With Florida-bred colts such as Big Drama, Jackson Bend and D’ Funnybone getting the most attention at Calder Casino & Race Course in recent years, the local fillies often fly a bit under the radar at the Miami track. But in Florida-bred Pica Slew, trainer Joseph Calascibetta believes he has a budding star.
Pica Slew is 2-for-2 this year, having won a $28,000 maiden special weight race by 10 ¼ lengths in May before stepping up to stakes company and winning the $82,000 Leave Me Alone Stakes by 1 ¾ lengths while never being asked for run by jockey Manoel Cruz. The daughter of Pico Central likely won’t be able to gear down during the stretch run of Saturday’s $150,000 Azalea Stakes (G3), but her trainer believes her best effort will be enough to get the job done.
“She’s trained fabulously,” Calascibetta said. “She has a lot of size to her and stands over a lot of ground. But her best attribute is her mind. She has a brilliant mind for racing. She does everything so well, and nothing shakes her. She should make a really nice racehorse.”
The Azalea is one of seven stakes races worth a total of $1.35 million on Saturday’s Summit of Speed card at Calder. The six-furlong sprint drew a field of eight 3-year-old fillies, and Pica Slew will start from the outside post under Cruz.
Pica Slew is a homebred for Belleview’s Sal and Colleen Simeone, who race under the Terra Di Sienna Stables name. Calascibetta said expectations were always high for the filly, as evidenced by the tough assignment she drew for her career debut. Pica Slew ran sixth in the $157,000 My Dear Stakes at Woodbine in June 2009 for trainer Gregory De Gannes, tangling with the likes of Grade 1 winner Franny Freud.
She was sent to Calascibetta for her sophomore campaign, and expectations haven’t dipped a bit.
“When they sent her to me, Sal and Colleen both told me that this is a really nice filly,” Calascibetta said. “It’s really not too much of a surprise (how well she’s done). They knew they had something special.”
Pica Slew has won two of her three starts for $69,347. Though she led throughout in her two victories, Calascibetta said the abundance of early speed signed on for the Azalea might force Cruz to take a different approach once the gates open.
Starting from the rail will be Rapport, who has won two straight starts in front-running fashion by a combined 10 lengths for trainer Bob Baffert. Both those wins came on Hollywood’s synthetic surface, and she’s 0-for-3 on dirt. But the daughter of Songandaprayer earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure in winning a $44,058 allowance by 4 ¾ lengths last out, the highest mark for any horse in the Azalea’s field.
Also sure to get support at the betting windows are Buckleupbuttercup and Bronx City Girl. Buckleupbuttercup won the Eight Belles Stakes (G3) by 6 ¼ lengths at Churchill Downs in May before finishing fifth in the Acorn Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park last out. Bronx City Girl won two $50,000 claimers at Churchill Downs in May, including a 7 ¼-length score with a 96 Beyer last out.
“There are some nice horses in there, so she’s got her work cut out for her,” Calascibetta said of Pica Slew.
The field also includes Hot Hot Mama and Yournotthebossofme, who finished second and third in the Leave Me Alone.
Rounding out the field are Florida-bred Joanie’s Catch and Nicky Boy. Joanie’s Catch, a homebred for trainer Barry Rose’s Rose Family Stable, easily leads the field with $383,233 in earnings despite having only two wins in 21 starts.
The daughter of First Tour won the $51,000 Brave Raj Stakes at Calder in September to begin a string of 10 straight in-the-money finishes in stakes races, including five graded events. She most recently was eighth in Calder’s $55,000 Sweettrickydancer Stakes last month.
Nicky Boy finished last in each of her two starts.
n The Summit of Speed card includes two $100,000 stakes for juveniles going 5 ½ furlongs – the J J’sdream for fillies and the Frank Gomez Memorial for males.
The J J’sdream drew a field of nine Florida-breds, led by Awesome Feather and Pretty Extravagant.
Awesome Feather, a homebred for Fred Brei of Jacks or Better Farm in Reddick, is a daughter of Awesome of Course trained by Stanley Gold. The filly wired her career debut by 5 ¾ lengths at Calder on May 1, earning a 78 Beyer Speed Figure for that $39,000 maiden special weight race. It’s the highest Beyer for any horse in the field.
Pretty Extravagant, a daughter of Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds stallion With Distinction, won her career debut by 5 ½ lengths at Calder on June 12, recording a 73 Beyer for that $39,000 maiden special weight race. The filly was bred by Mike Rosati and is trained by Bill Kaplan for owner Vicino Racing Stables Inc. She was a $75,000 purchase at OBS in April.
The Frank Gomez Memorial drew a field of 10, including nine Florida-breds. The horse with the highest Beyer is Florida-bred Grande Shores, a son of the late Bridlewood Farm stallion Black Mambo and a homebred for Brei. Grande Shores has been the runner-up in each of his two starts but recorded a 72 Beyer while finishing behind Florida-bred Watch Me Go in a $39,000 maiden special weight race at Calder in May.
The field also includes Florida-bred Little Drama, a half-brother of Florida-bred millionaire Big Drama and a homebred for Ocala’s Harold Queen. The son of Burning Roma made his career debut in a $39,000 maiden special weight race at Calder last month, finishing second after checking badly along the backstretch.
The horse who beat Little Drama by a half-length, Florida-bred Alley Oop Oop, also is entered in the Frank Gomez. The son of Monsieur Cat is another homebred for Brei trained by Gold.
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Photo by Jim Lisa
