Never challenged through :22.07 and :45.66 splits, Patrick Husbands only had to keep his mount focused in the lane as the pair came home three lengths best over the filly Unchained Elaine (American Pharoah). Mensa is the first winner for his freshman sire (by Maclean's Music).

“He's been extremely professional from day one,” said Nick Tomlinson, assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. “He's a beautiful horse. A lot of the credit goes to the guys in the barn. They did a lot of gate schooling with him. They're the reason a lot of these babies are ready to roll. He's far more advanced than anyone else. Hopefully, he continues to progress from here.”

The most recent winning offspring for Lady Halite, the victor is a half-brother to  Recruiter (Army Mule), MSW, $241,985 as well as stakes-placed 3-year-old Miss Sayely (Maximus Mischief). The dam's 2023 Instagrand foal died and she is due to Nashville for 2024.

#2 MENSA ($10.00) registered a smart career debut with a victory in race 2 at Gulfstream Park under Patrick Husbands for trainer @markecasse and @DJ_Stable.

This is the first winner for @AirdrieStud's freshman stallion Complexity. pic.twitter.com/6yB5HLpLs2

— TVG (@TVG) April 12, 2024

Sales history: $135,000 Ylg '23 OBSOCT. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $45,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-D. J. Stable LLC; B-Beth Bayer (FL); T-Mark E. Casse.

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“We are entering Hades in the Lexington and have Jose Ortiz in the irons,” Green texted. “Hades is doing great, is sound and ready to ship to KEE on Tuesday.”

Owned in partnership with Robert Cotran and trained by Joe Orseno, Hades won his first three trips to the post including a two-length defeat of Domestic Product (Practical Joke) in the Holy Bull, as Fierceness failed to fire at long odds-on. He was bumped at the start of the Florida Derby as a 17-5 chance and endured a wide trip before finishing 19 3/4 lengths adrift of the romping Fierceness.

“He got sawed off and never leveled off until he pulled himself back to last,” Green explained via text.

Hades has amassed 30 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, good for 18th in the standings prior to the running of Saturday's 100-point preps. The Lexington is the final Derby points race on a scale of 20-10-6-4-2.

Also headed to the Lexington is Encino (Nyquist), who was scratched from Saturday's GI Toyota Blue Grass S. The Godolphin homebred, last-start winner of the John Battaglia Memorial S. Mar. 2, had drawn widest in the field of 11 in the Blue Grass.

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A perfect three-for-three in his career, Hades was scheduled to breeze Saturday, but forecast heavy rains led trainer Joe Orseno to call an audible and work the gelding 24 hours earlier.

“He has exceeded my expectations,” Orseno said, “even with today's last breeze going into the Florida Derby. He did everything perfect. He just handles himself very professional. He gets things easily where other horses struggle.”

Eclipse Award-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) will try to atone for his third-place effort in the Holy Bull when he lines up next weekend, and the Todd Pletcher trainee went four furlongs in :47.43 at Palm Beach Downs Friday morning. He galloped out an extra eighth of a mile in 1:00.63. Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez was in the irons for the move.

“It went very well, he looked great,” Pletcher commented.

Trainer Gustavo Delgado took to X Friday afternoon to report that Victory Avenue (Arrogate), a big-figure runner-up on his lone racetrack appearance Jan. 27, would be passing the Florida Derby.

“For clarity, we have decided not to pursue a Florida Derby entry with Victory Avenue,” Delgado posted. “Being a very talented son of Arrogate, at this moment we feel that time and patience to let him grow up physically + mentally is the best plan. Plenty of goals for him to achieve down the line.”

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“Len and his late wife Lois have silently, although generously, supported an increasing number of NY Chaplaincy vital initiatives and events over the course of the past several years,” said Ramon Dominguez, president of the board of the NY Chaplaincy. “In doing so, they have set a tremendous example for others, and we are immensely grateful for this.”

Green is Founder and Chairman of the New Jersey CPA firm, The Green Group. The family's D. J. Stable, which is now managed by his son, Jon, campaigned Eclipse champions Jaywalk and Wonder Wheel, as well as 40 other graded stakes winners.

“Lois and I have long admired the work and activities of the NY Chaplaincy and Chaplain Humberto Chavez and continually realized how the organization enhances the quality of life for the backstretch community all year long.” Green said.

For tickets or sponsorship opportunities at the Aug. 14 brunch, click here.

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“It was what I call a 'Wow!' work,” trainer Joe Orseno said. “I put a horse in front of him to have a horse to run at a little bit. At the quarter-pole, I told both riders to ask their horses. If the other horse ran away from him, I needed to know that. The rider on the inside horse said when he asked, his horse responded and found another gear, and Hades ran by him so fast it's kind of ridiculous.”

Orseno added, “I've got him galloping out the mile in 1:42. Horses don't do that.”

Although the Mar. 2 GII Fountain of Youth was scratched down to just five horses when heavily favored Speak Easy (Constitution) unseated his rider in his pre-race warm-up, Orseno hasn't questioned his decision to bypass the final local prep for the Florida Derby with Hades.

“For me, my horse didn't have that look in his eye that he had until two days before the Fountain of Youth, when I could say, 'Wow: The way he feels now, maybe I should have been in there.' Never did I think that I did the wrong thing,” Orseno said. “He has a big future, so we're not looking at just the next two races, the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby. We're looking down the road, too. You've got to pick and choose your spots.”

Hades is unbeaten in three starts. He debuted with a win at Gulfstream in early December and added an allowance victory in Hallandale at the end of the month. He defeated Domestic Product (Practical Joke) by two lengths in the Holy Bull and the form of that race was flattered when the runner-up returned to win the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby Saturday.

“He didn't win by much, but he did get up to win, so I think that complimented us a little bit,” Orseno said of the Tampa Bay Derby finish.

Sunday's breeze was Hades' final serious preparation for the Florida Derby.

“Next week he's going to open gallop. He's not even going to breeze. And then he'll just have a little something the next week, so today was his major prep,” Orseno said.

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“We're obviously working backwards from the first Saturday in May,” said Orseno. “We'll do what's best for the horses. I don't think both races are in the plans. If I had to guess today, I'd say the latter one.”

Orseno said the undefeated Hades came out of his Holy Bull win in good shape.

“My both feet are on the ground and everything's fine,” said Orseno. “The horse is doing great. He came out of it really well in his training. He's been back training two days. He's galloping great.”

Orseno continued: “Yesterday, he was more aggressive. It was windy and it was his first day back on the track. Today, he was more settled.”

The trainer also detailed the decision that led to gelding the bay, who is now unbeaten in three starts. Orseno had spotted Hades at the 2023 OBS April Sale, where he worked two furlongs in :21 1/5. D. J. Stable signed the ticket and Orseno brought his longtime client Cotran in to team up on the Florida-bred colt.

“When I bought him out of the sale, I gave him a week and brought him down here. He just wasn't training like I thought he should have been,” Orseno said. “He was stud-ish, really stud-ish. He was a little weak behind. He didn't seem to be himself. I said, 'This isn't the horse I bought,' because we really loved him.”

Despite extra time turned out in Ocala, Hades showed no improvement.

“He was being real stud-ish, not going forward. I said, 'Just cut him and help him grow up a little bit.' That's what we did. We just gave him time and cut him. He's a son of Awesome Slew. Nobody was thinking 'stallion' at that point. Nobody was thinking anything. We bought a racehorse and we've got to get him to the races.”

The result is an undefeated prospect who has earned 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

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The tote read 1-5 on the champ, but the Repole homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' was out of gas when push came to shove, and, in a bit of an oddly run race, D J Stable and Robert Cotran's unbeaten Hades (Awesome Slew) controlled a moderate tempo, slipped away from Fierceness in the final furlong and held off Domestic Product (Practical Joke) by two lengths for a 9-1 upset and 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

“This is what you hope for,” D J Stable's Jonathan Green said. “You hope you have a horse that's this good that can carry your dreams into another level for the Florida Derby and then the Kentucky Derby. The thing that was so exciting to me about this race was not only the way that (trainer) Joe (Orseno) campaigned the horse, which was outstanding. He knows how to handle a horse and get him into the Triple Crown races. But I was so happy that our horse went eyeball-to-eyeball with a champ and put him away. To me, that really shows something. It means the horse really wants to (win), and that's something you can't teach.”

Making his two-turn debut Saturday, Hades, a $130,000 OBS April purchase, was driven away from his rail draw by Paco Lopez, and Fierceness was also given a dig by John Velazquez in an effort to gain some forward position, but Fierceness did get fired up a bit as a result. Hades made the running from Inveigled (Enticed) and a three-wide Fierceness, and sensing a slow pace, Velazquez sent Fierceness into the lead a good three furlongs from home.

Right alongside and in with every chance, Fierceness and Hades appeared to lightly brush inside the eighth pole and while Fierceness had no more to give, Hades kicked on to cause the surprise. Domestic Product, making his first start since a well-beaten seventh in the GII Remsen S. Dec. 2, sat an inside trip and got through at the fence into the stretch before going on to claim second.

Hades rallied from last of seven to win at first asking going 5 1/2 furlongs in a $50,000 maiden optional claimer (not in for the tag) at Gulfstream Park Dec. 9. He dueled free from his rail draw to win by daylight in a first-level state-bred allowance going seven furlongs at Gulfstream last time Dec. 31.

“The plan was to go to the lead, but if somebody was pushing him he was going to rate him,” Orseno said. “It looked like he started to do that when that one horse went up to him, and then Paco had to go. He knew it. When the horse accelerates, he's just got another gear at the top of the stretch. He showed it to us last time. Of course, a champion eyeballs him and he dug in and took off. He ran away from a very good horse. It was our day today. We'll see next time, but right now we'll enjoy the moment.”

Orseno added, “I'm going to let the horse tell us (what's next). Right now, I would say no (to the Fountain of Youth), but if the horse is sharp… he's lightly raced. He's run five and a half and seven furlongs. It's not like he's been pushed.”

It wasn't the easiest of journeys for Fierceness, who was defeated by 3 1/2 lengths following a wide trip after getting pinballed at the start. His resume also includes a puzzling seventh as the heavy favorite in last fall's GI Champagne S.

“He didn't get off to a very good start,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “The inside horse bumped him pretty good and then he got sandwiched and kind of had to shove him into the race and try to get the position we wanted, which we eventually did. But, he had to overcome a pretty rough start to get there. It seemed like he got into a good rhythm and straightened away for home and just kind of flattened out a little bit. Disappointed in the outcome. I think if you watch the replay of the start, it was a pretty rough start, kind of similar to what happened in the Champagne. If he doesn't get away well, he doesn't get into the flow of the race the same way.”

He continued, “I don't think we're going to change any plans. We'll obviously assess how the horse comes out of the race. We know he's better than that, so we've got to regroup a little bit and do better next time. He's shown that he can recover from a subpar performance with a good one.”

Pedigree Notes:

Hades is the second stakes winner and first at the graded level for Awesome Slew. The win gave broodmare sire Quality Road his 11th black-type winner and fifth graded/group winner worldwide. D J Stable went to $130,000 (:21 1/5) to recruit Hades from the 2023 OBS April Sale. The year prior, his half-sister Devious Dame (Girvin) brought $240,000 from One Up Bloodstock out of the OBS March Sale. Devious Dame won her first two races by a combined 10 3/4 lengths and lived up to heavy favoritism with a sharp victory in the Astoria S. at Belmont Park. She brought $185,000 from Woods Edge Farm at the 2023 KEENOV sale. Hades's third dam is GISW Pretty Discreet (Private Account), herself the dam of GISWs Discreet Cat (Forestry) and Discreetly Mine (Mineshaft). Their unraced dam The Shady Lady is a half-sister to MSW & MGSP Courtesan (Street Sense). She is also represented by a 2-year-old full brother to Hades and a yearling filly by Girvin. She visited Win Win Win for 2024.

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
HOLY BULL S.-GIII, $260,000, Gulfstream, 2-3, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:46.07, ft.
1–HADES, 118, g, 3, by Awesome Slew
                1st Dam: The Shady Lady, by Quality Road
                2nd Dam: Lady Discreet, by Boundary
                3rd Dam: Pretty Discreet, by Private Account
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($130,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR). O-D. J. Stable LLC and Robert Cotran; B-Ocala Stud, Joseph M. O'Farrell III, David O'Farrell, et al. (FL);
T-Joseph F. Orseno; J-Paco Lopez. $161,900. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $225,000. *1/2 to Devious Dame (Girvin), SW, $120,560. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Domestic Product, 118, c, 3, Practical Joke–Goods and Services, by Paynter. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Klaravich Stables (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $49,000.
3–Fierceness, 124, c, 3, City of Light–Nonna Bella, by Stay Thirsty. 'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Repole Stable, Inc. (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $24,500.
Margins: 2, 1HF, 2HF. Odds: 9.20, 14.40, 0.20.
Also Ran: Inveigled, Dancing Groom, Otello, Sea Streak. Scratched: No More Time.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

What a run from HADES, who wins the Holy Bull Stakes! pic.twitter.com/kfH8kqwZ1e

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) February 3, 2024

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“We were very busy Sunday and by Monday afternoon we were busy again, so I feel pretty good about what we've seen traffic-wise,” he said.

October graduates don't get much important than Crimson Advocate (Nyquist), who was purchased by Dew Sweeper II from the consignment of Beth Bayer, agent, for $100,000 last fall and has won two of her three starts to date. A debut third to future GISW Brightwork (Outwork) at Keeneland this past April, the chestnut earned a trip to the Royal Ascot meeting when taking out the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies in May and made the most of the opportunity by posting a 9-1 upset in the G2 Queen Mary S.

As recently as this past weekend, the October Sale was represented by Time Passage (Tunwoo), an $85,000 purchase by trainer Eddie Plesa for his clients Karl and Cathi Glassman, who prevailed in the Miss Gracie S. at Gulfstream Park this past Saturday.

Nothing inspires confidence in a sale than success at the races, said Wojciechowski.

“Absolutely. When you have those sorts of results, it certainly entices a buyer to come in and maybe they can find one like that,” he said.

The October catalog features a diverse cross-section of stallions from Florida, Kentucky and New York, and should have something for everyone, Wojciechowski said.

“More and more we see a better mix of and we also have some of the sire power that has been in favor as of late,” he said. “We have some Mitoles, Complexitys sold well at the previous sales, so the quality of sire continues to grow for us here.

The October Sale comes on the heels of regional events over the past few weeks which posted mixed results year-over-year. At the Fasig-Tipton California sale, which also included a Horses of Racing Age Section, the average was fractionally higher, but the median took a significant dip while one of every three horses was bought back. The average was down slightly during last week's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale, and there remained an uneasiness in the middle market while buybacks also trended a bit higher.

“From the sales standpoint, I think we're going to see what we've seen at the yearling sales this year,” Wojciechowski offered. “The perceived upper end will sell very well and it might get a little thin in some of the middle spots. But there's no reason we should expect something totally different.”

With sessions beginning at 10 a.m. ET, hips 1-338 and supplemental entries hips 339-359 are set to go under the hammer Tuesday, followed by hips 401-739 and supplements 740-755 on Wednesday. Some 37 yearlings were added to the sale after the catalogs were printed.

The Green family's D. J. Stable acquired last year's joint $210,000 toppers, a colt by Mitole and a Filly by The Factor, each bred in Florida.

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After clinching an Eclipse Award with her win in the 2022 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Wonder Wheel struggled this year, going 0-for-4. In the Selene, she was beaten 21 3/4 lengths.

“Wonder Wheel has been battling a couple of minor issues since her 2-year-old year,” Green said. “She had bone bruising and a minor ankle injury. We gave her some time off and did a little procedure on her ankle to take care of a flake. Unfortunately, because she is a 17-hand beast, she continued to have some bone bruising and the same ankle has been an issue. This week, we decided that because she would need some time before we could run her again that we'd pull the plug on her racing career. She's been so valuable to us as a race horse. She's a champion and a two-time Grade I winner. She's too valuable a horse to continue to run her when she's not 100 percent.”

Wonder Wheel was acquired for $275,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September sale and turned over to trainer Mark Casse. She won her first two starts before finishing second in the GI Spinaway S. She returned with a win in the GI Alcibiades S. before her three-length win in the Juvenile Fillies.

“Normally, when you campaign a horse of Wonder Wheel's caliber you're always looking at what will be their next race,” Green said. “You are constantly looking forward. With her, I actually had the opportunity to enjoy watching her run and not worrying about what's next. It really was a thrill, especially the first five races of her career. It was nothing like I had felt before and we have campaigned other Grade I winners and champions like Jaywalk.”

Green said that Wonder Wheel was always a favorite because she was named by his mother Lois. Lois Green passed away in May at the age of 84.

“The reason why Wonder Wheel is so special to me is that my mom, who recently passed, named Wonder Wheel,” he said. “Normally, we don't get too emotional about horses and try to treat it as a business. But Wonder Wheel will always be near and dear to my heart because my mom named her.”

Wonder Wheel won four of eight career starts and earned $1,590,725.

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