Spirit Wind closed out her 4-year-old racing season on Dec. 21 of 2023 by winning the Gr. III Sugar Swirl Stakes at Gulfstream Park. On Saturday, she closed out her 5-year-old campaign by capturing the $150,000 Poinsettia Stakes at Oaklawn Park, and adding $85,500 to her bank account, which is easily best of …
Melvis Gonzalez is a 7-pound apprentice currently riding at Gulfstream Park, where so many youngsters have kicked off what later turned out to be highly successful careers. But the 24-year-old graduate of the Panama jockey’s school looked like an old veteran winning a mile and one sixteenth test …
Hay Hay Paula is closing in on the $200,000 mark in earnings after her hard-fought, come-from-behind victory in a $40,700 starter optional claimer at seven furlongs over Woodbine’s all-weather track. The 6-year-old daughter of Bahamian Squall bred by Pamela Edel was off fourth on the inside under Rafael Hernandez and began …
Apprentice rider Sara Hess has been at Tampa Bay Downs for less than two weeks, and she’s already become a handicapper’s best friend, compiling an impressive record of 4-2-4 in 14 starts. Of the four victories, two have come aboard First Dudes – the $51 bomber on He’s Side Eyed on the 29th, …
Grump’s Buddy, a rare West Virginia-bred by Bahamian Squall, raised his record to 4-8-2 in 27 starts, getting his second victory of the year in a 1 1/16th-mile test at Charles Town last night. Arnaldo Bocachica was in the irons on the 4-year-old gelding, who raced well back in the pack …
Apprentice rider Sara Hess showed up for the meeting at Tampa Bay Downs last week with 20 winning rides under her belt, and made it 21 with a gutsy effort on Singsational on opening day. She quickly made it 22 by taking He’s Side Eyed wire-to-wire on day 2, holding on gamely to …
Time to Cruise moved up to 23rd place on First Dude’s $200,000 list with a sharp (almost) wire-to-wire performance at Parx Racing on Tuesday. With Mychel Sanchez aboard, the 4-year-old gelding bred in Pennsylvania by Tom and Lori Fackler (Best A Luck Farm), took the lead going to the first quarter in …
Maryquitecontrary, First Dude’s second leading money-winner, went over the $700,000 mark in career earnings Sunday after finishing in a dead heat for second in a $75,000 handicap at Gulfstream Park. The 5-year-old mare owned and bred by longtime Ocala veterinarian Rod Lundock was off last in a field of nine going …
The way Fivefive Six Champ is going, it looks like he may soon become the next addition to First Dude’s $200,000 club. The 5-year-old gelding bred by Tom McCrocklin scored his third victory in a row yesterday in a $31,900 allowance optional claimer at his favorite oval, Mahoning Valley in Ohio, …
Spirit Wind, Bahamian Squall’s leading money-winner, added another stakes-placed finish to her resume with a third in the $295,000 Dream Supreme Stakes at Churchill Downs. The 5-year-old mare bred by Ocala’s Jacks or Better Farm was ridden by Hall of Famer Mike Smith and had to overcome a troubled trip, finishing …