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Florida-Bred Leaderboard Presented By FTBOA: Breeze On By Leads Powerful Juvenile Class For Stonehedge LLC

A good 2-year-old can do wonders for the morale of a racing or breeding operation, and Gil and Marilyn Campbell have enough to spare in both columns during this year's Gulfstream Park summer meet.

The Williston, Fla., operation campaigns five of the meet's top ten juvenile earners on Gulfstream's main track through Sept. 1, including three of the top four. The leader of that distinguished platoon of youngsters is Breeze On By, a Cajun Breeze gelding who has made $223,000 while going undefeated in his first three starts with trainer Ralph Nicks.

After winning on debut by six lengths, Breeze On By has become a dominant force in the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series. On Aug. 1, the gelding led at every point of call to take the Dr. Fager Stakes by a length. Then, he won a speed duel to cement his star status on the Affirmed Stakes on Aug. 29.

Breeze On By will aim to sweep this year's division for 2-year-old colts and geldings in the In Reality Stakes on Sept. 26 at Gulfstream Park.

“If he does well and continues to improve, we'll start to think about the Breeders' Cup,” Marylin Campbell said.

Cajun Breeze, a 12-year-old son of Congrats, stands privately at Stonehedge Farm South. Breeze On By is out of the stakes-placed Fusaichi Pegasus mare Miss Primetime, who the Campbells purchased for $70,000 at the 2010 Keeneland November sale.

“This is second year at our farm,” Campbell said about Cajun Breeze. “His foals just don't give up. They're fighters and they're fast. They're good-looking horses. He only has about 16 named foals, and he's already a top 2-year-old sire in Florida.”

The Campbells also have an interest in the fast-rising Florida sire Khozan, which has paid off with the other four of Stonehedge's juveniles in the top 10 being by the resident of Journeyman Stallions. That group is led by homebred Go Jo Jo Go, who won the Desert Vixen division of the Florida Sire Stakes on Aug. 1, then finished third in the Susan's Girl Stakes on the Sire Stakes schedule on Aug. 29.

While Stonehedge currently holds a hot hand with youngsters, Campbell said she's tried to keep the operation's good fortunes in perspective.

“We've had our ups and downs like everyone,” she said. “We've been successful with 2-year-olds. Last year, we won the second leg of the Florida Sire Stakes with Liam's Lucky Charm. We do well with them.”

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Breeze On By Leads 1-2-3-4 Finish For Stonehedge In FSS Affirmed

Breeze On By led a 1-2-3-4 finish for Stonehedge LLC at Gulfstream Park with a commanding 7 1/2-length victory in Saturday's $200,000 Affirmed, the second leg of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes for juveniles sired by accredited Florida stallions at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla..

The Affirmed, a seven furlong open division, co-headlined Saturday's program with the $200,000 Susan's Girl, a seven-furlong stakes for fillies, which were supported by the $75,000 Proud Truth, a mile turf stakes for 2-year-olds, and the $75,000 Sharp Susan, a mile turf stakes for juvenile fillies. All four stakes were included in the six-race sequence of the Rainbow 6 on a day when a mandatory payout was held.

Trainer Ralph Nicks, who saddled Breeze On By for a victory in the $100,000 Dr. Fager in the first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes four weeks earlier, won his fourth consecutive running of the Affirmed. The son of Cajun Breeze also gave Nicks his eighth Florida Sire Stakes success since 2016 while providing Gil Campbell's Stonehedge Farm with a 15^th victory in the tradition-rich series.

“I just feel blessed to be in Florida for seven years and win this many [Sire] Series,” said Nicks, who also captured the Affirmed the previous three seasons with Soutache (2017), Garter and Tie (2018) and Liam's Lucky Charm (2019). “I learned early on that you need to be a part of this and was lucky to have owners send me some talented horses and it's worked.”

The Nicks-trained Big Daddy Dave and Seazan finished second and third, respectively, while the Kathleen O'Connell-trained Top Boss finished fourth to round out the Stonehedge superfecta.

Breeze On By, the 4-5 favorite ridden by Emisael Jaramillo, broke alertly from the starting gate but was beaten for the early lead by Gatsby, the 5-2 second choice who showed the way along the backstretch under a hustling ride by Hector Berrios. Breeze On By pressed the pace during swift fractions of 22.14 and 44.22 for the first half mile before putting away the tiring pacesetter on the turn into the homestretch and drawing away to a comfortable victory.

Breeze On By, undefeated in three starts, ran seven furlongs in 1:22.75. Big Daddy Dave made a wide bid of the final turn and finished second, 2 ½ lengths ahead of a late-rallying Seazan.

“They're nice horses. Thank you to Stonehedge for sending us some great horses. We're lucky to work with such talented horses,” Nicks said. “Breeze On By was able to rate and sit there with Big Daddy Dave in the hunt and could have pushed if he needed to, but he will settle and follow if he needs to.}

Breeze On By is scheduled to make a bid to become the fifth male to sweep the Florida Sire Stakes in the $400,000 In Reality, the 1 1/16-mile series finale Sept. 26. With a victory he would join Three Rules (2016), Sir Oscar (2003), Seacliff (1995) and Smile (1984)

“Doing this series is tough on them and we'll see. There are two other horses in this race that ran well so nothing will be a gift, but it's nice to have a horse this talented and have those options in front of you.”

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Nicks Hoping To ‘Breeze’ To Fourth FSS Affirmed Victory In A Row

A resilient winner of the $100,000 Dr. Fager Aug. 1, Breeze On By will seek his second straight FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes victory in the $200,000 Affirmed at Gulfstream Park Saturday while giving trainer Ralph Nicks a solid shot at his fourth consecutive success in the seven-furlong event for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions.

The Affirmed will co-headline Saturday's Florida Sire Stakes program at Gulfstream with the $200,000 Susan's Girl, a seven-furlong event for juvenile fillies. The $75,000 Proud Man, a mile turf stakes for 2-year-olds and the $75,000 Sharp Susan, a mile turf stakes for juvenile fillies, will be supporting stakes on a 12-race program. The Affirmed will be included in the Rainbow 6 sequence Saturday, when a mandatory payout is scheduled.

Nicks has saddled the Affirmed winner the past three seasons, scoring with Soutache (2017), Garter and Tie (2018) and Liam's Lucky Charm (2019).

“Six, seven years, I've been here now. After the second year, I knew I had to competitive in the sire stakes,” said Nicks, who made a decision to base his stable year-round in South Florida when Gulfstream Park instituted a Spring/Summer Meet. “I've been fortunate enough to have clients to send me horses that are eligible for that and I've been fortunate enough to have some with the talent to get it done. The racing gods have allowed us to put it all together on those days.”

Breeze On By gave Nicks his seventh Florida Sire Stakes success since 2006, while providing Gilbert Campbell's Stonehedge Farm with a 13th victory in the prestigious tradition-rich series while winning the six-furlong Dr. Fager. (Michael Yates-trained Go Jo Jo Go upped that total to 14 for Stonehedge with a win in the Aug. 1 FSS Desert Vixen.)

The gelded son of Cajun Breeze, who made a rather auspicious debut while capturing a July 12 maiden special weight race at Gulfstream by six lengths, set the pace in the six-furlong Dr. Fager before meeting a strong challenge from Gatsby at the top of the stretch. After Gatsby put his nose in front in mid-stretch, Breeze On By fought back gamely to prevail by a length.

“He seemed to have handled the pressure of two races close together. It looks like he put some weight on and matured some more, so hopefully he'll move forward from here,” Nicks said. “He's a big rangy horse. I think he'll handle [seven furlongs] fine. It'll depend on pace scenarios and set-up, but time will tell on that.”

Emisael Jaramillo has the return call.

Nicks and Stonehedge will also be represented in the Affirmed by a pair of promising maiden winners, Seazan and Big Daddy Dave.

Seazan, a gelded son of Khozan who finished second in his June 10 debut in a $50,000 maiden claimer, stepped up to capture a seven-furlong maiden special weight race on the Dr. Fager undercard.

“He might be a bit of a sleeper in there. In his second start at seven-eighths of a mile, he really liked it. He's a horse that's definitely going to run on down the racetrack,” Nicks said.

Samy Camacho has the mount aboard Seazan.

Big Daddy Dave, also a gelded son of Khozan, captured his debut by 3 ¼ lengths May 30.

“We gave him time after his debut and we were pointing him to the first leg. When he came back he ended up getting sick,” Nicks said. “I think he'll run well.”

Edgard Zayas has the call aboard Big Daddy Dave.

Nicks is confident in the abilities of the three prominent South Florida jockeys to give their mounts their best chances for success.

“I like my hand going into it. Any of the three are capable. Hopefully, they'll stay out of each other's way,” Nicks said. “There are some different dimensions there. Big Daddy Dave and Breeze On By can control the early part of the race if wanted. They both could stalk and set off, and Seazan is an obvious closer. We'll try and let it play out. It'll be up to Jaramillo, Zayas and Camacho to see what happens.”

Top Boss, another gelded son of Khozan, will give Stonehedge a fourth chance to boost its gaudy FSS numbers. The Kathleen O'Connell-trained Top Boss captured a $50,000 maiden claiming race by 7 ½ lengths in his fourth career start.

Hall of Famer Edgar Prado has the call aboard the Stonehedge hombred.

Arindel's Gatsby, an impressive winner of his April 12 debut, rebounded from an off-the-board finish in the June 27 Bashford Manor (G3) at Churchill Downs with his gusty second-place finish in the Dr. Fager. The homebred son of Brethren pulled off an upset victory over heavily favored Golden Pal in his April 12 debut at 4 ½ furlongs at Gulfstream, chasing the Wesley Ward-trained odds-on favorite into the stretch before edging clear by three-quarters of a length. Golden Pal has gone on to impress on turf, finishing second in the Norfolk (G2) at Royal Ascot and winning last week's Skidmore Stakes at Saratoga handily by 3 ½ lengths.

Trilogy Stable and Laurie Plesa's Famous Gent made a middle move from back in the pack and raced evenly thereafter to finish fourth in the Dr. Fager.

Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained Famous Gent, who broke his maiden in the second career start, entered the Dr. Fager off a troubled third-place finish behind highly regarded Papetu in the first juvenile allowance race of the Spring/Summer Meet.

The son of First Dude will be ridden by Christian Torres.

Flying Finish Farm's Florala Al, Vicente Stella Stables LLC's Grey Dom and Just For Fun Inc.'s Advance Cash round out the field.

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Breeze On By, Gatsby Prep For Rematch In Florida Sire Stakes Affirmed Division

Stonehedge LLC's Breeze On By is scheduled to seek his third straight victory and second leg of the 2020 Florida Sire Stakes series Aug. 29 in the $200,000 Affirmed at Gulfstream Park.

The gelded son of Cajun Breeze is set to square off against Arindel's Gatsby, whom he defeated by a hard-fought length in the $100,000 FSS Dr. Fager, the Aug. 1 first leg of the tradition rich series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions. The homebred gelding rushed to the lead from his rail post position, set a pressured pace and battled back when headed by Gatsby to prevail in the six-furlong sprint.

Trained by Ralph Nicks, Breeze On By is undefeated in two starts, including a sensational front-running six-length victory in his July 12 debut at Gulfstream. Stonehedge and Nicks will also be represented by Seazan, a son of Khozan who broke his maiden in his second career start on the Dr. Fager undercard.

Gatsby, a homebred son of Brethren who finished 8 ¼ lengths clear of the third-place finisher in the Dr. Fager, won his April 12 debut, in which he chased odds-on favorite Golden Pal into the stretch before edging away to victory by three-quarters of a length. The Wesley Ward-trained Golden Pal went on to finish second in the Norfolk (G2) at Royal Ascot, while Gatsby finished off-the-board in the June 27 Bashford Manor (G3) at Churchill Downs. Gatsby rebounded with a strong effort in the Dr. Fager.

The field for the seven-furlong Affirmed is also expected to include Kenneth Fishbein's Boca Boy and Trilogy Stable and Laurie Plesa's Famous Gent, who finished third and fourth, respectively, in the Dr. Fager.

Kenny McPeek, who trains the No. 1-ranked 3-year-old filly in the country in Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) and Alabama (G1) winner Swiss Skydiver, will seek dominance in the Florida Sire Stakes filly division with newcomer Raining Sunshine in the $200,000 Susan's Girl . Martin Erin Haught's homebred daughter of First Dude graduated in her second career start while romping to a 5 ¾-length maiden victory at Gulfstream Aug. 2.

Stonehedge LLC, which has won 14 Florida Sire Stakes series races, will also be well represented in the seven-furlong Susan's Girl by Go Jo Jo Go, who captured the first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series for fillies. The Michael Yates-trained daughter of Khozan closed from last to capture the $100,000 Desert Vixen by 1 ¼ lengths over favored Princess Secret. Stonehedge LLC will also be represented by Oh Deborah, a Ralph Nicks-trained daughter of Winslow Homer who debuted with a 3 ½-length victory in a $50,000 maiden claiming race by 3 ¼ lengths July 19.

Princess Secret, a daughter of Khozan owned and trained by Daniel Pita, is expected to try to make amends in the seven-furlong Susan's Girl. Princess Secret, who debuted May 7 with a four-length victory, finished a troubled second behind highly regarded Papetu while taking on the boys in a July 5 allowance before finishing second in the Desert Vixen.

Arindel's Freak, a daughter of Brethren who finished a nose behind Princess Secret while checking in third in the Desert Vixen, is slated to return in the Susan's Girl. Arindel will also be represented by Lyrical, a daughter of Brethren who finished sixth in the Desert Vixen.

Trainer Steven Dwoskin's Alluramore, a daughter of Gone Astray who finished an even fourth in the Desert Vixen, is expected to run in the Susan's Girl.

The Florida Sire Stakes series is scheduled to wrap up Sept. 26 with the $400,000 In Reality and the $400,000 My Dear Girl for fillies.

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