Florida Sire Stakes Finals Featured On Sept. 26 Card At Gulfstream

The 2020 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds will conclude Saturday, Sept. 26 at Gulfstream Park, where the $400,000 In Reality and the $400,000 My Dear Girl will co-headline a program offering six stakes worth $1.175 million.

The In Reality, the 1 1/16-mile open-division final, and the My Dear Girl, the 1 1/16-mile final for juvenile fillies, will be joined on the program by the $150,000 FSS Wildcat Heir, a mile race for 3-year-olds and up. All three stakes are for horses sired by accredited Florida Stallions. Supporting stakes will include the $75,000 Armed Forces, a mile turf stakes for 2-year-olds; the $75,000 My Dear Peggy, a mile turf stakes for juvenile fillies; and the $75,000 Hollywood Beach, a five-furlong turf dash for 2-year-olds.

The Florida Sires Stakes program will wrap up the stakes schedule for Gulfstream's Spring/Summer Meet, which will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 27 with mandatory payouts in the Rainbow 6, Late Pick 5 and Super Hi-5. Live racing will move to Gulfstream Park West for the Fall Festival meeting Oct. 3 and run from Oct. 3 through Nov. 28.

Stonehedge LLC's Breeze On By is scheduled to make a bid to sweep the Florida Sire Stakes series in the In Reality. The son of Cajun Breeze captured the $100,000 FSS Dr. Fager Aug. 1 and the $200,000 Affirmed Aug. 29. The undefeated Ralph Nicks trainee, who captured his July 12 debut, will seek to become the fifth horse to sweep the FSS open division, joining Three Rules (2016), Sir Oscar (2003), Seacliff (1995) and Smile (1984).

Trainer Ralph Nicks saddled the first three finishers in the Affirmed with Big Daddy Dave and Seazan following their stablemate Breeze on By to the finish line.

Trainer Daniel Pita's Princess Secret, who scored by three-quarters of a length in the $200,000 FSS Susan's Girl, and Stonehedge LLC's Go Jo Jo Go, a 1 ¼-length winner over Princess Secret in the $100,000 FSS Desert Vixen for trainer Michael Yates, are expected to clash again in the My Dear Girl.

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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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Go Jo Jo Go Sitting On ‘Go’ For Florida Sire Stakes Susan’s Girl

Stonehedge LLC's Go Jo Jo Go took a little while to really get going, saving her very best for start of the 2020 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series at Gulfstream Park.

The Michael Yates-trained daughter of Khozan, who graduated with an upset victory in the $100,000 Desert Vixen Aug. 1 in her fourth career start, is sitting on 'go' for Saturday's $200,000 Susan's Girl.

The Susan's Girl, a seven-furlong event for 2-year-old fillies, will co-headline Saturday's Florida Sire Stakes program at Gulfstream Park with the $200,000 Affirmed, a seven-furlong open division of the series for juveniles sired by accredited Florida stallions. 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 with a noon first-race post time. The Susan's Girl will be included in the Rainbow 6 sequence Saturday, when a mandatory payout is scheduled.

Go Jo Jo Go, who gave Gilbert Campbell's Stonehedge Farm its 14th success in the tradition-rich Florida Sire Stakes series while scoring at 21-1 in the six-furlong Desert Vixen, had more than her share of misfortune in the first three starts of her career. After clipping heels and unseating her rider as the 8-5 favorite in her May 14th debut, Go Jo Jo Go experienced bumping at the start of her next two races in which she finished third May 20 and fifth July 11.

Although the Stonehedge homebred once again experienced bumping at the start of the Desert Vixen, she rallied five-wide on the turn and drew off to a 1 ¼-length victory over favorite Princess Secret.

“The [Sire] Stakes were kind of always in the plans. It didn't look like she was a contender going into the first leg, but the racing experience all helps with young horses. One or two races don't define their career, even if they're bad,” Yates said. “She showed a lot of positive things in her first couple of races that gave us enough encouragement to take a shot

Although Go Jo Jo Go took bettors by surprise in the Desert Vixen, her trainer was far from shocked by her breakthrough performance.

“She's a horse from Day 1, when I got her from Stonehedge, she's been very forward. She wants to do a lot every time she goes to the track, which makes her a little difficult to train, as well, because she wants to do so much all the time,” Yates said, “But we think we've figured her out. Time will tell.”

Yates doesn't expect the seven furlongs of the Susan's Girl to pose any problem for Go Jo Jo Go.

“She finished really well last time. Hopefully we can get away from the gate in good order and just kind of sit on her and let her make her one run down the lane,” Yates said. “That's the plan.”

Leonel Reyes, who rode five winners on Sunday's program at Gulfstream Park, has the return mount aboard Go Jo Jo Go.

Stonehedge, which has four contenders for the Affirmed, including $100,000 Dr. Fager winner Breeze On By, will also be represented in the Susan's Girl by Ralph Nicks-trained Oh Deborah.

The homebred daughter of Winslow Homer won at first asking July 19, stalking the pacesetter before drawing clear by 3 ½ lengths.

“She's an obvious closer off her first race. We're adding blinkers and we'll see how she does. There's a lot of time between races. She kicked the [stall] wall and hurt her hind foot or she would have run in the first leg. That's why she was scratched,” Nicks said. “She's training well. She acts like a horse that wants to run on down the racetrack.”

Samy Camacho has the return mount for the Susan's Girl.

Princess Secret, owned by trainer Daniel Pita, looms as the Stonehedge's most serious obstacle to capturing another Florida Sire Stakes victory. The daughter of Khozan was victorious in her May 7 debut with a front-running four-length victory. She met the boys in the first juvenile allowance of the Spring/Summer Meet July 5, finishing second, 1 ½ lengths behind highly regarded Papetu after getting bumped around at the start. Princess Secret set the pace in the Desert Vixen before being overtaken by Go Jo Jo Go inside the final 1/16th of a mile.

Pita has given the return call to Miguel Vasquez.

Arindel and trainer Juan Alvarado will be represented by two daughters of Brethren, Freak and Lyrical, in the Susan's Girl. Freak, who finished third in her July 11 debut, made a sweeping move to the lead before weakening late in the Desert Vixen, finishing third, a nose behind Princess Secret for second. Lyrical, who broke her maiden in her second start, was an early factor in the Desert Vixen before fading to sixth.

Hector Berrios will return aboard Freak, while Emisael Jaramillo has the call on Lyrical.

Alluramore, who is owned by trainer Steven Dwoskin, will return in the Susan's Girl after finishing an even fourth in her career debut in the Desert Vixen under Victor Lebron, who has the call Saturday.

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