesterday, Do What It takes scoring at Tampa Bay Downs and Carletta doing likewise at Delta Downs.

Do What It Takes, bred in New York by Joe and Helen Barbazon, got off fifth going seven furlongs with Antonio Gallardo in the irons, and cruised up to third on the outside on the turn. She went after the two leaders heading into the stretch but was carried very wide as they straightened out for home.

The 5-year-old mare recovered and took the lead down the lane only to be immediately chased by Exceed the Goal, who had come from last place with a bold rush. Exceed the Goal stuck her neck in front with 100 yards to go and appeared to be home, but Gallardo got into Do What It Takes and she prevailed by a nose in a close photo. She’s now 5-5-7 in 29 starts and the $7,200 check raised her earnings to $67,376.

Carletta, owned and bred by Carl D. Helmandollar, broke a string of three straight seconds at Delta Downs, getting her second victory by what Equibase called a head, but was no more than a nose. Racing five furlongs with Emanuel Nieves, she was off third from the rail, went three wide after the lead on the turn, and, in a battle of 2-1 shots, caught pace-setter Viking Voyage right on the wire. Carletta paid $6.20 and earned $7,200.

Earlier in the month, Victory Turn won at Caymanas Park in Jamaica in a race at a mile and one-sixteenth. The 5-year-old mare was bred by Joe Barbazon.

Treasure Beach closed in on $100,000 in progeny earnings for the month of January with the wire-to-wire Gulfstream Park victory of El Pillo, who became his sire’s fourth winner.

Edgard Zayas put the 4-year-old gelding on the lead in the one-mile grass race and he held off several challenges to win by a head in 1:35.78, paying $7.80 and collecting a check for $14,700. The gelding bred by Orlyana is 2-1-4 in 14 starts with earnings of $62,710.

Earlier, Beachtreasuregirl became Treasure Beach’s third winner with a 1 1/8th-mile romp at Camarero Race Track in Puerto Rico. The 5-year-old mare bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon raced well off the pace for half a mile, then made a strong outside move under Juan Diaz to take over the lead heading for home. She opened up by eight lengths in mid-stretch and won by nearly 10, paying $5.50. In the land of minute purses, she’s 3-4-4 in 23 starts with earnings of $43,343.

In her first seven career starts, Josefa was able only to muster up a lone third-place finish. After her wire-to-wire score under Junior Alvarado at Gulfstream Park yesterday, the improved 4-year-old daughter of Treasure Beach is 3-2-1 in her last eight.

At odds of 12-1, Alvarado shot Josefa to the lead from the No. 4 post in the one-mile turf race and she never looked back. The field remained close down the backstretch, but she revved it up on the turn, then easily held off the 7/5 favorite and 5/2 second choice down the stretch, winning by two lengths. The $16,500 winner’s check raised her earnings to $58,550.

Fair Grounds handicappers didn’t need to devise any complex system to determine that Complex System was the best bet on yesterday’s program.

The 4-year-old colt by Amira’s Prince drew the No. 1 post in the $45,000 maiden special going 5 1/2 furlongs, with Adam Beschizza in the irons. When a switch from the turf to the main track resulted in three scratches, Complex System was left with just three rivals and looked like a virtual cinch.

Based on his record of four seconds and a third in five previous starts at Belmont Park, Aqueduct, Saratoga and Gulfstream Park, the colt bred by Beth Bayer was sent off at odds of 1 to 2. Beschizza sent him out comfortably in third place on the rail and handled him with confidence until the field turned for home. There he angled Complex System out to mid-track and the colt ran down the two determined pace-setters late, scoring by one length, clocked in 1:05.17.

Complex System, a $200,000 OBS April purchase in 2019, became the second winner in three days for Amira’s Prince and earned a check for $27,000. That boosted his six-race total to $75,400, an average of $12,566 per race.

There’s no rider at Gulfstream Park better than Luca Panici when the field hits the top of the stretch and he proved it again yesterday in the second race with Stein Racing’s Our Fantasy.

Panici settled the 4-year-old daughter of Amira’s Prince comfortably in fourth place along the rail down the backstretch in the one-mile race. He sent her up on the outside turning for home and from there to the wire it was no contest. The filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon responded to Panici’s handling and coasted down the lane to win by five widening lengths in 1:38.09. She collected a check for $13,500 for Stein Racing, who purchased her for $50,000 at the 2019 OBS April 2-year-old sale.

Our Fantasy has taken two of her last three and is 3-3-1 in 13 starts with earnings of $75,910; she became the first 2021 winner for Amira’s Prince.

Double Blessed achieved two milestones in the 10th race at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday. The 3-year-old filly by Treasure Beach broke her maiden in her fourth try for owner/trainer Mike Dini, at the same time becoming the first winner of the new year for her sire.

The filly out of the Point Given mare Points of Grace appeared to be looking for more distance after two tries at a flat mile and one at a mile and one-sixteenth produced one third and two fourths, and this one at a mile and one-eighth proved to be right up her alley. She broke well from the rail with Tomas Mejia, then eased back to mid-pack on the backstretch. Coming to the final turn, Mejia took her three wide after the leaders and she made a strong run down the lane, getting up to win by a head in the last jump.

Double Blessed, who had finished third in the Juvenile Fillies Turf at Gulfstream West in November, paid $19.80 and earned $13,170 for her maiden-breaker, plus a breeders’ award for Joe and Helen Barbazon.

If anybody will remember Uncle Boogie’s romp in a $36,000 starter optional claimer at Santa Anita yesterday, it will be John Shear. The sixth race was named in honor of the long-time paddock official, who was celebrating his 100th birthday.

Shear was in the winner’s circle for the presentation after the 3-year-old colt bred by Pinky Mendoza boosted his record to 2-2-0 in five starts and collected $21,600 as Ride On Curlin’s first winner of 2021.

Abel Cedillo was aboard the $38,000 OBS July 2-year-old who broke last in the six-horse field in the race going 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track. Cedillo swung Uncle Boogie four wide coming to the turn, and the colt inhaled the field in a matter of seconds, then proved to be much the best in the stretch, drawing off to score by nearly four lengths.

Uncle Boogie broke his maiden at Santa Anita in October by 6 1/4 lengths, then finished second in the Gr. III Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar a month later. For this impressive victory, he paid $4.80, increased his earnings to $63,250, and appears to have a highly promising career ahead of him.

Handsome Mike’s first winner of 2021 came at Mahoning Valley yesterday, where Weber looked more like a 1/5 shot than a 15-1 proposition.

The 4-year-old gelding is an Indiana home-bred of trainer Michelle Elliott and her Elliott Ventures, and in his first 13 races was able to produce just one third-place finish. However, after this sharp victory, Weber is 2-1-1 in his last five tries.

David Haldar was aboard Weber in the one-mile race, and he placed the gelding perfectly behind the pace-setter down the backstretch. They went up for the lead on the turn, took over in the stretch and coasted the last 100 yards to win by five widening lengths. He paid $32.60 and earned a check for $5,880.