Turf News

For the first six starts of her career, Renzo A. Bontempo’s Spiced Rum Punch raced once a month in South Florida for trainer Marcus Vitali with one second-place finish to show for her efforts. The 4-year-old daughter of Treasure Beach then went to the sidelines for more than six months, returning at Gulfstream Park yesterday for a race at “about” 7 1/2 furlongs on the turf, and now in the barn of Kathy Mongeon.

Whatever transpired during the vacation worked wonders, because Spiced Rum Punch looked like a new horse under Cristian Torres, sprinting to the finish line two lengths in front. She broke first, but Torres took her back to fifth, about five lengths off the pace heading down the backstretch. When he let her loose coming to the turn, Spiced Rum Punch inhaled the leaders while three wide en route to her maiden-breaking victory, worth $11,600 to her owner.

Treasure Beach now has 27 winners in 2019 and is $80,000 away from his second straight million-dollar season.

Treasure Beach and Handsome Mike both chipped in with maiden winners up north yesterday, Treasure the Storm scoring at Presque Isle Downs and Darlindiva at Delaware Park.

Treasure the Storm won for the first time for trainer Kim DePasquale and her Winterhawk Farm with Eddie Dominguez taking her wire-to-wire at a flat mile on the Presque Isle all-weather track. The 4-year-old filly had finished second in her previous start, and became Treasure Beach’s 26th winner this year, collecting $7,800 as the stallion closes in on his first million-dollar season at $917,023.

Darlindiva became winner No. 15 for Handsome Mike, scoring in her fifth start for Joe and Vivi Serena, her owners and breeders. The 3-year-old filly sat third while off the rail with Ricardo Chiappe, challenged 2/5 favorite Wisconsin a quarter mile out, then finished strongly to win by 1 1/4 lengths. It was 11 lengths back to the third horse. The victory was worth $7,800 and boosted her sire’s progeny earnings to $402,556.

While the president may be having problems with various members of the United Kingdom hierarchy, Treasure Beach fanciers had no such problems with the 3-year-old filly Charlotte the Brit in Gulfstream Park’s 11th race yesterday.

Runners by Treasure Beach and Handsome Mike have been lighting up various tote boards lately, including South Pass paying $115.20 at Gulfstream and Silver Beach $55.80 at San Isidro, and Charlotte the Brit added her name to the list. After stalking the pace in third through the backstretch in the 7 1/2-furlong turf race run in the rain, Jairo Rendon shot the filly past the leaders heading for home and she was three lengths in front and widening at the wire. She paid a generous $44.

The victory for owner Patricia Generazio’s filly in the $48,400 maiden special was worth $28,900, gave Treasure Beach his 25th winner this year, and helped boost the stallion’s progeny earnings to $907,069. Included was a juicy breeder’s award of more than $5,000 for Joe and Helen Barbazon.

Six races previously, Ms. Generazio saw her Treasure Beach colt, Ambassador Jim, finish a fast-closing third in the $75,000 Mecke Stakes, also with Rendon aboard. The 4-year-old colt split horses at the top of the stretch in the 1 1/16-mile turf race, and missed getting up for second by one-half-length. He earned $7,425 and raised his lifetime total to $168,587, best among Treasure Beach’s runners.

The fireworks provided by Pleasant Acres stallions on July 4 paled in comparison to the encore performance the next day by a Handsome Mike colt at Gulfstream Park.

South Pass had debuted on June 8 under Ronald Ordonez and pretty much showed little interest, lounging around in mid-pack and finishing there – at odds of 25-1. That effort wasn’t lost on the wagering public, and when the 3-year-old went to the post for his second try, this one at 5 furlongs with new rider Jeffrey Sanchez, the tote board read 50-1.

Sanchez employed a different tactic, sending South Pass right out for the lead, and the colt fought off several challenges along the way. That included turning away even-money favorite Drill Down Dude down the lane and going on to win by 1 1/4 lengths. The maiden victory, accomplished in :58.88, was worth $10,400 to owner/breeder Just For Fun Stable, plus a breeder’s award, at the same time rewarding the betting faithful to the tune of $115.20, and giving Handsome Mike his 14th winner of 2019.

Runners by Treasure Beach and Handsome Mike joined in the July 4th celebration with impressive performances, the former getting his first 2-year-old winner of 2019, and the latter getting his 13th winner in his second crop.

Venerate, a gelding making his first career start racing five furlongs at Gulfstream Park, left from the rail with Luca Panici and sat fourth through the first quarter, which went in :21.81. Panici moved him up on the inside on the turn, then sent him between two rivals and Venerate responded with a strong run through the stretch to score by two lengths in :58.04. The gelding bred by Adam and Suzette Parker and Leverett and Linda Miller earned a check for $26,400 and is Treasure Beach’s 24th winner.

At Evangeline Downs, Handsome Girl’s victory was accomplished much like Venerate’s, only at a distance of 7 1/2 furlongs on the grass. The 3-year-old filly bred by Ponder Hill trailed the field in seventh place down the backstretch, quickly closed a five-length gap on the turn, came between horses at the top of the stretch and blew by the leaders passing the eighth pole to win going away. She paid $6.60 and collected a check for $6,900.

Another Treasure Beach runner got to appear front and center yesterday on Gulfstream Park’s simulcast of the races from San Isidro in Argentina, and what a performance she turned in – at a price of 26-1.

Silver Beach is a 4-year-old roan filly owned by Dona Pepa and trained by Miguel Alfaro, who had to endure a 17-race wait until the final race on the card. The wait was well worth it. With Emanuel Cabrera aboard from post 11 in the race at 1,300 meters, Silver Beach was slammed leaving the gate by the filly to her left and wound up last in a field of 16. She remained there until the final turn, some 15 lengths behind the leaders, when Cabrera revved her up between horses and Silver Beach began to roll.

Splitting horses down the interminably long stretch, she quickly made up chunks of ground, but an eighth of a mile out it still appeared that she had no chance to even finish in the top three. However, she never gave up and closed the last five lengths like a jet, getting up to win by a long neck.

When the result became official, the tote board lit up all the way to Buenos Aires, with Silver Beach paying $55.80, $24.80 and $20.40. With long shot Arilou second and paying $45 and $29.20, the $2 exacta came back $1,182. No one tabbed the first three in the 50-cent trifecta, and an 11-6-all paid $1,256.

Gulfstream Park’s handicappers are not getting rich wagering on Beau Trace. After breaking his maiden by 2 1/4 lengths at odds of 1/5 on June 2, the 3-year-old Beau Choix colt came right back to start the second half of the 2019 season by making it two straight, this time at 2/5.

Tyler Gaffalione was aboard Beau Trace, who stalked the pace in third down the backstretch in the one-mile test. Gaffalione sent him after the lead heading for the turn, and entering the stretch it appeared as though he didn’t have enough to catch Lawyer Drill. But Beau Trace dug in and gamely out-fought the pacesetter to the wire to win by a neck.

The colt bred by Oliver B. Brooks Jr. is 2-1-1-3 in nine starts and the $13,500 winner’s check brought his earnings to $51,930.

While other horses in the field had difficulties leaving the gate in the seventh race at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday, Rhombus experienced no such problems, and the son of Treasure Beach broke second in the six-furlong maiden race. In a matter of seconds, however, Wesley Henry shot him through on the inside to take the lead before the first quarter, and the 4-year-old gelding never looked back.

Rhombus quickly opened up by daylight, was never threatened thereafter, and made it to the wire 3 1/2 lengths in front of 3/5 favorite Red Carats. While becoming Treasure Beach’s 23rd winner this year, he paid $17.80, and earned a check for $7,250 plus a breeder’s award for Debora Corral Morgan.

Treasure Beach also had a Gr. I winner winner in Argentina over the weekend when La Renoleta won the Gran Premio Estrellas Distaff at Hipodromo Argentino De Palermo. The victory for the 3-year-old filly was worth $28,200.

La Renoleta’s score was the latest in a string of recent successes for the stallion in Argentina. Glorious Moment, a former Gr. III winner, finished second in the Gr. I Gran Premio 25 de Mayo at San Isidro; French Beach was second in the Gr. II Particula at San Isidro; Capo Beach, a 2-year-old colt, was third in the Manuel Anasgasti at San Isidro; Galileana broke her maiden at Hipodromo Argentina De Palermo, and Don Etanol won at San Isidro.

W W Handsome scored perhaps the most impressive victory by Handsome Mike’s runners this year when he ran away and hid while breaking his maiden in a one-mile race in the slop at Gulfstream Park yesterday.

The 3-year-old gelding bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon in partnership with Lansdowne, stalked pacesetter Jack City on the inside down the backstretch until Samy Camacho asked him on the turn and W W Handsome exploded into the lead in the matter of a few strides. He widened the margin so quickly that track announcer Pete Aiello called it five or six lengths, but the Racing Form chart says it was nine at the wire.

W W Handsome paid $11.20 in becoming Handsome Mike’s 12th winner of 2019, earning $9,000 for the effort.

Beach Dreaming made it two straight victories and three of her last five with a come-from-behind score on the Gulfstream Park grass yesterday.

With Leonel Reyes riding, the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Treasure Beach sat a close-up trip behind the leaders down the backstretch, moved three wide on the turn, and proved to be much the best in the lane, winning by 2 1/4 lengths. The victory was worth $11,400 and raised Beach Dreaming’s career total to $51,670 on a record of 3-2-1 in nine starts.

The day before, Treasure Beach fans lost a rare chance to see one of the stallion’s Argentine runners compete when DRFBETs/Xpress Bet switched the simulcast of the day’s races from San Isidro to another South American track. They missed watching the 3-year-old colt Don Etanol winning the ninth race.