Breeze On By had dead aim on Boca Boy and a historic sweep Saturday of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes for male 2-year-olds at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
With a furlong to the wire, he had pulled to within two lengths of the frontrunner.
But Boca Boy refused to allow the 1-5 favorite to blow on by and held on for the two-length victory in the $400,000 In Reality Division of the annual series for offspring of registered Florida sires, springing the upset at odds of 12-1.
Ridden by jockey Edgard Zayas, Boca Boy – who was coming out of a mile-long turf stakes – took well to the sloppy going, assumed early command of the 1 1/16-mile stakes, and maintained his lead to the wire, defeating the heavy favorite in the process.
Boca Boy, trained by Cheryl Winebaugh for owner Kenneth E. Fishbein, is a 2-year-old son of Prospective. He was making his fourth career start on Saturday, and the victory was his first since breaking his maiden over a sloppy track at Gulfstream on July 17.
The two geldings met in the first leg of the series, the six-furlong Dr. Fager Division, back on Aug. 1, with Boca Boy finishing more than nine lengths back in third.
But he was a new horse Saturday, and both the slop and added distance of the In Reality proved to his liking.
“I came into the race planning to make the best out of my horse and, at the same time, find a way to beat Breeze on By,” Zayas said. “I was trying to get the trip I wanted and put him in the spot to control the race from there. My horse kept on fighting and relaxed very well on the lead, which helped him a lot in the stretch.”
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