Cajun’s Magic Delivers A Win In Dr. Fager At Gulfstream

Stonehedge LLC's Gil and Marilyn Campbell collected their 16th success in the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series Saturday when Cajun's Magic edged stablemate Dean Delivers in the $100,000 Dr. Fager at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

“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.

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“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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My Sassenach Draws Clear For Decisive Win In Desert Vixen At Gulfstream

Champion Equine LLC's My Sassenach swept to the lead at the top of the stretch and drew clear for a dominating 8 ¼-length victory in the $100,000 Desert Vixen while taking her veteran South Florida trainer back to the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes winner's circle following a long absence.

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

My Sassenach ($21), who finished second in her July 1 debut, graduated in the Desert Vixen, giving trainer David Braddy his fifth career success in the Florida Sire Stakes series for juveniles sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida.

“It's good for me. I've won these races four or five times, but not recently,” said Braddy, who enjoyed FSS success with Stacy's Toy in the 1989 Desert Vixen and Susan's Girl, Mystic Obsession in the 1991 Desert Vixen, and Sly Rajab in the 1998 Affirmed. “It's good to be back with a nice filly.”

My Sassenach broke cleanly under Miguel Vasquez to gain a prime outside stalking position behind pacesetter Rufa Red Knot, who set fractions of :22.12 for the first quarter and :45.74 for the first half-mile. My Sassenach made a three-wide sweep to pull alongside the pacesetter leaving the turn into the homestretch and continued on to score comfortably and impressively.

“I thought she was a real good filly the first time we ran her. We worked her nine days in front of the race, scoped her, and she was clean. We ran her in that race and she scoped with a lung infection,” Braddy said. “I think that cost us the first race, but we've been high on her all along.”

Demurely closed from off the pace to finish second, three-quarters of a length behind a tiring Rufa Red Knot. Noble Dreamer, the 7-5 favorite in a field of eight fillies, finished an even fourth.

My Sassenach, who was purchased for $152,000 at the OBS April sale for 2-year-olds in training, ran six furlongs in 1:12.17.

“We liked the way she breezed at the sale and we liked the way she galloped out,” said Champion Equine LLC's Michael Sucher. “We have a lot of high hopes for her.”

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

“I think the seven-eighths might be all right. I'm not so sure about the long [race],” Braddy said. “We'll just have to see.”

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$500,000 Rainbow 6 Jackpot Guarantee At Gulfstream Park On Friday

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $500,000 for Friday's program at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The popular multi-race wager went unsolved Thursday for the sixth consecutive racing day since a March 27 mandatory payout. Tickets with all six winners were each worth $4,574.18.

The jackpot pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

There will also be a carryover of $2,695.50 in the $1 Super Hi-5 for Friday's opener.

Notes: Jockey Miguel Vasquez registered a two-win day Thursday aboard Holy Meister ($4.20) in Race 1 and Por Que No ($5.80) in Race 4. It was the fourth consecutive win for Fano Racing's 3-year-old filly Por Que No, trained by J. Kent Sweezey. Sweezey also sent out Kahiko ($5) to win Race 8 … Meet-leading rider Edgard Zayas also doubled on Perfect Enough ($30.80) in Race 5 and Uncle Fun ($12.80) in Race 7.

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$425,000 Guarantee In Gulfstream Park West Rainbow 6 Wednesday

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $425,000 Wednesday at Gulfstream Park West in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The Rainbow 6 went unsolved for the 15th straight racing day Sunday, when multiple tickets with all six winners were each worth $629.86.

The jackpot pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

Big Thorn wins 'off turf' Juvenile Turf
Alex and Joanne Lieblong's Big Thorn benefited from a perfect trip, as well as the morning rains that forced turf races to be run over the sloppy main track, to score a dominating victory in Sunday's $60,000 Juvenile Turf at Gulfstream Park West.

The seven-furlong Juvenile Turf for Florida-bred 2-year-olds, which was originally scheduled to be run at a mile on the turf course, co-headlined Sunday's program with the $60,000 Millions Filly and Mare Turf for Florida-bred fillies and mares.

Big Thorn, a main-track-only entrant who had broken his maiden by five lengths in his previous start, raced in third behind dueling pacesetters Hot Blooded and Fulmini, who put up fractions of 22.99 and 45.77 seconds for the first half-mile. Jockey Paco Lopez made a three-wide sweep to the lead leaving the turn into the homestretch aboard the home-bred colt, who drew off to a notch a 4 ½-length victory.

Fulmini, who was ridden by Edgard Zayas, finished second, 9 ¼ lengths clear of Castle King. Big Thorn, the 2-1 favorite, ran seven furlongs in 1:23.23.

“We were fortunate that the race came off and it helped shortening up to seven-eighths. I didn't expect him to be quite as close as he was. Paco told me he put him into the race early but after that it was all over,” trainer David Fawkes said. “He had so much horse through the whole race. He really, really likes the horse. When he got off the horse he said, 'Damn, this is a nice horse.'”

Big Thorn finished second in his Sept. 26 debut at Gulfstream in an open maiden special weight race before dominating Florida-bred rivals back-to-back.

“He ran a little green last time, but this time much, much more professional. He acted up on the van coming over, he did a lot of things last time he ran that could have jeopardized him but it obviously didn't,” Fawkes said. “We'll just wait and look for the next spot, that's all. I don't like to look too far ahead.”

Windylea Farm LLC's Thissmytime ($11) relished the sloppy going while registering an easy victory in the Millions Filly and Mare Preview. Like Big Thorn, Thissmytime was a main-track-only entrant in the seven-furlong race that was originally scheduled for 7 ½ furlongs on turf.

Ridden by Joe Bravo, who captured the $60,000 Millions Turf Preview on Saturday's GPW card, Thissmytime closely tracked pacesetter Picara, who showed the way into the far turn after running the first quarter of a mile in 22.45 seconds. Thissmytime moved to the lead entering the turn into the homestretch during a 44.45-second half-mile and drew off powerfully and comfortably to register her first stakes victory.

The Kathleen O'Connell-trained 3-year-old daughter of Carpe Diem ran seven furlongs in a sharp 1:21.40.  Starship Nala closed to finish clear of R Prerogative, the 9-5 favorite.

Miguel Vasquez rode four winners on Sunday's program, propelling him into a 39-39 tie with defending champion Edgard Zayas in the race for the jockey's title with three cards remaining in the Gulfstream Park West meet. Vasquez scored aboard Terry's Dream ($13) in Race 3, Lavi ($5.40) in Race 4, Walkoff ($5.20) in Race 5 and Itsmyluckygirl ($5) in Race 8.

However, Vasquez also completed his final day of riding at Gulfstream Park West and is scheduled to return to competition on Wednesday, Dec. 2, the opening day of the 2020-2021 Championship Meet.

Rohan Crichton, who saddled Itsmyluckygirl for her victory, holds a 17-15 lead over Antonio Sano in the race for the trainer's title. Saffie Joseph Jr., the defending titlist, has had 14 winners.

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