BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Big Paradise was near perfect as the odds-on favorite in a runaway victory in the $81,000 Juvenile Sprint at Gulfstream Park Saturday. With Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard for his third win of the day, Big Paradise cruised home to win by two-and-a-quarter lengths in the six-and-a-half-furlong contest for Florida-bred 2-year-olds.
In addition to taking home the $38,610 winner’s share of the purse, Big Paradise earned a $10,000 Florida Sire Stakes bonus presented by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association.
Sent to the post as the heavy favorite at 1-2, Big Paradise erupted from post five for an early length advantage on his five rivals. Drayden Van Dyke hustled Most Handsome to race evenly with Big Paradise approaching the five-eighths pole and those two were a length ahead of Noble N Magical in third to their outside.
After a quarter mile in :22.41, Big Paradise easily improved to a length advantage around the far turn as Most Handsome dropped back and Noble N Magical tried to keep up on the outside.
Ortiz shook the reins at Big Paradise coming off the turn and the bay colt responded by stretching his lead to two lengths with a furlong to run. Noble N Magical tried to make up ground approaching the wire but could not catch Big Paradise, who won in 1:18.03 on the fast track. Noble N Magical finished second with Nothingsubtle getting up for third. Indecisiveness was fourth followed by Most Handsome and Aegon Targaryen.
A homebred for Alex and JoAnn Lieblong of Conway, Ark, Big Paradise paid $3 to win and has now earned $89,610 from three lifetime starts.
“I was tickled to see him break so well and it looked like [Ortiz] was sitting like a statue most of the race, so I felt pretty good at that point,” Alex Lieblong said of Big Paradise. “It’s nice to have a homebred do that. And I told my wife, JoAnn, that with the $10,000 Florida Sire Stakes bonus, we did better than I thought.”
The son of The Big Beast won at first asking against Florida-bred special weight maidens going six furlongs on Sept. 28 but could not repeat in his next start in October, finishing fourth behind undefeated star Rated by Merit in $200,000 Affirmed, the second leg of the male division of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes.
Big Paradise is out of Blame mare Paradise Bay, a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Paradise Woods.
Purchased by the Lieblongs for $350,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Paradise Bay has now produced three winners, two of which are stakes winners, from three starters and four foals. Florida-bred Reef Runner, winner of the $95,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint in September for the Lieblongs, is a full brother to Big Paradise as is winner Living in Paradise. Paradise Bay also has an unnamed yearling filly by Street Sense, who sold for $40,000 at this year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She was bred to Omaha Beach in 2024.
“We had [Paradise Bay] with [trainer] Dick Mandella out in California but she got hurt so we brought her back to Arkansas at Oaklawn Park where we can watch her run every once in a while,” Lieblong said. “That didn’t work out either so we just turned her into a broodmare. She had a few little physical issues that didn’t help her any, but she has turned into a nice broodmare.”
