Florida Focus

Compiled by Brock Sheridan

Swan Lake Wires English Channel for First Stakes Win

Florida-bred Earns $25,000 FTBOA Win Bonus

Elizabeth L. Dobles and Imaginary Stables’ Swan Lake led from start to finish to win the $100,000 English Channel at Gulfstream Park on May 6, earning a $25,000 win bonus presented by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association. The FTBOA bonus was in addition to the $75,00 purse for the one mile turf event for 3-year-olds.

Also trained by Dobles, Swan Lake and jockey Edgar Perez topped a Florida-bred exacta in a time of 1:34.79 on the firm turf with Boppy O finishing second.

Swan Lake broke a step slow from post eight but was quickly into stride and jumped away from his rivals to finish the first quarter mile in :23.79 and was a length-and-a-half clear of Haruki and Cosmic Speculation in a joint second heading down the backstretch.

Haruki and Cosmic Speculation tried to muster a challenge early in the far turn but Swan Lake put them away before he turned for home and drew off in the stretch as Boppy O joined Haruki in second. But Swan Lake was much the best and was never threatened in the lane. Boppy O held off the late-running People Force, who was half-length farther back in third. Haruki finished fourth followed by Ordinary, Sea Hunter, Cosmic Speculation with Florida-breds Ticking and Devils Only Friend completing the order of finish.

Let go at 9-1, Swan Lake paid $20.80 to win.

Bred by Jacks or Better Farm Inc., Swan Lake is a son of Fort Loudon out of the multiple stakes-winning mare Ballet Diva, by Hear No Evil and earned his first career stakes victory in the English Channel. The chestnut gelding now has three wins in 10 career starts with two seconds and a third and the $68,200 payday increased his bankroll to $144,600.

Swan Lake is the first stakes winner for Ballet Diva, who also has an unraced 2-year-old, Entendre, by Awesome of Course. She was bred to Candy Ride (Arg) in 2022.

Swan Lake entered the English Channel after English Painter nabbed him at the finish of a first level, $75,000 optional claiming going a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf at Gulfstream on April 8. Prior to that he had finished third behind winner Otago in the $100,000 Equistaff Sophomore Turf on Florida Cup Day, March 26 at Tampa Bay Downs, also at eight-and-a-half furlongs.

His last victory prior to the English Channel came in a $35,000 optional claiming starter allowance at seven-and-a-half furlongs on the turf on Jan. 1 after he won against $35,000 maiden claimers in his previous start on Dec. 9 at Gulfstream. n

Our Flash Drive Returns With Emphatic Victory in Whimsical

Live Oak Plantation’s homebred Our Flash Drive returned after six months away from the track to win the Grade 3 Whimsical at Woodbine on May 13 and build upon her graded-stakes success at the Toronto oval.

The 4-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper has now won at least one graded stakes at Woodbine in each of her three years on the track going back to victories in the Grade 3 Selene and Grade 3 Ontario Colleen during her juvenile year in 2021 and Grade 2 Bessarabian on Nov. 12 in her final start of last year.

It was also her first career victory at six furlongs as she won the US$116,835 Whimsical by a length-and-a-half against seven other fillies and mares.

Trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Patrick Husbands, Our Flash Drive sat third in the early going as 43-1 longshot Forest Drift and 4-1 second choice Hard Edge battled together on the front end through quarter-mile fractions of :22.57 and :45.03 on the synthetic course.

With little urging from Husbands, Our Flash Drive swung out three-wide turning for home and cruised by the front-runners while galloping to a clear lead down the lane, eventually crossing the wire a length-and-three-quarters in front of the late-running second-place finisher and Casse stablemate Miss Speedy while covering the distance in 1:10.12.

Baby No Worries was another half-length farther back in third with Owen’s Tour Guide, Forest Drift, Hard Edge, Florida-bred Ambassador Luna and Basalt Street completing the order of finish.

“She’s legit,” Husbands said of Our Flash Drive. “Anything you want her to do, she’ll do. She broke sharp and I was just behind the speed and I didn’t want the speed to come back and get stopped behind it. So, by the three-eighths pole I tipped her out into the clear and she got the job done.”

It was the 100th career graded stakes victory for Husbands and his 350th stakes win overall.

Out of the unraced Dynaformer mare Dyanmotor, Our Flash Drive has now won six of 15 career starts with three seconds and a third while banking $523,344.

Our Flash Drive also won the $135,000 De La Rose last year at Saratoga on her way to being named the 2022 champion older mare and champion turf mare by the FTBOA.

Our Flash Drive paid $3.40 to win as the odds-on 3-5 favorite.

Charlotte Weber purchased Dyanmotor in the name of her Live Oak Plantation for $650,000 as a yearling at Keeneland in 2012 and Our Flash Drive was her second foal after winner Gearhead, by City Zip. Dynamotor also has an unraced 3-year-old filly who is a full-sister to Our Flash Drive in Bell Witch and an unraced 2-year-old filly named Flashy Motor, from the first crop by Omaha Beach. She has an unnamed weanling colt by Mendelssohn. Our Flash Drive is her only black-type winner from three starters of five foals with two winners. n

Veteran Max K. O. Breaks Through for First Stakes Win in Mr. Steele Also Takes $25,000 FTBOA Florida-bred Win Bonus

Second in the 2021 Mr. Steele, the 7-year-old Florida-bred Max K. O. won this year’s version of the $75,000 Mr. Steele on May 14 for the first black-type victory of his career with jockey Edwin Gonzalez aboard. In addition to the winner’s share of the Mr. Steele purse, Max K. O. also took down a $25,000 win bonus for Florida-breds presented by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association for a $69,100 payday for owner Ten Twenty Racing.

Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., Max K. O. ran down 9-5 favorite and stablemate Saratoga Flash in the final strides of the mile-andone-sixteenth turf test against six other 3-year-olds and older to win by a nose in 1:42.51.

Florida-bred Me and Mr. C, who won the 2022 Mr. Steele, was another length-and-a-half back in third followed by Value Proposition, Candy Tycoon, Fredo and Grand David. Florida-bred Hot Blooded was scratched.

“I thought Saratoga Flash would win but Max dug in. He was [very] patient covering him up. He’s always been a decent horse.