Favorite Sweet Dani Girl Wins Pleasant Acres Stallions Distaff Turf

Returning to Florida-bred competition after finishing tenth in the Grade 3 Honey Fox won by Faith in Humanity at Gulfstream on March 4, Sweet Dani Girl took the $110,000 Pleasant Acres Stallions Distaff Turf while leading from start to finish. A field of 12 Florida-bred fillies and mares, 3-years-old and older went a mile-and-a-sixteenth in the Distaff Turf.

Trained by Carlos Vaccarezza for breeder and owner J & J Stables LLC and Nicholas Vaccarezza, Sweet Dani Girl and jockey Javier Castellano led longshots Cindy’s Song and Prudent Song by a length while racing past the grandstand for the first time and galloping through a quarter-mile in :23.51.

Sweet Dani Girl continued to lead through a half-mile in :47.50 and while Prudent Song tried to muster a challenge early in the far turn, Sweet Dani Girl dusted her off with ease while finishing six furlongs in 1:11.25. Sweet Dani Girl began to extend her lead racing out of the turn and was two in front at the top of the stretch and four lengths clear of Prudent Song in second under the wire. Sweet Dani Girl stopped the teletimer in 1:40.87 on the firm turf.

Alexa’s Dream finished another two-and-a-quarter lengths back in third with Frosted Oats, Avow, Dreamster, Mona Stella, Crystal Coast, Alittleloveandluck, Peace Seeker, Cindy’s Song and Lily’s Lead completing the order of finish.

Sweet Dani Girl paid $6.80 to win.

“She’s a quality filly,” Carlo Vaccarezza said. “Three races back [in the Grade 2 Eight Belles on May 6 at Churchill Downs] she bled and it broke my heart. John Williams and I decided to send her to Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Kentucky and give her as much time off as she needed. We always put the horse first, and we gave her all the time in the world to heal her lungs. She got to go and eat grass and just be a horse. We gave her an eightmonth layoff, and when we brought her back, she won [the Sunshine Filly and Mare Turf].

“Javier rode that filly beautifully today,” Vaccarezza added. “He did a perfect job. But she was ready. She was training really well at Palm Meadows and I figured the turf course at Tampa would fit her perfectly.”

It was the second stakes victory in three starts for Sweet Dani Girl, who won the $75,000 Sunshine Filly and Mare Turf going a mile on the grass course at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 14. The daughter of Ocala Stud stallion Jess’s Dream out of My Sweet Dani, by Scat Daddy, Sweet Dani Girl also won Keeneland’s $150,000 Myrtlewood at six furlongs in her second career start in October of 2021.

With the winner’s share of the $100,000 purse plus the $10,000 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes win bonus, Sweet Dani Girl increased her career bankroll to $281,065 from winning half of her eight career starts with one third. TFH