Popular Florida-breds Awesome Feather and Mucho Macho Man highlight Sunshine Millions at Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH – An energetic crowd turned out at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach for Saturday’s revamped Sunshine Millions program. The signature day of racing, traditionally pitted Florida-bred runners again their California-bred rivals. This year’s renewal was the first edition run with only Florida-breds at Gulfstream and California-breds at Santa Anita instead of the usual head-to-head contest.
The retooling of the Sunshine Millions, a collaborative effort between Gulfstream Park, the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association and the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, did not deter from the quality on display at Gulfstream Park. In fact, Saturday’s renewal attracted a star-studded program featuring Eclipse Award winners Awesome Feather and Musical Romance, as well as Mucho Macho Man, one of only three runners to have competed in all three Triple Crown races last season.
The stars did not disappoint. Mucho Macho Man capped off a stellar day of racing with an authoritative score in the $400,000 Sunshine Millions Classic.
The popular Florida-bred scored the richest win of his career Saturday, rolling to victory in the $400,000 Sunshine Millions Classic for trainer Kathy Ritvo.
After winning the Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds last year at age three, Mucho Macho Man went on to finish third in both the Louisiana Derby (G2) and the Kentucky Derby (G1). He competed in all three Triple Crown races over the summer, failing to hit the board in the Preakness (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1).
He was given a long break to recover from the rigors of the Triple Crown and to grow into his lengthy frame and returned with a nearly six-length score in an optional claiming allowance race at Aqueduct in November with jockey Ramon Dominguez still as a statue in the irons the entire trip.
On Saturday, Mucho Macho Man tracked the early pace of Turbo Compressor down the backstretch. Around the far turn, Dominguez called on his mount for run and the leggy colt responded like a champ. He quickly accelerated away from his rivals and held the late charge of Ron the Greek at bay to win by 1 ¾ lengths.
“It was the absolute perfect trip. We were right outside the speed. He handled himself so well. He gave me the feeling every step of the way that whenever I was ready to ask, he was ready to go,” Dominguez said. “He gave me so much confidence. I was just a passenger today.”
“You can really tell how much he’s grown up since I rode him in the Belmont,” he added. “Back then, he was just a big skinny horse that had a lot of maturing to do. Now he looks like he’s grown up and has everything figured out.”
Bred by John and Carole Rio and owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Dream Team One Racing Stable, Mucho Macho Man, a son of former Florida sire Macho Uno, had been training in splendid fashion leading up to Saturday’s Classic.
His final time for the 1 1⁄8 miles was a strong 1:47.91, less than a half of a second off the stakes record (1:47.49) set by Quality Road in 2010.
“Ramon did a great job. Everything has gone well since we started back with him. The race at Aqueduct was at the right time to get him going again and everything has gone right since then,” Ritvo said. “When he came up to that other horse (Turbo Compressor) I was confident he would go on from there.”
Ritvo took over the training of Mucho Macho Man last year when her husband, Tim, was named president and general manager of Gulfstream Park.
Runner-up Ron the Greek is a 5-year-old son of Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds stallion Full Mandate. He was bred by Jack Hammer and is owned by Hammer, Brous Stable and Wachtel Stable.
Awesome Feather kicked off festivities with an impressive tally in the $300,000 Sunshine Millions Distaff. She remained perfect in nine career starts with another sparkling win.
The daughter of Journeyman Stud stallion Awesome of Course pressured early pacesetter Tiz the Argument around the first turn and into the backstretch of the 1 1/8-mile fixture. When jockey Jeff Sanchez asked Awesome Feather for her best negotiating the far turn, she powered away from Tiz the Argument and opened up on the field.
Ears pricking back and forth, Awesome Feather crossed the wire 5 ¾ lengths ahead of a game Delightful Mary who crossed the wire a soundly-defeated second. Sweet Repent finished third.
“I have so much confidence in her,” Sanchez said while walking back to the jockeys’ room after unsaddling to a round of applause from adoring fans lining the winner’s circle. “She’s just so special to me. She’s the best horse I’ve ever ridden. She’s the best filly in the world.”
Sanchez has piloted Awesome Feather in all nine of her wins.
Trainer Chad Brown was equally impressed with his charge.
“She just hit another gear and it was over,” he said. “I’m not sure we’ve ever seen every gear she’s got.”
Bred by Fred and Jane Brei’s Jacks or Better Farm, Awesome Feather swept the Florida Stallion Stakes Series at Calder in 2010 in the care of Calder-based trainer Stanley Gold before capping her juvenile season with an impressive victory in that year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Churchill Downs. She added an Eclipse Award at season’s end to her long list of accomplishments.
Just days after that Breeders’ Cup score, Awesome Feather went through the auction ring in Kentucky and sold to Frank Stronach for $2.3 million. A tendon injury discovered late in her 2-year-old season put her racing career in jeopardy but the patience of her new owner and trainer has paid off. Awesome Feather won her two previous races in Stronach’s colors, capturing the Le Slew Stakes at Belmont Park last October and the Gazelle Stakes (G1) in November at Aqueduct.
As for what’s next for the prized 4-year-old filly, Brown said the team is taking things one race at a time.
“We don’t have anything in particular in mind for her,” Brown said. “The biggest thing with her is to see how she comes back. We’ll talk to the Stronachs and see where we go. With her, it’s one race at a time.”
Awesome Feather’s win was certainly one for the home team. Stronach, owner of Gulfstream Park, created the Sunshine Millions 10 years ago in conjunction with the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association and the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association.
It’s Me Mom left little doubt as to who was best in the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Fillies and Mares Sprint. The fast daughter of Bridlewood Farm stallion Put It Back broke sharply under Willie Martinez. She set quick early fractions of :22.25 for the opening quarter and :44.41 for the half.
Her competition never really had a chance as she widened her advantage throughout. She crossed the wire 6 ¾ lengths in front of Honey Chile in second. Indulgence finished third. It’s Me Mom’s final time of 1:08.85 was just ticks off Big Drama’s track record of 1:08.12 set last year.
“We knew we’d be in front, that’s what she does,” said Willie Martinez. “There’s a difference between fast and brilliant speed and she has brilliant speed. To go in :22 today, that’s an accomplishment from how she was earlier in her career. She’s just a freak.”
Owned and bred by Jean and Thomas Bosch, It’s Me Mom had won her last two starts at Tampa Bay Downs by open lengths. She won an allowance race by 8 ¼ lengths on Dec. 7. She returned to annex the Minaret Stakes in Oldsmar last time out by the identical winning margin.
Trainer Lynn Scace has selected the right spots for It’s Me Mom throughout her charge’s 14-race career. The 4-year-old chestnut has now won nine of those appearances. As a 2-year-old she won the Presque Isle Downs Debutante. In May of her 3-year-old season she won the Inaugural Stakes at Tampa, notched another stakes win at Presque Isle and closed out her year with the two victories at Tampa.
“She took to the synthetic track early in her career and then I took her to Tampa and she finished second (in the Sandpiper Stakes), but I don’t really think she liked it (dirt) that much,” Scace said. “Then we brought her here and she finished fourth (Old Hat Stakes) early last year. I think the biggest difference between then and now is that she just grew up and matured. She also likes her races spaced out. We’ll take her back to Tampa now. I haven’t really thought much about what might be next.”
The Eclipse Award-winning filly Musical Romance, trained by Bill Kaplan, finished fourth, beaten 4 ¾ lengths after a slow start in her first race back since winning the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1).
“Juan (Leyva) said she popped up leaving the gate. She broke a little bad so he did the right thing once that happened,” said Kaplan. “It’s the first time something like this happened in her last nine starts. You don’t want to go chasing this early in the year when you give up five, six lengths like that.”
After the race, trainer Kaplan noticed she did not pull up the way he would have liked.
“She grabbed a quarter, left front, when the gate opened and her shoe was half off,” commented Kaplan. “She looks OK. I don’t think she’ll lose any training time. Considering what happened, we’re very proud of her performance.”
Soaring Stocks overcame a slow break and captured the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Sprint for his first stakes victory.
The 4-year-old son of former Florida sire Trippi bumped with Madman Diaries at the start, but jockey John Velazquez placed Soaring Stocks in a stalking position in third early without hustling his mount into contention. Coming out of the far turn, Velazquez had Soaring Stocks on the move. They collared pacesetter Royal Currier in the stretch and hit the wire just in front of a fast-charging Cajun Breeze, who split horses bravely inside the sixteenth pole while making his stakes debut.
Soaring Stocks stopped the clock in 1:09.49 for the six furlongs.
“The race set up absolutely perfectly,” Velazquez said. “He broke fast enough to be not too far back and right in contention. I had to get busy on him a little earlier than I would have liked to the way the track is playing today but it didn’t seem to empty his tank. He had plenty left when I asked him.”
Soaring Stocks, an E. Paul Robsham Stables homebred, entered the Sprint off a two-length allowance win at Gulfstream on Jan. 12 for trainer Todd Pletcher, having raced in only one other allowance and two maiden special weight races.
“He came out of his last race so well we thought he was up to coming back in this spot,” Pletcher said. “This is a nice program for Florida-breds, but this race came up very tough. We’ve always thought he was a nice horse.”
Runner-up Cajun Breeze was impressive in defeat. The 4-year-old son of former Florida sire Congrats was bred by Curtis Mikkelsen and Patricia Horth and is owned by Shadybrook Farm Inc. and Robert Eversole.
Race favorite Apriority and Zero Rate Policy, the top two finishers by a nose in the Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) on Dec. 31, battled each other throughout the race for the fourth and fifth positions. Zero Rate Policy and rider Paco Lopez overtook Apriority and jockey Luis Saez around the turn but failed to advance from fourth. Apriority faded to seventh while going wide around the field on the turn.
Hooh Why upset the field in the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf and provided Velazquez with back-to-back stakes wins on the day. Hooh Why closed fast in the middle of the track down the stretch and rolled by Romacaca late to post the score.
Bred by the late Gail Gee and owned by the Estate of Gail Gee, Mark Hoffman and Earl Trostud, Hooh Why is conditioned by Shirley Girten-Drake.
“I hauled her down here last night from Tampa. She doesn’t go anywhere without me. We were going to send her to the breeding shed, but we decided to try to have one more year of fun with her before that. I’ll take her back to Tampa and turn her out for 10 days and then we’ll go from there.”
Hooh Why is a 6-year-old daughter of former Florida sire Cloud Hopping. In her previous start, she finished second in the South Beach Stakes over the Gulfstream lawn on Dec. 11. Saturday’s win was the ninth from 36 career starts for the former Florida champion.
Little Mike’s affinity for the Gulfstream Park turf course was evident once again Saturday as he wired a competitive field in the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Turf.
His wire-to-wire triumph was his fifth from six career tries over the course. While he has a definite affinity for Gulfstream, the 5-year-old son of former Florida sire Spanish Steps now boasts nine wins on the turf dating back to 2010. In addition to his Gulfstream tallies he has notched turf victories at Monmouth Park, Belmont Park and Calder.
After some time off last year due to a cracked shin, Little Mike has picked up right where he left off last season. He went to the sidelines following consecutive graded stakes wins in the Canadian Turf (G3) and the Appleton Stakes (G3), both at Gulfstream. He returned in December and took an optional claiming allowance field wire to wire in a race he likely needed.
It had to be an intimidating thought to the connections of his competition to think a tighter racehorse was set for Saturday’s test. Under regular rider Joe Bravo, Little Mike immediately set sail for the front at the break. Without any serious pressure early, the Priscilla Vaccarezza colorbearer was allowed to cruise through early fractions of :23.60 and :48.01. He ran six furlongs in 1:11.71 and looked to have plenty in reserve. After a mile in 1:34.51, he sprinted home and stopped the clock for the 1 1/8 miles in 1:45.94.
“He proved to me a long time ago that he won’t let another horse past him without putting up one heck of a fight,” Joe Bravo said. “He was the best horse in the race and he showed it.”
Live Oak Plantation’s Slews Answer, a 5-year-old son of Ghostzapper, gave chase through the stretch late but was clearly second best.
“I wish someone had gone on and softened him up, but I was pleased with my horse. He ran great,” said H. Graham Motion, trainer of Slews Answer.
All told, Little Mike has now won nine of 15 career starts.
“He’s a better horse this year than he was last coming back from the injury,” trainer Dale Romans said of Little Mike, who was bred by Carlo Vaccarezza. “I’ve always thought he could get the mile-and-an-eighth because even though he runs on the front, he relaxes. I haven’t got anything in particular picked out for him at this point. We’ll start talking about it tomorrow.”
Photo by Coglianese
