The GI Curlin Florida Derby card Apr. 1 includes more than $650,000 performance bonuses for FTBOA registered Florida-breds and for Florida Sire Stakes (FSS) eligible contenders.

FTBOA offers $100,000 to owners of FTBOA registered Florida-breds, plus $100,000 for eligible FSS owners that finish first, second or third in the Florida Derby, to be paid on a 60%-30%-10% basis, respectively.

The GII Gulfstream Park Oaks similarly includes $50,000 for owners of FTBOA registered Florida-breds plus $50,000 for eligible FSS owners that finish first, second or third, also to be paid on a 60%-30%-10% basis.

For the Apr. 1 undercard stakes, FTBOA offers $25,000 to registered Florida-breds winners, plus $5,000 per Florida-bred second through fifth-place finisher.

After Apr. 1 and through the end of 2023, FTBOA offers a $25,000 win bonus to owners of FTBOA registered Florida-breds that officially win an unrestricted stakes at Gulfstream Park. Owners of runners eligible for the Florida Sire Stakes who win stakes restricted to Florida-breds may receive a $25,000 FSS bonus, also paid by FTBOA.

All bonuses are an FTBOA program and payments will be administered through the FTBOA. Eligible contenders must be FTBOA registered Florida-breds and/or eligible for the Florida Sire Stakes.

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The FBIF program offers Florida-bred two-year-old open maiden winners a minimum bonus of $2,500 for maiden-claiming races and up to $10,000 for a Florida-bred two-year-old winning an open maiden special weight race at Gulfstream.

The FTBOA will offer an additional $100,000 in win bonuses for eligible Florida-sired winners of open maiden special weights, paying $5,000 for up to 10 races for males and females.

“It's imperative that we all work together to promote and build a robust breeding and racing industry in the state of Florida,” Billy Badgett, 1/ST RACING's Executive Director of Florida Racing Operations, said. “To that end, it's important to attract new owners to our sport throughout Florida and the industry. These incentives, and the change in dates of the popular Florida Sire Stakes program, gives us a great opportunity to fulfill these goals.”

Additionally, the Florida Sire Stakes series, to be run at Gulfstream for the 10th straight season, offers $1.2 million in purses and have been pushed back on the annual racing calendar to give owners and trainers more time to prepare their Florida-bred juveniles for the lucrative series. The dates for the 2023 FSS are as follows:

• Sept. 9–$100,000 FSS Desert Vixen S. and $100,000 FSS Dr. Fager S. at six furlongs;
• Oct. 21–$200,000 FSS Susan's Girl S. and $200,000 FSS Affirmed S. at seven furlongs;
• Dec. 2–$300,000 FSS My Dear Girl S. and $300,000 In Reality S. at 1 1/6 miles

“Florida's stakeholders are aligned with one focus–what can we do to help our breeding and racing industries?” said FTHA President Joe Orseno. “We need to find ways to make it worthwhile for breeders and owners to invest in our state. We believe that the new Bonus Program will encourage greater interest in buying and breeding Florida-breds. By moving the dates of the FSS races, late-developing 2-year-olds will have a better chance of participating. We are excited about the future of the Florida Thoroughbred industry.”

“FTBOA is pleased to work with Gulfstream and FTHA on a program for 2023 featuring our priority Florida Sire Stakes program while enhancing our Florida Breeders Incentive Fund for the benefit of our highly regarded Florida-bred 2-year-olds at Gulfstream on a summer through winter basis,” commented FTBOA CEO Lonny Powell.

FTBOA President George Isaacs added, “We are pleased with the continued FSS races as our industry centerpiece promoting Florida stallions and farms. I also consider it a plus anytime we can offer purse incentives for our bread and butter two-year-olds competing at all levels at Gulfstream. We anticipate this will be one of many cooperative efforts improving the industry economics and stability.”

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Of that amount, $1.4 million is earmarked for the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes Series, $375,000 toward purse enhancements for Florida-breds and Florida Sire Stakes-eligible runners in stakes races and $250,000 in FTBOA Florida-bred Incentive Funds (FTBOA FBIF).

“Florida-breds are so important to Gulfstream Park racing and these supplements certainly will make our stakes more attractive,” Gulfstream Park vice president of racing Mike Lakow said.

The FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes for 2-year-olds by registered FTBOA Florida stallions will again highlight the Summer racing program at Gulfstream beginning with the $100,000 Dr. Fager S. and $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies, both at six furlongs, Aug. 6. The lucrative series continues at seven furlongs Sept. 3 with the $200,000 Affirmed S. and $200,000 Susan's Girl S. for fillies before concluding at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on Oct. 1 with the $400,000 In Reality and $400,000 My Dear Girl for fillies.

“The FTBOA is once again pleased to offer numerous economic incentives in terms of either funding entire stakes purses, as is the case with our six FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes races for 2-year-olds and the new Gil Campbell Memorial, or the plethora of bonuses the FTBOA offers ranging from Florida-bred to FSS Eligible Florida-breds throughout the year of which we are offering $375,000 just for the current Royal Palm Meet alone,” FTBOA CEO Lonny Powell said.

He continued, “The FTBOA is also pleased beyond expectations by the incredible growth of the Florida Sire Stakes with a 14% increase in eligible foals compared to the prior year. This is proof as to the popularity and broad awareness of our FSS program and nationally acclaimed signature 2 year-old stakes. The FSS program is working well in terms of providing some of the very highest stakes purse schedules at each track–including the highest for the Royal Palm meet–while putting additional money into the hands of the deserving owners, trainers and breeders of our Florida-breds, which is a very good thing for the entire Florida racing and breeding industries.”

The FTBOA will also supplement 10 maiden special weight races for 2-year-old fillies eligible for the Florida Sire Stakes with a $5,000 supplement for the winners of each and 10 maiden special weight races for 2-year-olds eligible for the Florida Sire Stakes with $5,000 supplement for the winners.

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The My Dear Girl for fillies and $400,000 In Reality for colts and geldings, both going 1 1/16 miles, co-headlined the final leg of the tradition-rich FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series for juveniles sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida.

Breaking from the rail against seven rivals as the 1-5 favorite in her two-turn debut, Outfoxed ($2.40) completed the distance in 1:47.34 over a fast main track to win by 9 ¼ lengths over 25-1 long shot Veiled Prophet. She was a 13 ½-length winner of the $200,000 Susan's Girl Aug. 28 at Gulfstream, the largest margin in race history.

“She's certainly done good things for us in the last 30 days, that's for sure,” trainer Bill Mott said. “She beat this group easily enough. We know the water can always get deeper.”

Outfoxed had a much different trip under meet-leading rider Edgard Zayas than her previous start, when she balked at the starting gate before loading and then raced outside horses in the seven-furlong Susan's Girl. Her unveiling came in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight sprint July 15 at Saratoga, where she ran third.

“The first time coming down to Florida last time she was a little nervous, but they schooled her in the morning after the race and they said she was doing awesome. The gate crew knew her already and she was really nice in the gate. She actually was a little sharp today,” Zayas said. “[Judging by] the way she won last time, and I think she has a lot of class, I was pretty confident she was going to handle the distance pretty good.”

Susan's Girl runner-up Devilette was once again out on the lead under Cristian Torres tracked by My Sassenach, third in the Susan's Girl, and Cajun Cousin, while Zayas and Outfoxed found themselves hemmed in along the rail in fourth by 30-1 long shot Sequin Lady midway down the backstretch.

As the field approached the far turn, Zayas was able to put Outfoxed in the clear four wide and the daughter of Valiant Minister responded by closing in quickly on the leaders. She overtook My Sassenach at the midpoint of the turn and straightened for home with an open lead that expanded through the stretch under a hand ride and ultimately geared down nearing the wire.

“Last time she was on the outside and I had a clean trip the whole race, and it was a little shorter so the pace was a little faster. Today the pace was a little slower and going two turns, I really didn't want to put her out there on the lead,” Zayas said. “She was the target of the race [so] I wasn't going to go against her. I just wanted to cover up a little bit and then put her in the clear and let her do her thing. She did awesome.”

Outfoxed, who fetched $360,000 at the 2020 OBS October sale, is only the second horse to represent Mott in the FSS series. The other, Inner Light, finished seventh in the 2017 In Reality. She has been with Mott's former assistant, Gulfstream-based trainer Ralph Nicks, since the Susan's Girl.

“She's been training good and put on some weight,” Nicks said. “She's a nice horse, plain and simple. The real boss is going to have a lot of fun with her.”

Mott was unsure whether the Breeders' Cup in November at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., could be on the horizon for Outfoxed.

“I think I'd have to talk to the powers that be. We'll talk to the owners and managers,” he said. “That would be a big step, but we'll see what they want to do. I couldn't answer that question right now myself.”

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“We'd love to win it in his honor, that's for sure,” Yates said.

Campbell, the prominent Florida breeder/owner who passed away Sept. 16 at the age of 91, and his widow, Marilyn, have had a long, long history of success in the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes, having been represented by 16 race winners in the lucrative series for juveniles sired by accredited Florida stallions.

Cajun's Magic, a homebred son of Cajun Breeze who campaigns for the Campbells' Stonehedge LLC racing stable, kicked off the 2021 FSS series with a victory over Dean Delivers, his Stonehedge LLC stablemate, in the $100,000 Dr. Fager at Gulfstream July 31 to give his highly respected and influential owners/breeders No. 16.

“He's gutsy; he's a trier; he's a game horse,” Yates said. “He's a very nice, solid horse.”

Cajun's Magic showed grit in his May 29 debut, in which he vied for pacesetting honors while racing between horses and fought back after losing the lead to finish just a half-length behind heavily favored Of a Revolution at five furlongs. He came right back to graduate by 4 ¾ lengths at 5 ½ furlongs before capturing the six-furlong Dr. Fager, in which he rated early before challenging Dean Delivers and prevailing from a stretch-long battle to win by a neck.

In the $200,000 Affirmed, the seven-furlong second leg of the FSS series, Cajun's Magic made a three-wide drive into contention but had to settle for a second-place finish, 3 ¼ lengths behind pacesetter Octane.

Cajun's Magic will face the two-turn test Saturday in the 1 1/16-mile In Reality, which will co-headline Saturday's Gulfstream Park program with the $400,000 My Dear Girl, the 1 1/16-mile FSS finale for fillies.

“It's a question for all of them. None of them have run that far yet,” Yates said. “He's been training well. He's had some nice, long, swift gallops, and I think he'll be ready.”

Jesus Rios has the call aboard Cajun's Magic, who will try to turn the tables on Arindel's homebred Octane.

The Affirmed victor will seek his third straight victory following a second-place finish in his June 14 debut at five furlongs. The son of Brethren overcame adversity to graduate in his second start at Gulfstream July 17, when he became fractious and unseated his rider before loading into the starting gate but went on to win by 1 ¾ lengths despite being checked leaving the backstretch. The Carlos David-trained Florida-bred did everything right in the Affirmed, in which he broke alertly from his rail post position to lead the way throughout the seven-furlong sprint.

“He came out of that race in really good shape,” David said. “He had to run his eyeballs out in that race. I gave him four days of walking. He's been able to have two breezes with no problems. So far, so good.”

Octane is expected to once again be a forward factor as he attempts to carry his speed around two turns in the In Reality.

“It will definitely be a challenge. It's his first time around two turns. So far, he has done everything right. I know he has tactical speed. We're not going to take that away from him,” David said.

Emisael Jaramillo has the return mount aboard Octane.

Arindel has also entered homebreds The Skipper Too, Clapton and Globes, all Juan Alvarado-trained sons of Brethren, in the In Reality. The Skipper Too graduated in his fifth career start Aug. 22, drawing clear by 1 ½ lengths after a stumbling start. Clapton followed up his second-start maiden victory with an eighth-place finish in the Affirmed, in which he stumbled at the start. Globes is a maiden who finished third in both of his starts.

Cristian Torres has been named on The Skipper Too; Chantal Sutherland has the call on Clapton; and Marcos Meneses is scheduled to ride Globes.

Alex and JoAnn Liebling's Big and Classy, who improved on a fifth-place Dr. Fager showing to finish third in the Affirmed, will seek further improvement in the In Reality. The David Fawkes-trained son of The Big Beast, who raced evenly while finishing three lengths behind runner-up Cajun's Magic in the Affirmed, graduated by 5 ¾ lengths in his second career start.

“He worked in company with Noble Drama the other day and did excellent,” said Fawkes, who will also saddle multiple-stakes winner Noble Drama for Saturday's $125,000 FSS Wildcat Heir. “I was happy with his last race. Samy Camacho is riding him back this time, and I think he's got a huge chance.”

Big and Classy will make Camacho earn his mount fee.

“He doesn't want to sprint, No. 1, and No. 2, he's one of those kinds of horses you have to stay busy on. He'll relax under you too much. He's not the kind of horse that's going to take you unless you ask him, but he'll give you all he's got if you ask him.”

William Heiligbrodt, Corrine Heiligbrodt and Spendthrift Farm LLC's Cattin, a son of Neolithic trained by Ralph Nicks, and Amalio Ruiz-Lozano's Gold Special, a son of Jess's Dream trained by Angel Rodriguez, return in the In Reality after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Affirmed.

Edgard Zayas has the call on Cattin, while Jonathan Gonzales will be aboard Gold Special.

Our Sugar Bear Stable Inc.'s One More Score and Champion Equine LLC's Fivefive Six Champ round out the field.

The post Yates Hoping To Honor Gil Campbell’s Memory In Saturday’s FSS In Reality appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The FSS series finals for 2-year-olds sired accredited Florida stallions will be supported on Saturday's program by the $125,000 FSS Wildcat Heir, a mile stakes for 3-year-olds and up sired by accredited Florida Stallions, and the $100,000 Hollywood Beach, a five-furlong turf sprint for 2-year-olds.

LNJ Foxwoods' Outfoxed, a breathtaking 13 ½-length winner of the $200,000 FSS Susan's Girl Aug. 28 at Gulfstream, is the star attraction in the My Dear Girl. The Bill Mott-trained daughter of Valiant Minister has subsequently had a pair of half-mile breezes at Gulfstream.

Outfoxed broke her maiden in the seven-furlong Susan's Girl while coming off a third-place finish behind Echo Zulu in a Saratoga maiden special weight race July 15. Echo Zulu came right back to capture the Sept. 5 Spinaway (G1) at Saratoga.

Stonehedge LLC's Cajun's Magic, the winner of the $100,000 FSS Dr. Fager, and Arindel's Octane, who captured the $200,000 FSS Affirmed, are slated to clash in the In Reality around two turns. Octane led throughout the Affirmed while finishing 3 ¼ lengths clear of runner-up Cajun's Magic.

Gulfstream will also host the Taste at the Track event Saturday Bourbon & BBQ. The unlimited testing event begins at 1 p.m. in the Flamingo Room. Guests will be able to enjoy a variety of southern-style dishes, paired with your favorite premium bourbons, whiskeys and handcrafted cocktails.

For tickets go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taste-at-the-track-bourbon-bbq-tickets-165899514915

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The Affirmed will co-headline Gulfstream Park's 12-race FSS program with the $200,000 Susan's Girl, a seven-furlong stakes for 2-year-old fillies. The 12-race Saturday program has a first race post of 12:20 p.m. and includes five turf races and 122 entries.

Nicks, whose stable is based year-round at Gulfstream Park, is slated to saddle two horses for the 11-horse Affirmed field – Heiligbrodt Racing Stable and Spendthrift Farm's Cattin, an impressive debut winner July 31, and Jacks or Better Farm Inc.'s Awesome Crusader, a three-race maiden who rallied for second last time out at 74-1.

The 54-year-old trainer, who has saddled a total of nine winners in the Florida Sire Stakes series, overall, has visited the Affirmed winner's circle with Breeze On By (2020), Liam's Lucky Charm (2019), Garter and Tie (2018) and Soutache (2017) the past four years.

“I came to Florida when Gulfstream went to year-round racing. It's a program that you need to be active in,” Nicks said. “In six years, we've been fortunate – my crew and clients – to win nine of them now. It's been great. It's kind of surreal. Each additional one adds up for the crew and clientele. They send me horses to target this. The Racing Gods have allowed us [to excel]. We've been fortunate so far.”

Cattin overcame early trouble to win at first asking in a 5 ½-furlong $50,000 claiming race, drawing away by 3 ¾ lengths.

“He didn't make any mistakes that day. It ended up being kind of an easy race on him because he got in a little bit of trouble and didn't overdo it early,” Nicks said. “There should be a bit of gas left in the tank.”

The son of Neolithic has had a pair of easy half-mile breezes in preparation for his return in the Affirmed.

“He's worked well. He's happy. He's had a race, so it's not a fitness thing,” Nicks said. “Can he get the distance? I think he will with his brain. He has enough speed to be tactical if he needs to be.”

Awesome Crusader, who had finished a distant fourth in a $50,000 maiden claimer in his second career start, showed vast improvement to finish second at long, long odds, against maiden special weight company.

“He's getting better all along,” Nicks said. “I liked him the other day when he was second. I'm not a gambler but it would have been a big payday for anyone who was if they knew what I knew from the time before. He was sick. He was full of mucous and had a fever the next day, so that race was a throw-out.”

Awesome Crusader, who will seek to give Jacks or Better Farm is record-extending 20th FSS success in the Affirmed, closed steadily under Jesus Rios to finish three lengths behind King Cab, whom he will me again Saturday.

“He's still learning. Jesus had to be busy on him on the backside just to maintain some kind of distance of the race,” Nicks said. “He's a grinder. He keeps coming. Those type of horses get better as they go along. When we won the race with Garter and Tie, he was a maiden the same way. We were learning as we went.”

Luca Panici has the call on Cattin, while Cristian Torres will ride Awesome Crusader, who is a son of Greenpointcrusader.

The Nicks trainees will be making their respective FSS debuts Saturday while facing Stonehedge LLC's Cajun's Magic, the 7-5 favorite who won the the $100,000 Dr. Fager following a protracted stretch duel with Stonehedge LLC's Dean Delivers. The Michael Yates-trained stablemates finished a neck apart while finishing 10 lengths clear of the third-place finisher.

“It was pretty exciting. It was a great horse race. It's not often that you're in that position,” said Yates, who owned and trained Cajun Breeze during his racing career.

Cajun's Magic settled off the early pace before making a three-wide sweep into the stretch under Jesus Rios to engage Dean Delivers and jockey Miguel Vasquez in a spirited battle to the wire.

“I wanted them to ride their horses as the race developed. I didn't want them to worry about each other. I told them, 'Just ride your horse,'” Yates said.

Cajun's Magic, who finished second in his debut and broke his maiden by 4 ¾ lengths while being involved in the early pace, demonstrated versatility while winning the Dr. Fager from off the pace.

“I kind of expected that he would [show more versatility] because in his first race, he didn't break on top; he was in traffic and made a middle move. That was due to me not being overly aggressive with his gate works before his first start,” Yates said.

Jesus Rios has the return mount aboard Cajun's Magic.

Despite breaking slowly from the gate in Aug. 6 debut, David Melin, Leon Ellman and Laurie Plesa's King Cab (9-2) was in full control while outrunning Awesome Crusader and 10 other rivals. The son of Noble Bird, who was favored in his six-furlong debut off a series of strong breezes, was prepared for the seven furlongs of the Affirmed with a signature Eddie Plesa Jr. one-mile workout.

Samy Camacho has the return mount.

Arindel will be represented in the Affirmed by a quartet of homebred sons of Brethren, Carlos David-trained Octane and Juan Alvarado-trained Clapton, Gilligan and Merlin. Octane overcame traffic to graduate in his second start in a five-furlong maiden special weight race July 17. Clapton also graduated in his second start, rallying five-wide to win a six-furlong maiden special weight race July 24. Gillian is coming off a maiden-breaking win in $25,000 claiming company, while Merlin has finished second three times in four starts.

Emisael Jaramillo has the call on Octane; Chantal Sutherland has the return mount on Clapton; Edgard Zayas has accepted the mount on Gilligan; and Miguel Vasquez will ride Merlin.

Amalio Ruiz-Lozano's Gold Special, who finished a distant third in the Dr. Fager; Lea Farms LLC's Lightening Larry, who defeated Gold Special, Octane and Clapton while breaking his maiden June 18; and Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Big And Classy, who has fifth in the Dr. Fager; round out the field,

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The veteran South Florida trainer saddled his fifth winner in the series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida on July 31, when Champion Equine LLC's My Sassenach scored a 9 ¼-length triumph in the $100,000 Desert Vixen at Gulfstream. My Sassenach's victory came 30 years after Braddy last enjoyed success in the six-furlong first leg of the FSS series for fillies with Mystic Obsession in 1991.

Saturday, Braddy is slated to saddle My Sassenach for the $200,000 Susan's Girl at Gulfstream in hopes of winning the seven-furlong second leg of the FSS series for fillies for the first time since scoring with Staci's Toy, who won the first two legs in 1989 before finishing second in the third leg, the My Dear Girl.

“It's nice to have a nice horse again, no question,” said Braddy, who has saddled 1055 winners during a career that commenced in 1981.

Braddy saddled Sly Rajab for a victory in the 1998 Affirmed, but his four other FSS triumphs have come with fillies.

“I do like the fillies,” Braddy said. “It just seems like they try harder. I don't know if that's right or wrong, but I do like the fillies.”

There's a lot to like about My Sassenach in Saturday's Susan's Girl. The daughter of Uncaptured broke her maiden in the Desert Vixen with the authority that would seem to make the extra furlong of the Susan's Girl well within her range.

“There's always concern. We're hoping she can do it,” Braddy said. “This is a nice filly. I think she can handle the seven-eighths, but you never know until you run the seven-eighths. She has been doing good, so hopefully she does OK.”

My Sassenach launched her career with a second-place finish in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight race, after which it was determined that she raced with an undetected lung infection. The Florida-bred filly was obviously in perfect health for the Desert Vixen, in which she rated off the early pace before she made a three-wide sweep to the lead on the turn into the homestretch and drew away for a comfortable victory.

“She came out of the race good, and she's been training good here for this next race,” Braddy said.

Miguel Vasquez has the return call aboard My Sassenach in the Susan's Girl, which will co-headline Saturday's FSS program at Gulfstream with the $200,000 Affirmed, the seven-furlong open division.

Jacks or Better Farm Inc's Rachel Rock is scheduled to make her official debut in the Susan's Girl, although she came very close to making her first start in the Desert Vixen, only to run off riderless before the race and be scratched by the stewards.

“She's a half-way first-time starter. She's been saddled; she's been with the pony; and then she decided she didn't want to participate,” Nicks said. “We've been working with her in the morning. Hopefully, her little quirks are behind her. She seems to have quite a bit of talent. It's just timing. We'd like to have a race in her early on. Pedigree wise and this-and-that, we haven't gotten started as early this year.”

The daughter of Jess's Dream came back to register a five-furlong 'bullet' workout in 59.08 seconds.

“We're just trying to figure out what causes her little moments,” Nicks said. “She's very professional and laidback in general but then something sets her off. We're trying to figure out what that is.”

Samy Camacho has the call on Rachel's Rock, whose owner/breeder, Jacks or Better Farm, has a record 19 Florida Sire Stakes victories.

Trainer Roger Laurin's Demurely, who finished a distant second behind My Sassenach following a five-wide rally in the Desert Vixen, is set to return in the Susan's Girl. The daughter of Uncaptured entered the first leg of the FSS series off an impressive debut victory May 28.

Laurin homebred Veiled Prophet, a daughter of Uncaptured who has finished second in both of her career starts, will accompany Demurely in the starting gate.

Chantal Sutherland has the return mount aboard Demurely, while Luca Panici is scheduled to ride Veiled Prophet for the first time.

Shooting Star Thoroughbreds LLC's Noble Dreamer will return in the Susan's Girl after disappointing in the Desert Vixen with a troubled-but-distant fourth-place finish as the 7-5 favorite. The daughter of Noble Bird had previously broken her maiden impressively by 7 ¼ lengths at Gulfstream June 18 after a second-place finish behind Demurely in her debut.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will also be represented in the Susan's Girl by Stefania Farms LLC's Spectacular Gal, a one-start maiden by Jess's Dream.

J.C. Diaz Jr. has the call on Noble Dreamer, while Edwin Gonzalez has been named on Spectacular Gal.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott has sent LNJ Foxwoods' Outfoxed to Gulfstream for the Susan's Girl. The daughter of Valiant Minister finished a distant third in a July 15 maiden special weight race at Saratoga in her only start.

Edgard Zayas has accepted the mount aboard the Florida-bred filly, who was purchased for $360,000 at the OBS April 2-year-olds-in-training sale.

CCF Racing Stable LLC's Dear Mama Mia and trainer Daniel Pita's Devilette will enter the Susan's Girl off strong second-out maiden scores.

Carlos David-trained Dear Mama Mia, a daughter of Chitu, withstood stretch-long pressure to prevail by a neck in an Aug. 1 six-furlong maiden special weight race at Gulfstream. Romero Maragh is scheduled to ride Dear Mama Mia for the first time.

Devilette romped to a 5 ¼-length score on August 13 for Pita, who saddled Princess Secret for victories in the Susan's Girl and My Dear Girl last year. Cristian Torres has the call aboard the daughter of Khozan.

Wendell Yates and Ronald Brown's Sequin Lady, a daughter of He's Had Enough who finished a close third behind My Dear Girl in her debut; and Angel Ruiz-Lozano's Lluvia, a five-race maiden by Handsome Mike; round out the field.

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Larry King's formative years were spent watching and absorbing that myriad of skills from his late father, and the longtime farm manager for Gil and Marilyn Cambell's Stonehedge Farm in Williston, Fla. has been applying them ever since.

The farm has seen multiple graded stakes winners developed under King's tenure, as well as a total of 16 winners in the lucrative Florida Sire Stakes (FSS) series. Last year, Stonehenge homebreds filled out the superfecta in the FSS Affirmed.

This July 31,the 66-year-old King celebrated another milestone success as a pair of Stonehedge homebreds ran one-two in the FSS Dr. Fager at Gulfstream Park.

“I told somebody today, 'When you ride around Ocala and look at all the farms and all the horses, all the people shooting for the bigger races, I'm surprised we can even win a race, because there's so many horses,'” King said. “It's certainly not easy to do. 

“Everybody's excited when you win. It was a lot of fun, and in three more weeks we'll try again (in the next leg of the FSS series). They'll have to pop up and be special.”

With a lifetime of horse experience, King knows special when he sees it. It all hearkens back to his youth, a nomad-like experience following his father, Joe, from racetrack to racetrack all around the United States. Some tracks were recognized and official, while others were anything but.

“He was a cowboy from out West, and came from a long line of cowboys,” King said of his father, who served as an Army surgical technician during World War II. “He worked the ranches, then got into running Quarter Horses. He trained performance horses, like cutting and reining and stuff like that. We've always been in horses our whole lives.”

Larry King remembers riding his dad's Quarter Horses at the bush tracks of central Louisiana; his 87-pound weight was the perfect advantage during the back-country match races. 

“It didn't matter how old you were, just if you were light enough,” King said. “I was probably between 9 and 11 years old. Nobody abused horses or done nothing like that, it was just a rough life. Those people were tough… it's a different world. 

“We went to places in Mexico and stuff where there were knife fights. I remember daddy tellin' me to go get in the truck! There were no rules.”

After the first 13 years of his life had been spent traveling the racetracks from Louisiana to West Virginia, and everywhere in between, King must have been relieved when his father was offered the position of farm manager at Waldemar Farm for Howard Sams. Under the elder King's horsemanship skills, the farm produced many top runners, including the 1975 Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure.

Joe King saw the difficult nature of the future classic winner right away, and assigned his son to care for the obstinate colt.

Joe King, with What a Pleasure, sire of 1975 Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure

“He was quite the handful,” Larry King remembered. “You could work with him all day putting his halter on and off, rubbing his head, and you could leave and go to lunch and it was like you never touched him.”

Foolish Pleasure didn't look like much when he arrived at the 1973 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale as a part of the Waldemar consignment.

“There's a lot of stuff that throws off the experts,” King said, chuckling. “He was crooked; he turned out horrible, and he was back in the knees. One big buyer came by the consignment, and Daddy led him out and said, 'This is the best colt in the barn.' I'll never forget what the man said: 'If that's the best you've got, don't show me anything else!'”

Foolish Pleasure commanded a final bid of just $20,000, and while he never outgrew his difficult nature, the colt did go on to win seven Grade 1 races, including the Derby, for owner John Greer and trainer LeRoy Jolley, earning $1,216,705.

King recalled watching the Kentucky Derby on television with his father: “What a dream. We really felt like we'd had a part in it, and that was something special.”

After taking over the farm manager position when his father retired, King was unsure what his own future held when Waldemar Farm was sold to Gil and Marilyn Campbell in 1988. The couple renamed the facility Stonehedge Farm South.

“My wife said, 'What do we do?' King recalled. “I said, 'Well, we're gonna go get some boxes.' Then the next thing I know the new owners came up to me and asked me to stay on.”

Working at the same farm for just shy of five decades has allowed King to play a major role in its expansion to over 500 acres, as well as the development of some of Florida's top Thoroughbreds.

“We just have a ⅝-mile track, we breed, we foal; we do it all,” said King. “Me, I mow a lot of grass! Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, they like to do it from the ground up. We've had success with it.

“I just wanted to fish, and they allow me to do that. I will never leave here unless they sell it or run me off. I'm here to finish it off. My nephew, Jamie King, he runs the training operation. I've got good people on the farm.”

Looking at the pedigrees of the farm's FSS winners from the past two years, sire Cajun Breeze has also been a major part of that success: the Stonehedge exacta in last month's Dr. Fager featured two colts both sired by Cajun Breeze.

The appropriately-named Cajun's Magic is that latest FSS winner, but King revealed that the talented 2-year-old colt's trainer, Michael “Beau” Yates, was the man behind Cajun Breeze making the move to Stonehedge.

“Michael used to ride for me here at the farm,” King explained. “I know his mother, and I still know him well. When his dad passed, he inherited a nice little farm with a training track, and we were diversifying our trainers. He's a good horseman; he's got horseman blood, back from his grandpa. You really can't teach all that to people.”

Yates had bred Cajun Breeze, a speedy, stakes-placed son of Congrats, to a few mares of his own. 

“He's not really set up to stand a stud, so I went and looked at his foals that he had,” said King. “Mr. Campbell asked me what I thought. This horse bred good, he could run, all his foals looked great, he's an outcross to everything we had, he nicks to nearly every mare, and they can run. He's had small, small crops; we've kind of been lucky, because we've had the only ones. When we start breeding some outside mares, we might have some more competition!”

Yates also predicted the Dr. Fager exacta a month before the race was run.

“We were very impressed how they broke their maidens, of course,” King said. “But then you hear about this horse and that horse, going back and looking at replays, and I thought, 'Man, these other horses really look good.'”

King needn't have worried. Cajun's Magic and Dean Delivers finished a neck apart, ten lengths better than the closest competition. 

Cajun's Magic (outside) wins the Dr. Fager Stakes over stablemate Dean Delivers at Gulfstream Park.

“Somebody once said it was the water, somebody else said it was the limestone in the soil,” King said, asked to explain the farm's success. “I wouldn't dare say we're better than anyone else. It's just excellent land, and we try to breed using common sense… But I'm proud of what we've done because we haven't had half-million-dollar mares or big sires. We just raise them right, and start them right, and we get a little lucky.

“It's also gratifying to see the Campbells have success after all they've put into the game.”

Other major successes for the Campbells include a 2016 Florida leading breeder title; 2011 Kentucky Derby starter and G2 Tampa Bay Derby winner Watch Me Go; 2016 Preakness starter Abiding Star; breeding and racing Ivanavinalot (West Acre), G2 winner and dam of champion Songbird; breeding $2.4 million-earner Marlin; breeding and racing millionaire Blazing Sword, G3 winner Always Sunshine, G3 winner Well Defined, and G3 winner Friel's For Real.

Looking back at his own role in all that success, King deflected the praise.

“I've been very fortunate with my job, and with my wife,” he said. “I've been married 42 years, and had the same job for 48. It's been a dream life; everything fell into place.”

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“It's quite a thrill,” said winning trainer Michael Yates. “They've been such a big part in the Florida breeding industry. To be a part of the team is an honor, for sure.”

The Dr. Fager, a six-furlong open-division sprint, co-headlined Saturday's 13-race program with the $100,000 Desert Vixen, a six-furlong event for fillies won by My Sassenach, kicking off the 2021 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes, a tradition-rich series for juveniles sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida.

Cajun's Magic ($15) rallied from far off the pace to win a stretch duel with Dean Delivers by a neck to complete a Michael Yates-trained exacta in what turned out to be a two-horse race in the stretch.

“After they broke their maidens, Mrs. Campbell asked me which one I liked best. I said, 'Personally, at this point,' I feel like we have the exacta. I don't know which one's the best,” Yates said.

Saturday, Cajun's Magic proved the better Yates trainee by a very narrow margin in the Dr. Fager. Making his third start after finishing second in his debut and breaking his maiden by 4 ¾ lengths July 1, Cajun's Magic settled well off the pace under Jesus Rios, as Laki Lio set the pace along the backstretch, pressed by Hope in Him, the 8-5 favorite ridden by Samy Camacho, and Dean Delivers and jockey Miguel Vasquez. On the turn into the homestretch, Laki Lio and Home in Him began to falter as Dean Delivers took command and took the lead into the stretch. Cajun's Magic launched a three-wide drive on the far turn and quickly joined his stablemate, who was the 8-5 second choice in the wagering.

Cajun's Magic passed his stablemate in mid-stretch but was all-out to hold off a resurgent Dean Delivers approaching the wire. Gold Special rallied under Marcos Meneses to finish third, 10 lengths farther back. Home in Him checked in sixth of seven starters. Cajun's Magic ran the six furlongs in 1:11.01.

Both Cajun's Magic and Dean Delivers are sons of Cajun Breeze, who was owned and trained by Yates during his racing career in which he earned $246,000 the hard way while competing in allowance and stakes company in South Florida. Believing that the son of Congrats was a better horse than he showed on the racetrack, Yates took a leap of faith and stood him at stud upon his retirement in 2015. Cajun Breeze immediately proved to be a promising Florida stallion.

“It's pretty surreal. He's throwing some nice horses. I think the best is yet to come from him,” Yates said. “His first couple crops, he had some pretty small numbers from some pretty ordinary mares. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell have bought half of him and have bred a decent number of mares to him. The proof's in the pudding.”

The Florida Sire Stakes has a storied history dating back to 1982, when it was created by Ocala Breeder and owner Dan Lasater. The six-race series has produced six Eclipse Award champions: Awesome Feather (2010 Juvenile Filly), Big Drama (2010 Sprint), Holy Bull (1994 Horse of the Year and 3-Year-Old Male), Smile (1986 Sprint), Brave Raj (1986 Juvenile Filly), and Not Surprising (1995 Sprint Champion).

The Florida Sire Stakes series will continue Aug. 28 with the $200,000 Affirmed and the $200,000 Susan's Girl for fillies, both slated for seven furlongs, and Sept. 25 with the $400,000 In Reality and the $400,000 My Dear Girl for fillies, both to be run around two turns at 1 1/16 miles.

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