Turf News

When Celtic Treasure broke his maiden at Laurel Park earlier this year, he went wire-to-wire at odds of 70 cents to a dollar, and won by 6 1/4 lengths. The 3-year-old Treasure Beach gelding turned in an almost exact duplicate of that effort while getting his second victory yesterday at Delaware Park.

With Trevor McCarthy aboard, Celtic Treasure stumbled out of the gate but recovered quickly and shot right to the lead in the one-mile race. He remained there racing in the two-path throughout, left the field behind on the turn and went on to an easy score by 8 1/4 lengths. Once again, he went off at 70 cents to a dollar. He earned a check of $13,800 for owner Joseph E. Besecker.

It took Ocean Delight until her 10th race before the “lightbulb” effect kicked in at Delaware Park in August and she finished second with Lucas Berticelli aboard.

After a third-place finish in her next start, the 3-year-old Treasure Beach filly broke her maiden yesterday with Berticelli taking her wire-to-wire racing “about” 7 1/2 furlongs on the grass. The filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon won by a length, paid $8.40 and earned a check for $7,800 as she became her sire’s 41st winner of 2019.

Wine at the Beach made it two victories in his last three starts via another strong performance on the turf at Colonial Downs yesterday.

The 3-year-old Treasure Beach gelding was destined to be severely hampered after he originally drew the No. 14 post for the one-mile race, but two late scratches made a huge difference, moving him into the No. 12 slot. When the gate opened, Mychel Sanchez shot Wine at the Beach out for the lead and he was quickly able to guide him toward the rail and settle into a comfortable second, about a length and a half off the pacesetter. Sanchez kept him there for more than half a mile, then sent him up for the lead on the turn. The gelding bred by Christine Jones took over at the top of the stretch, then held off the late runners to prevail by a neck.

Wine at the Beach earned a check for $15,000, which raised his total to $41,880, and he received an ‘E’ rating of 77 from Equibase, his highest in 11 starts. Treasure Beach remained in fourth place among active stallions on Florida’s general sire list with 2019 earnings of $1,419,964.

Here Comes Jackie took over as the leading money-earner for Handsome Mike via an exciting head victory at Saratoga yesterday in a $75,000 claiming race with a purse of $80,000.

The 3-year-old stakes-placed filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon sat just off the early pace with Javier Castellano, then sliced her way between horses in the stretch and prevailed in a photo, raising her record to 2-3-2 in 15 starts. She was clocked in 1:35.98 for the one-mile trip over the inner turf course.

The $44,000 winner’s check lifted Here Comes Jackie’s bank account to $136,450 and she passed Naughty Me as her sire’s top money-earner. Handsome Mike’s progeny earnings jumped to $813,408 as he heads toward a $1 million season with just two crops racing.

Kyle Frey guided Tigerbeach on a rail-skimming ride and the stakes-placed gelding responded with his first victory of 2019 at Golden Gate Fields yesterday.

Frey settled Tigerbeach into fourth place, about four lengths off the leaders in the 5-furlong turf race, then used the inside to perfection, slipping through at the top of the stretch and going on to score a 1 1/2-length victory. The John Pereira-bred was clocked in :56.25, exactly one second off the course record.

Tigerbeach earned $13,800 for the effort, raising his career total to $134,577 on a record of 5-8-3 in 25 starts. He became the 40th winner for Treasure Beach, whose progeny earnings edged over the $1.4 million mark for the year.

The endless parade of winners by Treasure Beach and Handsome Mike in August continued unabated yesterday, with Pleasant Acres’ red-hot stallions getting one at Gulfstream and another at Colonial Downs.

Galileo’s Affair scored a 1 3/4-length victory at one mile over a sloppy track at Gulfstream in a race that came off the grass. The 4-year-old daughter of Treasure Beach sat second for most of the trip and drove past the pacesetter in the stretch to earn the $13,600 winner’s check. The $37,000 OBS April purchase is 6-4-7 in 26 lifetime starts with earnings of $153,240 and she’s won three of her last four starts.

At Colonial, Lucky Mike gained his first victory in his ninth try, collecting a check for $30,000 in the $54,000 maiden special. The 3-year-old gelding bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon, who had finished second in the Juvenile Turf Stakes at Gulfstream West in his second career start, rushed up to take the lead on the final turn in the one-mile turf race, then held off three challengers nearing the wire to score by three-quarters of a length. He’s 1-3-2 in his nine starts with earnings of $73,320.

Treasure Beach picked up his 40th winner of 2019 at Gulfstream Park yesterday after the disqualification of the original first-place finisher following a flagrant foul.

Sunshine Treasure had come from off the pace to contest the lead heading into the stretch, when Karenina bore out badly from the inside and knocked the filly sideways. Jairo Rendon got Sunshine Treasure in gear again, but she fell short by a neck at the wire.

The inquiry sign was posted immediately and it didn’t take the stewards long to take the winner down and give Sunshine Treasure her second victory. She’s earned $57,370 for owner Patricia Generazio, who bred the 4-year-old in partnership with Joe and Helen Barbazon.

Paul Mouttet bought Love Daddy from Joe and Helen Barbazon for $9,000 at the 2018 OBS June sale, and the stretch-running filly has turned out to be quite a lucrative purchase for the Canadian owner.

The 3-year-old daughter of Handsome Mike won a hard-fought turf battle at Woodbine yesterday and came out of the race with a record of 2-2-1 in six starts and U. S. earnings of $46,181. However, as a Canadian resident, Mouttet has been the welcome recipient of the filly’s north-of-the-border haul – $61,517.

With Kazushi Kimura riding, Love Daddy found a comfortable spot stalking the speedsters in fifth place out of the gate and down the backstretch in the one-mile race. She moved four wide on the final turn, closed strongly down the middle of the course, and won a head-bob at the wire over fast-closing Power House. She paid $12.50 after getting the mile in 1:36.07.

Pleasant Acres has enjoyed several sensational Saturdays and Sundays in recent weeks, and yesterday added a fabulous Friday to the list. Treasure Beach continued his climb up the Florida general sire list with three winners and a second, while Handsome Mike added one winner and a second.

Treasure Beach’s winners – Summer Beach, Reggae Pirate and Charlotte the Brit – all came at Gulfstream Park, while Vino missed by a neck of getting No. 4 four at Monmouth Park.

Summer Beach broke his maiden in wire-to-wire fashion in his fourth start for owner/breeder Just For Fun Stable and collected a check for $28,900. The 3-year-old colt paid $10.60 after getting one mile on the turf in 1:36.32. Reggae Pirate also went wire-to-wire to get his first victory in his 13th try. The 3-year-old colt won by five lengths in :57.05 for the five furlongs on the grass, and earned $11,600.

After winning two of her last three for owner Patricia Generazio, Charlotte the Brit is 2-3-2 in 13 starts and her earnings jumped to $97,415. She won by one length, collected $22,700 and picked up a breeder’s award for Joe and Helen Barbazon. Treasure Beach has moved up to fifth on the Florida sire list, fourth among active sires, and has passed last year’s earnings figure of $1,315,088 by $30,000.

John’s Promise, a 3-year-old gelded son of Handsome Mike, won by 2 1/2 lengths at Timonium in his career debut. He earned $10,260 after getting 4 furlongs over a sloppy track in :46.97. At Gulfstream, Took a Cab finished second and earned $7,420 for owner/breeder Joel W. Sainer.

Total Treasure benefitted from the considerable expertise of Luca Panici to post her second career victory in the first race at Gulfstream Park yesterday. The 4-year-old filly was the first of two Treasure Beach winners spanning two continents that Gulfstream bettors were able to cash in on.

Racing “about” 7 1/2 furlongs on the grass, Total Treasure was nursed along on the rail by Panici, who, unlike many of his colleagues, has learned the value of the inside on the Gulfstream turf. He slipped his filly through on the hedge turning for home and picked up several lengths, swung out to mid-track as they straightened out for home, then swept by the two remaining rivals nearing the wire.

Total Treasure became her sire’s 37th winner this year and collected $12,910, bumping her career total to $53,505. She paid $12.80.

After the 12-race Gulfstream program wound up, the TV action switched to San Isidro in Argentina, where Perfect Beach added to a season filled with a great many Treasure Beach successes. The bay colt won a seven-furlong off-the-grass race for maiden 4-year-old colts and geldings with Eduardo Ortega Pavan aboard.

Perfect Beach sat second early down the backstretch, dropped back to third on the turn, then rallied with a strong surge to win by a neck over 9/5 favorite El Carolo in a driving three-horse finish. The colt was clocked in 1:23.82 and rewarded his followers to the tune of $18.80, $5.20 and $5.20.