BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Green with MV Stable’s Diciassette and Steven Friedfertig and Shining Stables’ Langvad represent Florida breeders among the six 3-year-olds entered for Saturday’s $175,000 Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The two well-credentialed Florida-breds will be running for an extra $25,000 included in the purse from the Florida-bred Incentive Fund.

Diciassette will cut back to one turn for the Swale after incurring his first loss in his two-turn debut at Keeneland on October 4 in the mile-and-one-sixteenth Breeders’ Futurity (G1), won by Ted Noffey, the undefeated 2025 Eclipse Award-winning juvenile.

“We sent him to the farm for a good rest after the race in Kentucky to prepare for the spring,” trainer Patrick Biancone said. “This is his first race of the year. He’s training well, but definitely not 200-percent fit, but he’s fit enough to give a good account of himself.”

Diciassette, rated third at 4-1 on the morning line, launched his career with back-to-back victories at Gulfstream in a five-furlong maiden special weight on July 20 and in the $75,0000 Proud Man going six furlongs on August 9. The son of Mitole made a mild rally into contention on the turn into the homestretch before flattening out in the stretch run of the Breeders’ Futurity, finishing fourth.

 

“He cannot stay a mile-and-a-sixteenth. He’s a one-turn horse, not a two-turn horse,” Biancone said. 

Diciassette has earned $94,137 in his three starts after being purchased for $100,000 by Biancone at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training in May of last year where he was consigned by Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables. Locally, Lisa McGreevy sold him through her Abbie Road Farm consignment at the 2024 Ocala Breeders’ Sales October Yearling Sale where Superfine took him for $34,000.

Diciasette is by Mitole out of Im a Dixie Diva, by Henny Hughes and was bred in Florida by Dominique Damico.

Junior Alvarado will ride Diciassette for the first time in the Swale and they have post five.

Langvad exits his stakes debut on December 6 at Tampa Bay Downs where he was third behind winner and Swale rival Solitude Dude in the $102,000 Inaugural Stakes going six furlongs.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. entered Langvad in the Inaugural off a wire-to-wire victory in a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Gulfstream on November 8, so the bay son of Ocala Stud stallion Awesome Slew returns to what could be his best distance over his home track. In one other start, Langvad was second in a five-and-a-half-furlong maiden special weight run over a track rated good at Gulfstream on October 11.

Langvad has earned $48,700 in his three starts after being a $23,000 selection by Joseph out of the Sue Vacek consignment at the 2024 OBS October Yearling Sale. He is out of Malibu Melody, by Malibu Moon and was bred in Florida by John B. Penn.

Joseph has given the riding assignment on Langvad to Tyler Gaffalione and they will start from post two.

Joseph also trains Solitude Dude, who is undefeated in two starts. Prior to his eight-lengths score in the Inaugural, he won a six-and-a-half-furlong maiden special weight by nine-and-a-half lengths on November 1 at Gulfstream.

Solitude Dude is by Yaupon and has earned $84,000 in his two starts. He was a $300,000 selection by Joseph out of the Julie Davies consignment at last year’s OBS June Sale of 2-year-olds and horses of racing age sale.

Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount from the outside post six.

Also among the Swale entries are Class President, a winner of a one-mile maiden special weight in his only start at Gulfstream on Dec. 27; $155,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes fifth-place finisher Epic Summer, and Hammond, a two-length winner of the $74,000 Juvenile Sprint at Gulfstream in November.

–Portions of the story were taken directly from a Gulfstream Park press release.

Return to the January 29 issue of Wire to Wire