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Venezuelan Hug, Bienville Street Score Sunshine Turf Victories At Gulfstream Park

Spedale Family Racing LLC and R.A. Hill Stable's Venezuelan Hug, the 5-2 favorite under jockey Luis Saez, moved four-wide entering the stretch before driving past the leaders to win the $75,000 Sunshine Turf over Shamrocket Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

A 4-year-old colt by Florida Derby (G1) winner Constitution, Venezuelan Hug covered a firm 1 1 /16 miles in 1:40.02. It was the colt's fifth victory in nine starts. He previously won the Sunshine Turf Preview Nov. 21 at Gulfstream West and last summer an allowance race at Saratoga. Venezuelan Hug was claimed for $40,000 at Gulfstream last March.

“He's tough,” said trainer Danny Gargan. “We're happy to have him. My assistant Carol Fisher picked him out when we claimed him. He's a pretty fun horse.”

It was Proven Strategies who broke on top in the Sunshine Turf and the Toronto Cup winner posted some fast fractions of :22.65, :45.85 and 1:09.83 while Saez rated Venezuelan Hug fifth. Saez moved Venezuelan Hug four wide around the turn and drove past his eight opponents.

Bienville Street Wins Sunshine Filly & Mare Turf
CJ Thoroughbreds LLC's Bienville Street, trained by Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Cam Gambolati, drove to the lead down the stretch under jockey Paco Lopez to win the $75,000 Sunshine Filly & Mare Turf by a neck. Mo of the West finished second, a neck in front of Sun Summers, who finished a neck in front of Lovely Luvy.

A 6-year-old mare by Street Boss, Bienville Street got position from the 9 post going into the first turn of the 1 1/16-mile turf event and raced fourth while Sugar Fix set fractions of :24.19, :48.20 and 1:12.10 while being pressed by Mo of the West. Entering the stretch, Lopez guided Bienville Street three-wide and took aim on the leaders, driving past them inside the final eighth. Bienville Street covered the distance in 1:41.50.

It was Bienville Street's fifth win in 32 starts and second consecutive win since being equipped with blinkers by Gambolati, who saddled 1985 Kentucky Derby winner Spend a Buck.

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From Turf To Dirt: Mutasaabeq Shows Versatility With Mucho Macho Man Victory

Shadwell Stable's Mutasaabeq made a successful transition from turf back to dirt in Saturday's $100,000 Mucho Macho Macho Man at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., establishing himself as a candidate for the 2021 Triple Crown.

The Mucho Macho Man, a mile stakes for 3-year-olds that headlined an 11-race program with five stakes, was the first stop on the Road to the Florida Derby (G1).

Mutasaabeq, who debuted with a victory over Saratoga's main track in August, was making his first start since finishing off-the-board in the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Keeneland.

“We've been targeting this. We're glad he responded,” trainer Todd Pletcher said.

Mutasaabeq, the even-money favorite in a field of 10, broke well from the gate to obtain a close stalking position behind pacesetter Awesome Gerry along the backstretch. The son of Into Mischief continued to chase the pacesetter leaving the turn into the homestretch after fractions of 23.20 and 46.15 seconds for the first half-mile. The homebred colt briefly seemed to stall on the turn but would respond to strong handling from jockey Luis Saez and draw away to a 1 ½-length victory.

“He tends to break a bit slow, so today we tried to warm him up good. When he broke, he broke sharp and we were right there,” Saez said. “At the three-eighths, I thought we were done, but I put him on the bridle again and he came back. He ran big, I never give up, I always ride till the end. When I pushed him he gave me that kick. It was a good race.”

Mutasaabeq ran a mile in 1:35.96 to win his first stakes on dirt.

“I thought he ran great. We wanted to make sure he got away from the gate cleanly – that hasn't always been his best first step. I thought he broke pretty well today and put himself in a good spot,” Pletcher said. “Luis had to get after him a little bit on the turn and kept responding and finding more. I thought it was a big effort.”

Papetu, who won his first two starts at Gulfstream before finishing out of the money in the Saratoga Special (G2) and Hopeful (G1) at Saratoga, finished second, 1 ¼ lengths ahead of Awesome Gerry,

After winning his debut, Mutasaabeq finished a distant third in the Hopeful. Pletcher moved him to the turf for his next start, and he responded with a late-surging victory in the Bourbon (G2) at Keeneland. However, he was unable to duplicate that effort after a slow start in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

“We'll look to try another one on dirt. I'll talk to the team at Shadwell and come up with a plan,” Pletcher said. “I think today he showed his versatility. He's now a stakes winner on both surfaces. It's exciting to have one like that.”

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Con Lima Never Looks Back Winning Ginger Brew At Gulfstream

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph Graffeo, Eric Nikolaus Del Toro and Troy Johnson's Con Lima continued to show her affinity for the turf with a front-running triumph in Saturday's $75,000 Ginger Brew at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The one-mile Ginger Brew for 3-year-old fillies was the fourth of five stakes worth $400,000 in purses on an 11-race program highlighted by Mutasaabeq's victory in the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man for 3-year-olds, the start of Gulfstream's road to the March 28 Florida Derby (G1).

It was the first career stakes victory for Con Lima ($6.20), a daughter of Commissioner who finished second in back-to-back stakes taken off the turf last fall – the P.G. Johnson at Saratoga and Our Dear Peggy at Gulfstream. The winning time was 1:35.23 over a firm turf course.

“I think she's a quality filly that handles both surfaces, but definitely seems to have found her home especially on the Gulfstream turf course here,” winning trainer Todd Pletcher said. “She's got good natural speed and it played to her strengths today.”

A similar gate-to-wire winner in her grass debut going one mile on the Gulfstream turf Dec. 12, Con Lima was once again eager for the lead in the Ginger Brew under jockey Paco Lopez, setting fractions of 23.95 seconds for the first quarter-mile and 47.55 for the half, pressed to her outside by Karakatsie with Inthewinnerscircle rating inside.

Karakatsie moved within a half-length on the turn but Con Lima remained in control and began to separate from the field once straightened for home, running six furlongs in 1:11.45 and drawing clear by 3 ¼ lengths. Honey Pants, the 3-2 favorite, edged Designer Ready for second while I Get It, who got squeezed far back early, rallied late to get up for fourth, snapping her three-race win streak. Inthewinnerscircle, Karakatsie, Viking Queen and Sweet Pearl completed the order of finish.

“Todd told me to judge the race, if she was keen to go or if we needed to sit behind, to go with her,” Lopez said. “She broke well and was a little strong. I had to hold her a little bit, but no one pressured us. I couldn't believe it, so I let her go and my filly finished very well.”

Con Lima now has two wins and two seconds in four starts since joining Pletcher's string last summer. Pletcher had three wins on the day, including Mutasaabeq in the Mucho Macho Man and 3-year-old maiden Winfromwithin in Race 8.

“We handle her carefully. She's got a lot of energy and we try to keep it channeled in the right direction,” Pletcher said of Con Lima. “She was actually very good in the paddock today. We stayed inside and stayed with the pony. She warmed up really nice, was good in the gate and broke alertly, and kind of towed Paco around there. He had a tougher time getting her back to the winner's circle than he did around the track.”

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Largent Helps Pletcher Bag Fourth Win Of Day In Ft. Lauderdale

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Twin Creeks Racing Stables' Largent put an exclamation point on a four-win afternoon for trainer Todd Pletcher, punching his ticket to next month's $1-million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) with a come-from-behind victory in Saturday's $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 64th running of the 1 1/8-mile Fort Lauderdale for 3-year-olds and up on the grass was the headliner on an 11-race program featuring five stakes, four graded, worth $575,000 in purses including the $100,000 Harlan's Holiday (G3), a prep for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) Jan. 23, won by Tax.

With Paco Lopez aboard for the first time, Largent ($35.80) swept to the lead on the far outside approaching the stretch and outran fellow longshots Breaking the Rules and Doswell late to win by two lengths in 1:46.16 over turf course rated good.

Since the Pegasus Turf was inaugurated in 2019, the Fort Lauderdale was moved from early January to mid-December to serve as the local stepping-stone to the Pegasus Day event. Eight of the 10 horses in Saturday's field were stakes winners, six of them in graded company led by millionaire favorite Factor This.

“Very salty field, indeed, and very fast fractions,” Pletcher said. “[Largent] is a horse that's generally laying up close. I just told Paco, 'It looks like there's a lot of pace, just try to sit in the pocket,' and he delivered a very good ride.”

“One thing is, he's always loved Gulfstream. He's always run very well here and we just felt like it was the right time to step up,” he added. “He'd been training great and it was the right time to see if he could step up into a big spot.”

It was the third career stakes win and first in graded company for Largent, who captured a pair of Virginia-bred stakes earlier this year at Colonial Downs and Laurel Park. The 4-year-old Into Mischief gelding has now won four of his five starts at Gulfstream, with one second.

“He's always run well here and he's a horse that has shown some talent. This was definitely his toughest task to date but he showed that he likes it here and delivered a big performance,” Pletcher said. “I think he certainly ran well enough today to earn a spot into the Pegasus, which we'd love to do.”

Lopez settled Largent in mid-pack as his Pletcher-trained stablemate, Grade 1 winner Halladay, and Factor This battled dueled on the front end through fractions of 23.22 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 46.34 for the half, going six furlongs in 1:09.62. Lopez tipped outside after saving ground early and powered through the stretch to cruise past the tiring leaders.

“[Pletcher] said, 'Paco, there's a lot of speed, four or five horses. Just go behind them and relax. Figure out where you are and ride your race,'” Lopez said. “He broke well, he came back and he was very comfortable. We came around horses at the top of the stretch and went on.”

Doswell, a winner of his previous two races, came up the rail to edge Breaking the Rules for second. They were followed by graded winners Spooky Channel and Channel Cat, Tide of the Sea, Halladay, Factor This, multiple graded-stakes winner Somelikeithotbrown and French Group 3 winner Delaware.

“There was a little bit of cut [in the ground] and they were certainly going fast enough. The key was that [Largent] was able to settle and relax early on and that allowed him to deliver a big closing kick,” Pletcher said. “Unfortunately for Halladay there was so much pace in today's race. We didn't want to take away his weapon, but at the same time he was probably doing a little too much early on.”

Pletcher was the trainer of Channel Cat when he ran 10th of 12 in the most recent edition of the Pegasus Turf, won in an upset by Zulu Alpha.

“With Largent, I think he certainly earned his way in and with Halladay, we'll assess how he comes out of it,” Pletcher said. “We'll get them home and evaluate both of them but we'll just kind of play it by ear with Halladay.”

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