FLORIDA CUP DAY AT TAMPA BAY DOWNS

Shifty She Dominates Pleasant Acres Stallions Distaff Turf

BY BROCK SHERIDAN

On a day when two odds-on and one even-money favorite in Florida Cup races had already gone down in defeat, Shifty She gleamed in the expectations of her 3-5 post time odds while dominating the $110,000 Pleasant Acres Distaff Turf.

The Distaff Turf was one of six races on the Florida Cup card at Tampa Bay Downs that offered total purses of $660,000 including the $10,000 Florida Sire Stakes win bonus included in each purse that was presented by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association.

A winner of the Grade 3 Noble Damsel at Belmont Park in October with a second and third in Grade 3 Suwannee River and Grade 3 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf respectively since, Shifty She did not hesitate to assert her class and quickness in the mile-and-a-sixteenth Distaff Turf as she and jockey Edwin Gonzalez led the field of nine fillies and mares through quarter-mile splits of :23.84, :47.53 and 1:11.79. Gonzalez had Shifty She a length in front most of the way before she began to draw away from her rivals around the far turn and eventually finish with a four-length victory in 1:41.43. Our Flash Drive caught longshot Mona Stella at the wire to get second and it was another length-and-a-quarter back to Lovely Luvy in fourth. They were followed by Mia Martina, Chick’s Shadow, Onyx, Extravagant Rosie and Sip ‘n Dip. “She is a very nice [mare]. She always breaks running, and when she breaks, I let her do what she wants to be comfortable,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t want to be fighting her because I know wherever I put her, she is going to give me her best.” “She won wire-to-wire and was in front the whole way, so it was a nice performance,” Joseph said. “Before the owners sent her to us, she had an issue and they gave her the time off she needed. It was almost two years. She came to us a good filly. And since she’s been with us, we’ve just tried to do as good of a job as the previous trainer. She’s just class.”

Shifty She paid $3.20 to win.

Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. for Chris Pallas and Harvey Rothenberg in the name of their Pedigree Partners LLC, Shifty She has now won seven of 13 career starts with a second and two thirds. With winner’s share of the Distaff Turf purse and the $10,000 Florida Sire Stakes win bonus for which she is eligible, she now has career earnings of $453,495.

Shifty She is by Pleasant Acres Stallions resident Gone Astray out of Perilous Hope, by Strong Hope and was bred by Chris Pallas and George Klein.

Photo by SV Photography

King Cab is Royal in OBS Sophomore

BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Photo by SV Photography

King Cab shot to the immediate lead from post six and was never threatened on his way to a swift victory in the $110,000 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Sophomore for 3-year-old Florida-breds at seven furlongs. The son of Ocala Stud stallion Noble Bird is also eligible for the Florida Sire Stakes program and thus earned the $10,000 win bonus presented by the FTBOA.

Ridden by Emisael Jaramillo for trainer Edward Plesa Jr., King Cap broke on top and had a clear, two-length lead on Lightening Larry in second down the backstretch and finished the first two furlongs in a brisk :22.37. King Cap extended his advantage around the turn with little urging from Jaramillo and finished the half-mile while still racing quickly in :44.74. Lightening Larry continued to give chase in second but King Cab stretched his lead to four-and-a-half lengths under the wire with Lightening Larry second, a half-length faster than Cattin in third. Dean Delivers, the even-money favorite, was fourth followed by Morgan Point and Stormy Pattern. King Cab paid $9.60 to win as the third choice in the field of six and the final time was 1:22.25 on the fast track. “This horse is very, very fast,” Jaramillo said. “Six furlongs, seven, he’s very strong. When I got to the three-eighths mile pole, I knew it was over. He’s so easy to ride.” King Cab started the year with a dominant win against first level allowance horses as he won by seven-and-a-quarter lengths going seven furlongs. He was unable to manage two turns in his next start when sixth in a first level, $75,000 optional claiming going a mile-and-aneighth won by Skippylongstocking at Gulfstream on March 2 before shipping to Tampa Bay for the Florida Cup. “He’s an exceptionally talented horse who does things his way,” Plesa said. “We tried him a distance of ground last time just to see if we could kind of get him to rate a little bit. That didn’t work, so I’m not going to do anything to mess him up. I’m just going to let him do what he likes to do.

“He didn’t switch leads down the lane, but it didn’t hinder him. In the mornings he does, but in the afternoons [he sometimes does not]. Two races ago he did switch leads, but very late. Does it make any difference? Not all horses switch leads. That’s the only critique I can say about him. But when he wins like that, it doesn’t make any difference.”

Out of the Florida-bred mare Alotofappeal, by Trippi, King Cab has now won three of five career starts while earning $141,940 for owner David Melin, Leon Ellman and Laurie Plesa. He was bred in Florida by Ocala Stud and Edward Weist and William J. Terrill.

King Cab was purchased by Plesa, Melin and Ellman for $110,000 at the OBS June Sale in 2021 where he was consigned by Ocala Stud.

Veteran Pudding Gets First Stakes Victory in NYRABets Sprint

BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Third against stakes-company in his last three starts, 7-year-old Pudding punched through the black type barrier Saturday with a resilient victory in the $100,000 NYRABets Sprint for 4-year-olds and older at six furlongs.

With Javier Castellano aboard, Pudding was first into stride while breaking from the outside post seven. Shortly after the start, Pudding was quickly joined on the inside by longshot It’s My House and Real Talk on the rail as those three raced down the backstretch three abreast.

After a quarter-mile in :22.62 Pudding put away the early challengers as last year’s Sprint-winner Tap It to Win came three wide to challenge on the outside.

Those two separated from the rest as they raced for home but Pudding never relinquished the lead to finish a neck in front of Tap It to Win in second with Cajun Casanova another five-anda-half lengths back in third. Officiating, who was the 7-5 favorite, never got underway and finished fourth, followed by Real Talk and It’s My House. Pudding finished the six furlongs in 1:09.01, just .34 seconds off of the stakes record set by It’s Me Mom in the 2012 Sprint. Pudding paid $9.60 to win. It was the first career stakes win for Pudding, who now sports a career record of nine wins, seven seconds and eight thirds from 33 starts with earnings of $323,840. Owned by trainer Elizabeth Dobles in partnership with Imaginary Stables, Pudding is by Two Step Salsa out of Jozi’s Turn, by Johannesburg and was bred by JSL Thoroughbreds. “He’s a dream to train. He’s one of my favorites,” Dobles said. “I guess almost every horse I train turns out to be one of my favorites, but he is definitely one of my heart horses.”

Prior to the Sprint, Pudding had been third to Miles Ahead in the $85,000 Claiming Crown Starter Stakes on Dec. 4, third to Gatsby in the $100,000 Sunshine Sprint on Jan. 15 and third to Bank on Shea in the $75,000 Pelican, all at Gulfstream Park.

Pudding was a $10,000 purchase by Vladmir Kazakov at the 2016 Ocala Breeders’ Sales August Yearling Sale where he was consigned by Beth Bayer.

Photo by SV Photography

Drama Chorus Battles for Upset Win in Turf Classic

BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Photo by SV Photography

In the biggest upset among the six Florida Cup races, Drama Chorus fought off a stretch-long challenge from Max K.O. to win the $110,000 Grey Goose Turf Classic by a neck. The Turf Classic featured a field of nine older Florida-breds who went a mile-andan-eighth on the turf with $97,000 Point of Entry and $75,000 Sunshine Classic-winner Shamrocket the 3-5 favorite from the Todd Pletcher barn.

But Drama Chorus took control from the start of the Turf Classic as the 5-year-old gelding by Big Drama out of Missmollybygolly, by Scat Daddy led the field of nine older horses through the first quarter-mile in :24.29 while leading by a length-and-a-half with Alonso Quinonez up. They stretched their margin to two-and-a-half lengths through a half-mile in :48.49 with Max K.O. on their heels as they went around the far turn while Shamrocket tried to rally from far back while five-wide. Drama Chorus continued to show the way into the stretch when Max K.O. and Daniel Centeno shifted to their outside as those two separated from the rest for their stretch-long altercation. Drama Chorus prevailed to win in 1:48.58 with Max K.O. second and nearly four lengths ahead of Lure Him In in third with Shamrocket fourth. They were followed by Freedom Matters, And Won, Chess’s Dream, Over the Channel and Fast Fire. “The way he ran last time [second to Chez Pierre in a one mile turf allowance at Tampa Bay Downs on March 9], I think he got beat by a very nice horse,” Quinonez said. “I was just hoping for a nice clean break, and when [Freedom Matters] didn’t break as well as I thought he might, the rest was history. The fractions were perfect and I had a lot of horse turning for home.”

Drama Chorus paid $25 to win for his first stakes triumph and first victory since defeating multiple-conditioned, $16,000 optional claimers going a mile at Canterbury Park in September.

A homebred for Peter D. Mattson, Drama Chorus is trained by Tim Padilla and won his fifth race in 21 career starts with five seconds and a third with earnings of $184,722 including the $10,000 Florida Sire Stakes win bonus in the Turf Classic.

Treasure King Runs Down Tapthespeedofsound to Win Sophomore Turf

BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Photo by SV Photography

Mathis Stable LLC’s Treasure King was pinched back at the start and had one horse beat as the field of seven 3-year-olds went past the grandstand for the first time in the $110,000 Equistaff Sophomore Turf, but jockey Javier Castellano had him in full flight at the end to win by three-quarters-of-a-length.

Tapthespeedofsound sprinted clear from the start of the mile-and-one-sixteenth Sophomore Turf and led the field of seven 3-year-old Florida-breds by a length-and-a-half out of the turf chute and under the wire for the first time. Jockey Edwin Gonzalez kept Tapthespeedofsound on an uncontested lead through fractions of :23.25, :47.31 and 1:11.96 and remained unchallenged around the far turn. However, Castellano gave Treasure King his cue with five-sixteenths left to run and began to circle horses with a wide trip. Tapthespeedofsound still had a clear lead turning for home but Treasure King was in full stride on the outside and collared the front-runner inside the final sixteenth to win in a time of 1:36.48 on the firm turf. Tapthespeedofsound finished second, a length ahead of Merlin on the inside in third. C My Meister was fourth followed by Skipperini, Mr Rum Runner and Fast Payday. “I really like this horse,” Castellano said. “He’s by a Galileo (IRE) horse [Treasure Beach (GB)], so I thought he would like the turf. Everything he did, he did the right way. I had a lot of confidence to win the race.” Treasure King paid $4.40 to win. Treasure King is out of Wave of Glory, by Midshipman and earned the $10,000 Florida Sire Stakes win bonus in addition to the winner’s share of $60,000. He is now undefeated in two starts having won a $50,000 maiden optional claiming by a half-length going about a mile-and-a-sixteenth on Tapeta at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 25. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Treasure King now has earnings of $93,900 in two starts.

He was bred by Patricia Generazio. He was a $75,000 purchase by agent Steven Young at the 2021 OBS June Sale where he was consigned by Hidden Brook.

Midnight Stroll Steals With Front-Running Victory in Sophomore Fillies

BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Photo by SV Photography

Jockey Pablo Morales sent Midnight Stroll to the front right from the start of the $100,000 Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies and never looked back while winning by three-andthree-quarters lengths in an upset of an accomplished field of Florida-breds. A field of seven 3-year-old fillies who went seven furlongs included multiple stakes-winner and 4-5 favorite Outfoxed and Hot Peppers, the 8-5 second choice who had won her last three.

Midnight Stroll broke fast from the outside post seven and got the jump on Hot Peppers, who broke a step slow after being fractious in the gate prior to the start. As they raced down the backstretch, Hot Peppers raced up to join Midnight Stroll on the outside but never got on even terms while keeping a length ahead of longshot Kaeko in third as Outfoxed was four lengths back in sixth. Approaching the half-mile marker, Midnight Stroll stepped away from Hot Peppers after clicking off the first quarter-mile in :23.47 and stretched her lead to two-and-a-half lengths past the five sixteenths pole. With a quarter-mile to run, Rapturous made a run at Midnight Stroll as Outfoxed tried to begin her run from far back and Hot Peppers and Kaeko gave in. But Midnight Stroll found another gear, leaving Rapturous alone in second and cruised to the finish in 1:23.12. Rapturous finished nearly nine lengths ahead of Outfoxed in third. Sweet Laura was fourth followed by Kaeko, Killargue’s Girl and Hot Peppers. Midnight Stroll paid $16.80 as the 7-1 third choice. Trained by John Terranova, Midnight Stroll had just won a maiden special weight going a mile-and-40-yards at Tampa Bay on Feb. 26 in her third career start after finishing seventh and sixth in her first two career races in her juvenile year. She has now earned $83,225 in her four races for the ownership team of Gatsas Stables, R. A. Hill Stable and Steven Schoenfeld.

“We got her started [last summer] at Saratoga and it took a while to get her going,” Terranova said. “So we kind of regrouped and brought her down here and stretched her out [to a mile-and40-yards] to break her maiden. We had this race in mind even before then. She has shown a lot of quality and we really like her.

“Pablo knows her well. He’s been breezing her in the mornings and I told him if she breaks well, go on with it.”

Morales sees an excellent future for Midnight Stroll.

“She does it so effortlessly. Every time I’ve been on her, since this meet started, she has shown so much class,” he said. “We loved her the day of her maiden win, but after that she got even better. She came in real sharp today and when the gate opened, she was gone. She is a very classy horse.”

Midnight Stroll is by Not This Time out of Midnight Magic, by Midnight Lute and was bred by Dr. Carolin Von Rosenberg DVM. She did not meet her reserve as a yearling in the 2020 OBS Winter Mixed Sale but sold for $225,000 nine months later at the OBS October Sale where she was purchased by Tonja Terranova from the Abbie Road Farm consignment. TFH