BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Mad House, Little Thunder and Classic of Course make up a triumvirate of Florida-bred sprinters set for Friday’s $400,000 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (Grade 3), a six-furlong contest for 3-year-olds and older on opening day of the prestigious Keeneland Fall Meet. A field of 11 are entered for the Phoenix, a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series race offering the winner an automatic and free entry into the $2 million Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint to be run at Keeneland on October 31. 

The three Florida-breds will also be shooting for a $5,000 Export Incentive for their respective breeders’ paid by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association for an out-of-state victory at this level.

Should Mad House make this year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint starting gate, he would join a list of 60 other Florida-breds with at least two starts in a Breeders’ Cup. He finished out of the money in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

The David Van Winkle-trained 4-year-old is also in search of his second graded stakes victory and third win since last year’s Breeders’ Cup, having taken the Grade 3 Count Fleet Handicap at Oaklawn Park with a 102 Beyer Speed Figure in April after winning an upper tier, $100,000 optional claiming at Tampa Bay Downs in March.

 

In two other starts this year, Mad House was fifth in the Grade 3 Aristides at Churchill Downs on May 30 and fourth in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby at Del Mar in July, a race in which he was just two-and-a-half length off winner Listenupshance and earned a 98 Beyer number.

Since breaking his maiden at Canterbury Downs in his sixth start in June of last year, Mad House has won six of nine starts, the last eight all at six furlongs.

Owned by James Thares of Aberdeen, South Dakota, who purchased the chestnut for $47,000 out of Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stable consignment at the 2024 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Sale, Mad House has earned $633,697 from his six wins with a second and a third in 14 career starts. 

He is out of Stifled Heiress, by Munnings and was bred in Florida by Dr. Jean White of Reddick, Wavertree Farm of Ocala and Steven Venosa’s SGV Thoroughbreds based in Reddick.

Sonny Leon rode Mad House at Tampa Bay and at Del Mar this year and will get the mount again Friday. Mad House has drawn post one and is 10-1 on the morning line.

Little Thunder is a winner of three of four career starts including a nice head victory in a second condition, $80,000 optional claiming going  six furlongs at Saratoga Race Course on September 7.

Trained by Timothy Hamm and owned by his Blazing Meadows Farm with breeder Thomas Equels of Ocala, Little Thunder also was a nearly eight-length winner of a first condition, $16,000 optional claiming at Tampa Bay Downs in February, covering six furlongs in 1:08.95. That was just .28 seconds off the track record set in 2012 by Florida-bred It’s Me Mom.

His only loss came in his second start at Tampa under the same $16,000 optional claiming conditions going seven furlongs.

Little Thunder is by Noble Bird out of the Circular Quay mare Circular Rainbow and has earned $150,425 in his four races.

He will start from post three with John Velazquez aboard and they are 15-1 in the program.

Classic of Course makes his first appearance in a graded stakes since finishing fourth in the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday going a mile-and-a-sixteenth at Gulfstream Park in December of last year.

An earner of $527,116 for trainer Patrick Biancone, who owns the 4-year-old gelding and Amy E. Dunne of Ocala, Classic of Course was bred in Florida by Dunne and her husband Ciaran Dunne.

Classic of Course enters the Phoenix off a length second to To the Eastside in the $86,750 Benny the Bull Handicap going seven furlongs over a sloppy track at Gulfstream Park on August 29. He also won over a sloppy six-and-a-half furlongs two starts back on August 3, taking a top condition, $62,500 optional claiming at Gulfstream.

Reliable and versatile, Classic of Course counts among his wins at Gulfstream last year’s $158,000 Cutler Bay going seven-and-a-half furlongs on the turf and the $70,000 Awesome Banner overnight handicap in November going a mile on the main track. He is also an allowance winner going a mile-and-70 yards on the Gulfstream synthetic in September of last year.

In the top three in five of eight starts this year, seven of which came in stakes, Classic of Course has a career record of five wins, six seconds and five thirds in 25 appearances.

He is by Awesome of Course out of Alma Mater, by Honor Code and will be ridden for the first time by Luis Saez. They will begin from the number five stall and are 20-1 on the morning line.

Brad Cox trains Verifire, a winner of his last two races including the $102,000 Reigh Count going seven furlongs at Colonial Downs on August 1. That was after winning an upper level, $100,000 optional claiming going six furlongs at Churchill Downs on June 17.

Verifire has post four and jockey Flavien Prat and is 5-2 on the morning line.

Completing the field are Booth with jockey Jose Ortiz, Viking with Tyler Gaffalione up, C K Wonder has Luan Machado with the riding assignment, Rafael Bejarano is named on Hymn, Brian Hernandez Jr. teams with Jack’s Promise, Nakatomi will be captained by Irad Ortiz Jr. and Edgar Morales will guide Here Mi Song.

Return to the October 1 issue of Wire to Wire