BY GULFSTREAM PARK PRESS OFFICE
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL—Amy Dunne and trainer Patrick Biancone’s Classic of Course enters Saturday’s $100,000 Dr. Fager at Gulfstream Park coming off a troubled but very encouraging narrow loss in the $95,000 Proud Man at Gulfstream on Aug. 10.
The son of the retired Ocala Stud stallion Awesome of Course, who encountered bumping at the start and in the stretch while finishing second in the Proud Man, doesn’t figure to have any easier time of things in the Dr. Fager, the first leg of the $1.2 million FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes in which he is scheduled to clash with Rated by Merit.
The Dr. Fager, a six-furlong stakes for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions, will co-headline Saturday’s program with the $100,000 Desert Vixen, the six-furlong first leg of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series for juvenile fillies sired by accredited Florida stallions.
“There was a little bumping last race. He was bungling out of the gate and after that in the stretch, the winner bumped with him three or four times,” Biancone said. “It was a prep race for this. We’re going into the race full of confidence. I know there’s one horse in there that looks to be different, but [Classic of Course is] ready.”
Rated by Merit has been installed as the even-money morning-line favorite for the Dr. Fager on the strength of a brilliant nine-and-three-quarter-length debut victory at Gulfstream.
Classic of Course, rated third at 4-1 on the morning line, won at first asking, scoring a front-running six-and-a-half-length victory in a four-and-a-half-furlong event on May 3 at Gulfstream. He was shipped to Saratoga, where he finished an even fourth in the $150,000 Tremont won by Studlydoright on June 6.
“We gave it a try. To be honest, he wasn’t mentally and physically ready,” Biancone said. “I sent him up there a baby and he came back a man. He learned a lot there and changed a lot.”
While Classic of Course has raced well at six furlongs and shorter, Biancone views him as a horse that will appreciate more ground.
“He’s been crying for longer distance, but we have to follow the program,” Biancone said. “He’s a horse who’s bred for and who would be better at a mile, or even two turns, but he has class. He has class for sure.”
Classic of Course is out of Alma Mater, by Honor Code and was bred by Amy E. and Ciaran G. Dunne. He sports a career ledger of one win and a second in three starts with earnings of $74,550.
Joseph-Trained R Morning Brew, Neoequos Face Tall Tasks
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr, fresh off clinching his tenth consecutive Gulfstream Park training title with 93 winners during the Royal Palm Meet, will be well represented in Saturday’s $100,000 Desert Vixen and $100,000 Dr. Fager in first-leg action of the $1.2 million FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series. R Morning Brew is rated second at 5-2 on the morning-line for the Desert Vixen and Neoequos is rated second at 3-1 for the Dr. Fager.
Both Joseph Jr.-trained 2-year-olds will be faced with the challenge of beating very highly regarded even-money favorites. Averill Racing LLC’s R Morning Brew, an impressive debut winner, will clash with Sharp Susan winner Win N Your In. Ian Parsard, Shining Stables LLC and Stefania Farms LLC’s Neoequos, a second-out winner, will do battle with Rated by Merit, one of the fastest 2-year-olds in the country.
R Morning Brew graduated over a sloppy Gulfstream Park track Aug. 9, when she rushed up to take the lead after breaking from the rail post position and went off to score by four-and-a-half lengths.
“She kind of ran above expectations that day. We’re happy with her performance, and we’ll give her another try,” Joseph said. “She’s trained forwardly since. She improved from the race. We’re hoping for another good effort. She’ll need to step up, obviously. [Win N Your In] is the favorite, so she’ll need to step up her game.”
R Morning Brew is by Curlin’s Honor, who stands at Pleasant Acres Stallions, out of Foolhearted Woman, by Uncaptured. She was bred in Florida by Dori Morgan Hyatt and earned $29,000 with her victory.
Averill Racing selected her out of the Rivera Training and Sales consignment earlier this year at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Sale. She dropped the gavel at $30,000.
Neoequos hardly distinguished himself in his July 21 debut, in which he unseated his rider while encountering bumping out of the starting gate. The son of Neolithic, however, separated himself in his second start, scoring by two-and-a-half lengths after running five furlongs in :58.55. Runner-up Macho Music came back to graduate by nine-and-a-half lengths next time out.
“We thought he’d run well first time out, so to see him come back to run well was gratifying. The horse he beat came back and won really well, so that advertises his form,” Joseph said. “But it’s a tall task. Rated by Merit was very, very impressive first time out. We’ll need to step up our game, but I feel like, if we can duplicate the last performance, we’ll be pretty close.”
Neoequos is out of Bild Birdie, by Birdstone and was bred in Florida by Helen and Joseph Barbarazon and Matalona Thoroughbreds LLC. He earned $45,400 in his lone start.
He was purchased by Joseph for $22,000 out of the Abbie Road Farm consignment at the 2023 Ocala Breeders’ Sales October Yearling Sale.
Rainbow 6 Estimated at $150,000 for Sunshine Meet Opening Day
Friday’s 20¢ Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is expected to grow to an estimated $150,000 on the opening day program of the Sunshine Meet at Gulfstream Park.
The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for seven racing days following an Aug. 17 mandatory payout.
The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4-9, featuring a five-furlong optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares on turf in the fifth race. Joe Catanese-trained Trumpets returns from a freshening as the 3-1 morning-line favorite in a field of 10. The 3-year-old daughter of Neolithic, who stands at Pleasant Acres Stallions, won twice and finished second twice in her first four starts before turning in a subpar performance July 5.
The Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70% of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30% is carried over to the jackpot pool.
