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Yates Hoping To Honor Gil Campbell’s Memory In Saturday’s FSS In Reality

Trainer Michael Yates can't think of a more fitting way to honor the memory of Gil Campbell than to saddle Cajun's Magic for a victory in Saturday's $400,000 In Reality at Gulfstream Park.

“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.

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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.

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Florida Sire Series Wraps Up With My Dear Girl, In Reality Saturday At Gulfstream

The $1.4 million FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series will wrap up Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., with the $400,000 My Dear Girl, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for fillies, and the $400,000 In Reality, the 1 1/16-mile open division.

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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Trainer Nicks To Saddle Two In Search Of Fifth Straight Win In FSS Affirmed

Trainer Ralph Nicks is scheduled to make yet another title defense in Saturday's $200,000 Affirmed at Gulfstream Park, seeking to continue his domination in the seven-furlong second leg of the tradition rich FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida.

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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Gulfstream: My Sassenach Will Try To Double Up In $200,000 FSS Susan’s Girl

David Braddy is no stranger to success in the tradition-rich FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes, far from it.

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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