Florida-sired colt earns second $25,000 FSRI bonus
BY BROCK SHERIDAN
In race named for his grandsire, Sum of Success trounced his fellow Florida-bred rivals in the $100,000 In Summation Stakes at Gulfstream Park Monday. Ridden to victory by Jonathan Ocasio, Sum of Success dominated to win by 11 ½ lengths after leading at every point of call.
In addition to picking up the $59,400 first-place money for owners K. Johnston Racing, Michael and Jules Ivarone and Hopeless Stables, Sum of Success earned a $25,000 Florida Sire Racing Incentive bonus, split $20,000 to the owners and $5,000 to breeders Liz and Norman Wilson’s Oakleaf Farm in Ocala, Florida. It was the second $25,000 FSRI bonus earned by the son of Ocala Stud resident Win Win Win.
Boyhood Dream, American Roadster, Sum of Success and Spicy Taco broke in line out of the gate before Sum of Success emerged from the foursome in the first sixteenth of a mile. Sum of Success led by a length ahead of It’s Smoking while clicking off two furlongs in a :22.06 with Boyhood Dream and Road to Midnight giving chase behind them.
It’s Smoking ranged up on the outside of Sum of Success around the turn but could get no closer than a half-length through a quick :44.64 half-mile and those two were five lengths clear of Boyhood Dream in third. Ocasio cued Sum of Success coming out of the turn and he responded with authority, quickly sprinting clear, producing a six length advantage in midstretch. Sum of Success galloped home in 1:10.14 on the fast track while Boyhood Dream took second, two-and-a-quarter lengths ahead of It’s Smoking in third. American Roadster, Road to Midnight and Spicy Taco completed the order of finish.
Sum of Success paid $2.60 at the 1-5 favorite.
“They went at him a little bit and he was just playing,” Trainer Bobby Dibona said. “What can I say? You dream about having a nice horse and I know what makes a great horse—a smart mind and they’re fast. I knew from the beginning this horse possessed those talents. He’s quite amazing. We really haven’t let him run. He hasn’t had to do anything. It’s pretty exciting to see what we’re going to do.”
Sum of Success is undefeated in two starts having won a five-furlong maiden special weight for Florida-breds by seven-and-a-half lengths at Gulfstream on July 20.
“We’re trying to get somewhere. There’s a lot of questions that have to be answered,” Dibona said. “How far he wants to go, I don’t know. Going seven-eighths and going a mile and a sixteenth are two different things. We’ll let him kind of unwind and digest a little bit.
A possible next start for Sum of Success would be the $150,000 FHBPA Express for Florida-bred 2-year-olds at seven furlongs on September 5 at Gulfstream. The $250,000 Three Rules for Florida-bred 2-year-olds going a one-turn mile is scheduled for October 3 at Gulfstream.
“I have the Florida-bred races lined up where he’s going to just be dominant and probably makes the most sense and save the challenges for his 3-year-old season,” he added. “That’s kind of what I’m thinking now, go seven [furlongs] and then a mile, which is within his scope. But they’re talking about Breeders’ Cup with the horse, so it’s a little tricky.”
An earner of $98,400 in two starts, Sum of Success is out of the In Summation mare All Summed Up. She has three starters, all winners, from six foals with Sum of Success her only stakes winner. She has a yearling colt, Florida-bred All Khozy, by Khozan, also bred by Oakleaf Farm.
Sum of Success was a $165,000 purchase by Dibona at this year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Sale where he was consigned by Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables.
Bred in Florida by Arthur Appleton and owned by Waterford Stable, In Summation won 12 of 29 career starts and more than $1.2 million in purses from 2005-09. Eleven of his wins came in stakes, including graded triumphs in the 2007 Bing Crosby Handicap (Grade 1), 2008 Palos Verdes Handicap (G2) and 2008 and 2009 El Conejo Handicap (G3).
–Portions of this story were taken directly from a Gulfstream Park press release.
