gulfstream park | Horse Racing Free Tips

Pletcher: Life Is Good ‘Continues To Train Very Impressively’ For Pegasus

CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm's Life Is Good, dominant winner of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) in his most recent start, continues to train forwardly toward his 4-year-old debut in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park.

The return of the Pegasus World Cup and $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) and debut of the $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G3) headline a Pegasus Day program featuring seven graded-stakes worth $5.2 million in purses. All three Pegasus races are for older horses.

Life Is Good was among two dozen horses breezing for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher Saturday morning at Palm Beach Downs. The Into Mischief colt was clocked 1:00.41 for five furlongs, fifth-fastest of 11 horses.

“He's a phenomenal workhorse. He's a very talented, gifted animal that when you watch him breeze you kind of look at your stopwatch and it doesn't look like what you'd expect to see when he's doing it. He's doing it so easily,” Pletcher said. “He continues to train very impressively. We're three weeks out and we're happy with where we are.”

Fellow Pegasus World Cup candidate Fearless worked a half-mile in 50.04 seconds Saturday. Repole Stable's Fearless exits a four-length victory in the Harlan's Holiday (G3) Dec. 18 at Gulfstream, where he also won the Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) last February.

Among the stakes on the Pegasus undercard is the $150,000 Fred W. Hooper (G3) for 4-year-olds and up going one mile on the main track.

“Fearless continues to train really well. Happy with him,” Pletcher said. “We haven't decided. I talked to Mike Repole and right now we're leaning toward the mile race that day on the undercard.”

Pegasus Turf candidates Colonel Liam and Never Surprised were also on Saturday's work tab. Robert and Lawana Low's Colonel Liam, the defending champion, went five furlongs in 1:00.46 while Never Surprised, winner of the Dec. 26 Tropical Turf at Gulfstream, had a half-mile move in 51.01 seconds.

The Lows also own Sweet Melania, who earned her third career graded-stakes triumph in the Dec. 18 Suwannee River (G3) Dec. 18 at Gulfstream and is being pointed to the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf. The American Pharoah mare worked four furlongs in 50.32 seconds.

“Colonel Liam, very good breeze with him again this morning. We're on a tight schedule, but everything has gone right so far and I think we're approaching the race the way you'd hope. Never Surprised bounced out of the Tropical Derby very well, just a maintenance breeze this morning. Happy with him,” Pletcher said. “Sweet Melania, she was good this morning, too. So far, everything's gone according to plan.”

Pletcher said Donegal Racing's Mo Donegal, last out winner of the Dec. 4 Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct, will make his sophomore debut in the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3) Feb. 5, Gulfstream's next stop for 3-year-olds on the road to the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) April 2.

Mo Donegal worked five furlongs in 1:00.46 Saturday at Palm Meadows, his third breeze since arriving in South Florida.

“Very good work, happy with him,” Pletcher said. “He's right on schedule for the Holy Bull.”

Pletcher also provided an update on WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's Emmanuel, a 3-year-old More Than Ready colt that debuted with a front-running 6 ¾-length triumph in a one-mile maiden special weight Dec. 11 at Gulfstream. He was scratched from a one-mile, 40-yard optional claiming allowance Friday at Tampa Bay Downs.

“He spiked a 102.5 temperature the morning after we entered,” Pletcher said. “It's kind of frustrating. We were kind of hoping to get some two-turn experience at Tampa. He's fine, he's going back to the track tomorrow. Now we've just got to regroup and find out we're going to come back.”

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Clear Vision Gives 23-Year-Old Trainer First Graded Stakes Win In Tropical Turf

Not quite two years ago, Matthew Brice O'Connor registered his first career win as a trainer at Gulfstream Park. The 23-year-old did himself one better Saturday, sending out MeB Stables' Clear Vision to a front-running upset victory in the $100,000 Tropical Turf (G3).

The 44th running of the one-mile Tropical Turf for 4-year-olds and up on the grass served as the headliner on an 11-race program that was capped by a mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6.

Clear Vision ($23.40) completed the distance in 1:35.36 over a firm course under jockey Julien Leparoux to give O'Connor, a native of New Hyde Park, N.Y., his first graded-stakes victory with his first starter of 2022.

It was also the first graded triumph for MeB Stables, the nom de course for Mary Ellen and Anthony Bonomo, fellow native New Yorkers who got into racing in 2006. Though not related by blood, O'Connor has considered the Bonomos family since a young age as his father and Anthony are best friends.

“It means the world to me. I've been working since I've been 8, 9 years old just to follow the path to here,” O'Connor said. “To do it for my Uncle Anthony and Aunt Mary Ellen, it means a lot.”

Clear Vision is one of four horses O'Connor has stabled at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. O'Connor claimed the gelded 6-year-old son of Grade 1 winner Artie Schiller for $25,000 out of an Oct. 16 win at Belmont Park, and ran him for the first time in the Claiming Crown Emerald Dec. 4 at Gulfstream, finishing second.

Leparoux had Clear Vision on the lead quickly from Post 2 in the field of seven, where he ran an opening quarter-mile in 23.62 seconds pressed by Belgrano on the outside and Flying Scotsman between horses. Belgrano forged a short advantage over Clear Vision, racing on the inside, as Flying Scotsman checked back to third after a half in 46.97.

“I told Julien to just play the break. We thought Flying Scotsman would go and it looked like he broke a little slow. We wound up on the lead and Julien went on with it,” O'Connor said. “That's the way he runs his best races. Those two wins he had in New York back-to-back he got loose on the lead. He just got brave out there and kept going.”

Clear Vision ran six furlongs in 1:10.94 to take the lead back and straightened for home in front as Value Proposition and 3-5 favorite Largent rolled into contention. Leparoux kept Clear Vision to task through the lane and he was able to edge clear to win by two lengths, while Value Proposition rallied up the rail to take second over Belgrano.

Largent, a Grade 2 winner making his first start since being beaten a neck in last January's Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) by stablemate Colonel Liam, wound up fourth followed by Call Curt, Flying Scotsman and Phat Man.

“When they came to the quarter pole I saw Largent making his run,” O'Connor said. “[Clear Vision] is a gritty horse. He knows his job, he loves what he does and he dug in and turned away the competition.”

O'Connor credited his former boss, Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, with giving him the confidence to run Clear Vision. O'Connor worked two years for Zito before going out on his own in 2020, and he won his first race with Duellist April 4 of that year at Gulfstream.

“I have to thank Nick Zito. He's known for winning big races with long shots and he always told me, 'If you think you can run fourth in a stake, take the shot,'” he said. “We followed that method here today, and it worked.”

O'Connor grew up five miles from Belmont Park, where his father owned horses with trainer Dennis Brida, and knew early on that he wanted to make a career with horses. He now has four wins from 57 lifetime starters.

“From the time I was an infant even before I could walk I was in the barn area. My Uncle Anthony got into racing in 2006 and at that point I was more into it,” O'Connor said. “Crazy as it sounds, at that young an age I knew I wanted to train or do something like that. I started working for Dominic Schettino, where my uncle had his horses, and went from there.

“I worked for Robert Falcone Jr. for a year before going to Nick Zito,” he added. “While I was working with Nick I went to the University Racetrack Program at the University of Arizona and kind of plotted the course to get to where we wanted to be, and here we are.”

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Dumb Luck? How I Hit Gulfstream Park’s Rainbow Pick 6 For $1.2 Million

(The horseplayer who hit Friday's $1.2 million Rainbow Pick 6 at Gulfstream Park is a resident of Kentucky who asked that his name not be disclosed. He told his story to Paulick Report publisher Ray Paulick.)

I was in my office Friday afternoon and thought I'd go online to see what races were coming up. I started betting on horses about a dozen years ago and am not an everyday player – more like weekly. My favorite bets are Pick 4's and Pick 5's. I don't play Pick 6's that often because, frankly, they are so hard to hit.

I logged on to my TwinSpires account and noticed that it was about 10 minutes before the fifth race at Gulfstream Park – the start of the Rainbow Pick 6. I knew about the mandatory payout on Saturday and planned to play it then. I hadn't even looked at Friday's entries or past performances but the timing was right and I said to myself, “What the hell? Why not?”

I pulled up selections for two handicappers that I follow. The first is Dan Cronin at www.fatbaldguyracing.com. Dan does a really good job of helping put together tickets for Pick 4's and Pick 5's. I like his format and the way he adds comments to his suggestions. It's helpful in putting a ticket together. The second one was The Wizard at Daily Racing Form. It's a handicapping sheet I've had good luck with.

I didn't even have time to look at past performances, so I put my ticket together based on suggestions from Dan Cronin and also The Wizard.

When I play Pick 5's and 6's, I try to find a single or go skinny on a leg or two, then hit the “all” button when I can and hope for a couple of bombs. Because I didn't have much time, I couldn't find a single. I used two horses in the first leg, the fifth race, followed by five in the second, five in the third, all nine entrants in the fourth, three in the fifth and four in the sixth and final leg.

The ticket came out to $1,080. That's about twice as much as I'll usually play, and I was kicking myself after Souper Legacy won the opening leg as the 13-10 favorite. That's the horse I was going to single. He won by a head over Bird Wildcat, a horse I didn't use. If I'd singled Souper Legacy, my ticket would have cost $540.

I had the top four finishers in the second leg, a maiden race won by American Starlet. She paid $9.20, beating the favorite by two lengths.

After that race, I had to go out and run a few errands and then head home. We were going to a friend's house down the street for dinner at six o'clock and when I got home I wanted to get in a workout before we left. At that point, I'd forgotten about the ticket. I came upstairs to get something off the computer and that jogged my memory. I thought, “Let me check on that Pick 6 and see where I am.”

I looked at the seventh race, the third leg, where I had five horses, and said, “Wow, I caught the eight at big odds.” Bahamian Rhapsody won the race and paid $25.

The next leg I've got all nine starters so I'm hoping for a longshot. Sure enough Family Time went off at 14-1 and won wire to wire.

The fifth leg I'm only three deep, but I had the five horse, Collaborate, who won it and paid $7.60.

I looked up the “will pays” and I was alive to four horses in the final leg, a mile race on the turf. I had the 1-2-3-4 horses. The payouts were about what you'd expect for three of the horses, but the No. 3 horse, Canelo, stood out. You could easily see that was the whole pool. There was one ticket and I had it.

This was the only ticket I played, and it didn't occur to me to start hedging and bet on other horses in that final race. At that point, what are the odds I'm going to hit this? I've got the top three favorites, plus this 32-1 bomb, Canelo. I'm thinking, “What if the three wins? How crazy would that be?” It was Canelo's second start and first time on turf and around two turns. I checked to see if anyone likes the horse, but his odds were actually going up as we got closer to the race.

I still had about 10 minutes and I wanted to get a workout in before we left for dinner. So I went downstairs and watched the race on my phone while I'm working out.

When the three got a nice break from the starting gate, gets over to the rail and gets an easy lead, I'm like, “That's cool. At least there's that.”

Corey Lanerie is riding the horse, and he's controlling the pace all the way around. But on the final turn as they're getting ready to hit the stretch, I see the No. 2 horse – the 6-5 favorite – making a move.

My first thought was, “Thank goodness I have the two on my ticket.” If the two wins I get $6,077. But the three horse keeps going, and I'm screaming “Go three! Go three! Go three!” My wife and daughter heard the commotion and ran downstairs wondering what in the world is going on.

The race had just ended, with Canelo well in front, and I said, “I think I just won over a million dollars.”

My wife said, “What? Are you sure? You better check your ticket.”

So I check the ticket over and over and said, “Yes, I've got this.”

I waited a few minutes for it to be official and hit the button on my phone to update my TwinSpires balance, and there it is. The payout was about $912,000 after taxes were withheld.

I've had one other big score since I started playing the races – a Pick 6 at Belmont Park a few years ago that paid about $37,000 – but nothing close to this. I still can't believe it happened.

Was it just dumb luck? Yes, it was. And that's why you can't really handicap this kind of bet where you have to be the only winner. My method for this was very unscientific: I just tried to put together a manageable ticket. There was more luck than anything else, and the stars just aligned for me.

I know I probably caused a lot of heartburn at Gulfstream Park, because they were going to have a huge pool on Saturday if no one hit it. But I've been on the other side of this a few times.

Our celebration Friday night was pretty modest. A pot-luck dinner with our friends and their kids had already been planned, and we feasted on cabbage rolls, canned beans and canned turnip greens. My wife thought maybe we should have done something different, but it was fun.

I'll probably take the weekend off as far as betting is concerned. I'm still stunned this happened. I haven't figured out yet what to do with the money, but my wife said she has some ideas.

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Distorted Humor’s Iron Works Scores on Debut

4th-Gulfstream, $53,000, Msw, 1-8, 3yo, 6f, 1:09.76, ft, 4 lengths.
IRON WORKS (c, 3, Distorted Humor–Silverpocketsfull {GISP, $137,671}, by Indian Charlie) was well-supported at 6-5 on debut here and chased Particular (Classic Empire) from second through a quick :45.13 half mile. Making an eye-catching move midway on the final turn, the $550,000 OBS April graduate (:10 1/5) was even with the pacesetter after swinging wide into the lane and pulled clear in the final yards to win by a comfortable four lengths. Particular had to settle for second after making all the early running. The winner is his dam's second foal and second winner. Silverpocketsfull, a half-sister to recent Broussard Memorial S. winner Audrey's Time (Uncle Mo), is also responsible for a 2-year-old colt by Union Rags and a yearling colt by Flatter. She was bred to Liam's Map for 2022. Sales history: $170,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL; $550,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $31,800. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-My Racehorse CA, LLC and Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Sierra Farm (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.

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