Yates Reaping Benefits Of Faith In Stallion Cajun Breeze

Michael Yates, a long-time Florida breeder, owner and trainer with a year-round presence at Gulfstream Park, is reaping the benefits of his unwavering faith in Cajun Breeze, a tough-as-nails competitor who became an instant success as a stallion in the Sunshine State.

Yates and Cajun Breeze will be represented in both the $250,000 Grade 3 Holy Bull and $100,000 G3 Swale on Saturday's Gulfstream program that will also feature the $100,000 G3 Forward Gal, $100,000 G3 Kitten's Joy and $100,000 Sweetest Chant.

Yates is scheduled to saddle Cajun's Magic for the Holy Bull, the first graded stakes on the Road to the G1 Florida Derby, and Dean Delivers for the Swale, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds.

Cajun Breeze, a stakes-placed son of Congrats who won four of 33 starts while primarily competing in allowance and stakes company for Yates, is the sire of both 3-year-olds, both of whom are owned by Stonehedge LLC. After being represented by a pair of stakes winners in his very limited first crop in 2018, Cajun Breeze was moved from Yates' Shadybrook Farm to stand at stud at Stonehedge Farm to advance his stallion career.

Cajun's Breeze's offspring have demonstrated versatility and toughness.

“They're just very solid horses that have really good minds,” Yates said. “A lot of them have a lot of raw talent. I feel like we haven't seen the best of them yet.”

Yates opted to run Cajun's Magic in the Holy Bull due to his experience around two turns. After winning the six-furlong Dr. Fager and finishing second in the seven-furlong Affirmed in the first two legs of the 2021 Florida Sire Stakes series, he finished a very game second behind favored Octane in the 1 1/16-mile In Reality final.

“We didn't want to run them in the same race, and Cajun's Magic already ran a mile and a sixteenth in the sire stakes and ran a good race,” Yates said. “I think he's better now than he was then. Even though he's coming off a layoff, he's been training really well.”

Cajun's Magic will take on eight rivals, including G2 Remsen winner Mo Donegal, Breeders' Cup Juvenile third-place finisher Giant Game and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf second-place finisher Tiz the Bomb.

Dean Delivers finished a dead-game second in his return off a five-month layoff after battling favored Dean's List through the stretch before coming up just a neck short of victory.

“I thought it was a huge effort, especially off the layoff. He didn't get away from the gate very well, but it may have been a blessing in disguise because there was a hot pace,” Yates said. “I thought he ran a great race.”

Dean Delivers graduated at first asking by 7 1/2 lengths before finishing a neck behind Cajun's Magic in the Dr. Fager.

“He's worked very well. His work between races was the deciding factor. I was anticipating running him in a Florida-bred allowance race,” Yates said. “Being that he ran such a big race off the layoff, you got to worry about the bounce factor a little bit, but he's gone so forward and is doing really well, we decided to take a shot and see what we have.”

Dean Delivers will face five opponents Brad Cox-trained In Dreams, a winner of his last two starts at Churchill Downs and Oaklawn; Todd Pletcher-trained My Prankster, a stakes-placed son of Into Mischief; and Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Of a Revolution, who finished a close second in the six-furlong Limehouse last time out.

Jesus Rios has the call on Cajun's Magic, while Miguel Vasquez has the mount aboard Dean Delivers.

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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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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Nothing Foolish About Larry King’s ‘Dream Life’ At Florida Farm

There aren't many cowboys from the Old West still working with racehorses these days, so it's up to their descendants to carry on the traditions of horsemanship from that bygone era.

Larry King's formative years were spent watching and absorbing that myriad of skills from his late father, and the longtime farm manager for Gil and Marilyn Cambell's Stonehedge Farm in Williston, Fla. has been applying them ever since.

The farm has seen multiple graded stakes winners developed under King's tenure, as well as a total of 16 winners in the lucrative Florida Sire Stakes (FSS) series. Last year, Stonehenge homebreds filled out the superfecta in the FSS Affirmed.

This July 31,the 66-year-old King celebrated another milestone success as a pair of Stonehedge homebreds ran one-two in the FSS Dr. Fager at Gulfstream Park.

“I told somebody today, 'When you ride around Ocala and look at all the farms and all the horses, all the people shooting for the bigger races, I'm surprised we can even win a race, because there's so many horses,'” King said. “It's certainly not easy to do. 

“Everybody's excited when you win. It was a lot of fun, and in three more weeks we'll try again (in the next leg of the FSS series). They'll have to pop up and be special.”

With a lifetime of horse experience, King knows special when he sees it. It all hearkens back to his youth, a nomad-like experience following his father, Joe, from racetrack to racetrack all around the United States. Some tracks were recognized and official, while others were anything but.

“He was a cowboy from out West, and came from a long line of cowboys,” King said of his father, who served as an Army surgical technician during World War II. “He worked the ranches, then got into running Quarter Horses. He trained performance horses, like cutting and reining and stuff like that. We've always been in horses our whole lives.”

Larry King remembers riding his dad's Quarter Horses at the bush tracks of central Louisiana; his 87-pound weight was the perfect advantage during the back-country match races. 

“It didn't matter how old you were, just if you were light enough,” King said. “I was probably between 9 and 11 years old. Nobody abused horses or done nothing like that, it was just a rough life. Those people were tough… it's a different world. 

“We went to places in Mexico and stuff where there were knife fights. I remember daddy tellin' me to go get in the truck! There were no rules.”

After the first 13 years of his life had been spent traveling the racetracks from Louisiana to West Virginia, and everywhere in between, King must have been relieved when his father was offered the position of farm manager at Waldemar Farm for Howard Sams. Under the elder King's horsemanship skills, the farm produced many top runners, including the 1975 Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure.

Joe King saw the difficult nature of the future classic winner right away, and assigned his son to care for the obstinate colt.

Joe King, with What a Pleasure, sire of 1975 Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure

“He was quite the handful,” Larry King remembered. “You could work with him all day putting his halter on and off, rubbing his head, and you could leave and go to lunch and it was like you never touched him.”

Foolish Pleasure didn't look like much when he arrived at the 1973 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale as a part of the Waldemar consignment.

“There's a lot of stuff that throws off the experts,” King said, chuckling. “He was crooked; he turned out horrible, and he was back in the knees. One big buyer came by the consignment, and Daddy led him out and said, 'This is the best colt in the barn.' I'll never forget what the man said: 'If that's the best you've got, don't show me anything else!'”

Foolish Pleasure commanded a final bid of just $20,000, and while he never outgrew his difficult nature, the colt did go on to win seven Grade 1 races, including the Derby, for owner John Greer and trainer LeRoy Jolley, earning $1,216,705.

King recalled watching the Kentucky Derby on television with his father: “What a dream. We really felt like we'd had a part in it, and that was something special.”

After taking over the farm manager position when his father retired, King was unsure what his own future held when Waldemar Farm was sold to Gil and Marilyn Campbell in 1988. The couple renamed the facility Stonehedge Farm South.

“My wife said, 'What do we do?' King recalled. “I said, 'Well, we're gonna go get some boxes.' Then the next thing I know the new owners came up to me and asked me to stay on.”

Working at the same farm for just shy of five decades has allowed King to play a major role in its expansion to over 500 acres, as well as the development of some of Florida's top Thoroughbreds.

“We just have a ⅝-mile track, we breed, we foal; we do it all,” said King. “Me, I mow a lot of grass! Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, they like to do it from the ground up. We've had success with it.

“I just wanted to fish, and they allow me to do that. I will never leave here unless they sell it or run me off. I'm here to finish it off. My nephew, Jamie King, he runs the training operation. I've got good people on the farm.”

Looking at the pedigrees of the farm's FSS winners from the past two years, sire Cajun Breeze has also been a major part of that success: the Stonehedge exacta in last month's Dr. Fager featured two colts both sired by Cajun Breeze.

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The appropriately-named Cajun's Magic is that latest FSS winner, but King revealed that the talented 2-year-old colt's trainer, Michael “Beau” Yates, was the man behind Cajun Breeze making the move to Stonehedge.

“Michael used to ride for me here at the farm,” King explained. “I know his mother, and I still know him well. When his dad passed, he inherited a nice little farm with a training track, and we were diversifying our trainers. He's a good horseman; he's got horseman blood, back from his grandpa. You really can't teach all that to people.”

Yates had bred Cajun Breeze, a speedy, stakes-placed son of Congrats, to a few mares of his own. 

“He's not really set up to stand a stud, so I went and looked at his foals that he had,” said King. “Mr. Campbell asked me what I thought. This horse bred good, he could run, all his foals looked great, he's an outcross to everything we had, he nicks to nearly every mare, and they can run. He's had small, small crops; we've kind of been lucky, because we've had the only ones. When we start breeding some outside mares, we might have some more competition!”

Yates also predicted the Dr. Fager exacta a month before the race was run.

“We were very impressed how they broke their maidens, of course,” King said. “But then you hear about this horse and that horse, going back and looking at replays, and I thought, 'Man, these other horses really look good.'”

King needn't have worried. Cajun's Magic and Dean Delivers finished a neck apart, ten lengths better than the closest competition. 

Cajun's Magic (outside) wins the Dr. Fager Stakes over stablemate Dean Delivers at Gulfstream Park.

“Somebody once said it was the water, somebody else said it was the limestone in the soil,” King said, asked to explain the farm's success. “I wouldn't dare say we're better than anyone else. It's just excellent land, and we try to breed using common sense… But I'm proud of what we've done because we haven't had half-million-dollar mares or big sires. We just raise them right, and start them right, and we get a little lucky.

“It's also gratifying to see the Campbells have success after all they've put into the game.”

Other major successes for the Campbells include a 2016 Florida leading breeder title; 2011 Kentucky Derby starter and G2 Tampa Bay Derby winner Watch Me Go; 2016 Preakness starter Abiding Star; breeding and racing Ivanavinalot (West Acre), G2 winner and dam of champion Songbird; breeding $2.4 million-earner Marlin; breeding and racing millionaire Blazing Sword, G3 winner Always Sunshine, G3 winner Well Defined, and G3 winner Friel's For Real.

Looking back at his own role in all that success, King deflected the praise.

“I've been very fortunate with my job, and with my wife,” he said. “I've been married 42 years, and had the same job for 48. It's been a dream life; everything fell into place.”

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Trainer Ralph Nicks Doubles Up In For Florida Sires Stakes Dr. Fager

Trainer Ralph Nicks has become a major Florida Sire Stakes player in recent years, saddling the winners of six races since 2016 in the tradition-rich series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida.

Nicks, who has been based year-round in Florida since Gulfstream Park instituted a Spring/Summer Meet in 2013, will seek to continue his Florida Sire Stakes success in the $100,000 Dr. Fager, which will co-headline Saturday's Florida Sire Stakes program with the $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies. Both stakes will be contested at six furlongs.

Nicks' two entries in the Dr. Fager – Stonehedge LLC's Breeze On By and Jacks or Better Farm's Little Demon – aren't likely to be regarded lightly in the first leg of the series. Not only will they be saddled by a trainer who has demonstrated a deft hand with juveniles, but they will also represent the two most successful owners in the history of the series that was inaugurated in 1982.

Gil Campbell and his Stonehedge Farm have amassed 12 Florida Sire Stakes victories, including a series sweep by Scandalous Act (2013). Fred Brei's Jacks or Better Farm has won a record 19 races in the lucrative series, including series sweeps by half-brothers Jackson Bend (2009) and Fort Loudon (2011), as well as Awesome Feather (2010), who went on to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and an Eclipse Award.

Nicks has already visited the Florida Sire Stakes winner's circle with Stonehedge LLC's Lucky Charm (2019 Affirmed) and Jacks or Better Farm's Garter and Tie (2018 Affirmed) among his six FSS successes.

“They both have good programs and they're both great to work for,” Nicks said. “We're on the same page.”

Stonehedge LLC's Breeze On By made a rather auspicious debut while capturing a July 12 maiden special weight race at Gulfstream by six lengths. The homebred son of Cajun Breeze ran the six-furlong distance in 1:11.82.

“It was a very impressive race. I'm not crazy about the three weeks wheel-back,” said Nicks, who would have had as many as three Dr. Fager entrants had Stonehedge LLC's sharp debut winner Big Daddy Dave not come down with a fever. “But with the one sick, and the one doing well, you better lead him over there.”

Jacks or Better Farm's Little Demon will enter Florida Sire Stakes action as a maiden but showed promise while finishing second in his June 20 debut, in which he chased loose-on-the-lead Papetu and finished 2 ¾ lengths clear of the third-place finisher. Papetu went on to capture the first allowance for 2-year-olds this year at Gulfstream and is being pointed to the Aug. 7 Saratoga Special (G2).

“He came out of a good race. He ran well and is training well,” said Nicks, who saddled Raroma Stable's Phantom Ro for a victory in the 2017 Dr. Fager. “Hopefully, he'll move forward.”

Before going on his own, Nicks was involved in the training of two-time Horse of the Year Cigar and many other veteran stakes stars as an assistant to Hall of Fame Bill Mott, but he has rapidly built a reputation for developing promising juveniles.

“It's always fun to see them come up and see them mature and develop. We got some earlier this year than in the past, but it's funny how some of them are just coming around and doing well,” Nicks said. “Two-year-olds – everybody shoots for them. If you don't have 2-year-olds, you don't have a future.”

Emisael Jaramillo has the return mount aboard Breeze On By, while Samy Camacho is scheduled to ride Little Demon for the first time Saturday.

Seven-time Eclipse Award winner Todd Pletcher, who has captured 16 Championship Meet titles at Gulfstream, appears to have a solid shot at winning his first Florida Sire Stakes while basing a stable division at Gulfstream during his first Sprint/Summer Meet for the first time.

J A G Racing and Jettany Thoroughbred Corp.'s Son of a Beast, a gutsy debut winner at Gulfstream, is scheduled to return for Pletcher in the Dr. Fager. The son of The Big Beast set a pressured pace throughout a five-furlong maiden special weight race June 24 and continued on gamely to prevail by three-quarters of a length.

“I thought he was impressive in his debut. I'm looking forward to running him,” said Pletcher, who will also be represented by debut winner Tamiami in the Desert Vixen. “He's always trained well. We expected him to come out running first time, so we sort of had this race in mind for a while.”

Edgard Zayas has the return call on Son of a Beast.

Arindel's Gatsby, an impressive debut winner April 17, will be looking to rebound from an off-the-board finish in the June 27 Bashford Manor (G3) at Churchill Downs. The homebred son of Brethren pulled off an upset victory over heavily favored Golden Pal in his debut at 4 ½ furlongs, chasing the Wesley Ward-trained odds-on favorite into the stretch before edging clear by three-quarters of a length. Golden Pal went on to finish second in the Norfolk (G2) at Royal Ascot.

Hector Berrios is slated to ride the Juan Alvarado-trained Gatsby for the first time Saturday.

Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. will seek his 13th Florida Sire Stakes success with Famous Gent, a son of First Dude owned and bred by his wife, Laurie, and Trilogy Stable.

Famous Gent rallied from off the pace to graduate in his second start June 5 while running five furlongs in 58.87 seconds. He lost all chance at the start of a subsequent allowance after encountering heavy bumping but closed to finish third behind highly regarded Papetu.

Cristian Torres has the return mount.

Kenneth Fishbein's Boca Boy enters the Dr. Fager off an impressive 7 ½-length win in his July 17 debut at Gulfstream. The son of Prospective led throughout the 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight race under Angel Arroyo, who has the return call on the Cheryl Winebaugh trainee.

Edward Schuster's Valiant Thor, a homebred son of Two Step Salsa, is slated to make his first start at Gulfstream Saturday after scoring a front-running 8 ½-length victory in his July 1 debut at Tampa Bay Downs. Ronnie Allen Jr. is named to ride by Dennis Ward-trained juvenile.

Trainer Michael Maker will be represented by two juveniles in the Dr. Fager – Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher's Casalsa, a son of Two Step Salsa who was claimed for $50,000 out of a front-running victory June 27 in his second start, and Three Diamonds Farm's Lost Lover, a son of Gone Astray who is slated to make his debut Saturday.

Magic Stables LLC's Paladio and Oakleaf Farm's Mr. Tingles, who both graduated in the claiming ranks, and All Together Stable's Social Equality, an unraced maiden, round out the field.

The Dr. Fager the Desert Vixen will be followed by the $200,000 Affirmed and the $200,000 Susan's Girl for fillies, both slated for seven furlongs Aug. 29, and 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 Sept. 26.

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