BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Already a multiple stakes winner, Teresa and David Palmer’s Liberty Rings goes for her third added-money victory—second on grass—in the $75,000 Our Dear Peggy at Gulfstream Park Friday. Liberty Rings is one of five Florida-breds and a dozen 2-year-old fillies entered in the one-mile Our Dear Peggy.
Among the Florida-bred entrants, Liberty Rings, Kissed by a Rose, Boots and Touch of Honor will be running for an extra $25,000 Florida Sire Racing Incentive bonus paid the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association. Capped at $1 million in 2026, the FSRI program pays $20,000 to the owner and $5,000 to the breeder of each eligible, Florida-sired, Florida-bred 2-year-old winner of a maiden special weight, allowance, allowance optional claiming and stakes run at Gulfstream and Tampa Bay Downs in 2026.
Trained by Nick Palmer, Liberty Rings will race around two turns for the first time as her pair of victories came in the $122,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies over five furlongs on the grass in May and in the $100,000 Scandalous Act against Florida-bred fillies going six furlongs on August 8. In five career starts, Liberty Rings was third once, that coming in her first start in a four-and-a-half furlong maiden special weight at Gulfstream on April 19.
Her two off-the board finishes came in stakes, first when seventh at Churchill Downs in the $222,000 Debutante (Listed) going six furlongs in June and last out when seventh in the $86,000 Hollywood Beach sprinting on the grass at Gulfstream on September 26. She has earned $132,100 in her five races.
“It wasn’t her day. The turf was soft and she kind of got stuck really wide,” Palmer said of the Hollywood Beach. “I kind of told Miguel before the race, if you don’t have a shot to win, just take care of her and bring her home in one piece.”
In addition to racing beyond one turn, Liberty Rings will be equipped with blinkers for the first time.
“We were kind of hoping we’d get an allowance race in the new [condition] book but there wasn’t one. We’ve been wanting to try her two turns, so we figured this was a good spot,” Palmer said. “She’s so keyed up in her training the last few weeks, so I just thought I’d put [blinkers] on and try to get her a little more focused.
“She’s still learning,” he added. “We’re still figuring her out. I think she’s getting better and better, so I really hope that I’m right and that she wants to go two turns on the turf and we’ll see a big jump up. That’s what we’ve been waiting on.”
Liberty Rings is by Ocala Stud stallion Awesome Slew out of America First, by Uncaptured and was bred in Florida by Janet Erwin of Belleview. She is a $27,000 graduate of the 2025 Ocala Breeders’ Sales October Yearling Sale where Nick Plamer as an agent selected her out of the Camelot Acres Racing and Sales consignment.
Nik Juarez has the first time riding assignment on Liberty Rings and they have post four.
Kissed by a Rose is a half-sister to Florida-bred Grade 1 winner and millionaire Patternrecognition and multiple stakes-winning Florida-breds Florida Fuego and Lovesick co-owned by Kevin Dole, trainer Ron Spatz, Tom Cannell and Kimberly Sharkey. The Colonel Liam filly made her first three starts on turf, including a runner-up finish to Our Dear Peggy rival Touch of Honor Sept. 5, before battling the length of the stretch to graduate by a nose October 4 going a mile-and-70 yards on the all-weather Tapeta course.
“I ran her on the turf the time before she broke her maiden and she didn’t look like a winner. It looked like he had a ton of horse every step of the way and coming to the eighth pole, it looked like she was just kind of going up and down. I was surprised she hung in for second,” Spatz said. “When she ran back on the Tapeta she fought every step of the way and just made it by a nose. They were bobbing heads going down to the wire.
“I was impressed with that race. I don’t know if it was the turf or she just got tired that day. It was only her third [time] out,” he added. “She’s a half to a Grade 1 winner of a million dollars, and it would really mean a lot to her pedigree if she had some black type. She’s got two other half-sisters that have black type, so we’re hoping.”
Kissed by a Rose is by Ocala Stud’s freshman sire Colonel Liam out of Almost a Valentine, by High Cotton and was bred in Florida by Ocala Stud. She has earned $44,650 in her four starts. Spatz got her for $42,000 out of the Ocala Stud consignment at this year’s OBS Spring Sale.
Miguel Vasquez will take Kissed by a Rose from post three and they are 20-1 in the program.
Florida-bred Touch of Honor graduated out of a four-and-a-quarter-length triumph against $50,000 optional claimng maidens on grass her last race after running close seconds in each of her first three starts, all against special weight maiden fillies at Gulfstream.
The chestnut daughter of Curlin’s Honor is trained by Carlos David for Rocco Cavo, who saw her make her first two starts going five furlongs on synthetic. She was second by a neck to Elegante Miz on June 6 at odds of 20-1 then missed by just a half-length to Florida-bred Army Salute on July 6. In her first start on grass on August 9, Touch of Honor lost a head bob to Florida-bred Dasher after seven-and-a-half furlongs.
Touch of Honor is out of Plow Girl, by Ghostzapper and was bred in Florida by Breeze Easy. She has produced $77,350 in her four races.
Jesus Rios is named on Touch of Honor and they will depart the number nine stall.
Boots won her in her career debut going four-and-a-half furlongs on April 16, was given 75 days off, then returned for three four-place finishes, all in stakes at Gulfstream. She was beaten by Florida-bred Hot Rod Honey in the $96,000 Sharp Susan going five-and-a-furlongs on July 3 then lost to Liberty Rings in the Scandalous Act. Last out Boots could not keep up with Florida-bred R Island Jewel in the $145,000 Three Rings going seven furlongs.
A homebred for Arindel, Boots is by Brethren out of the Ghostzapper mare Medusa and has banked $56,663.
Micah Husbands will get leg up from trainer Nicholas Tomlinson and they have post eight.
Rounding out the field are Florida-bred Chica Feliz with Jose Morelos riding, Marcos Meneses will take the reins on Hammy, Sucker for Looks will have Diego Herrera aboard, Jonathan Ocasio will steer Karolina Pharoah, Philipina A has Yolber Torres in the irons, Rasheed Hughes is named on Life’s Mystery, Mario Gutierrez has the assignment on Smoke and Leonel Reyes takes the call on Casablanca Queen.
— portions of this report were taken directly from a Gulfstream Park press release
Return to the October 28 issue of Wire to Wire
