Monday, September 29, 2025
Another big week for OBS . . .

    Despite a less-than-ideal break following a six-plus month layoff, Speedway Stables’ Cavalieri (Nyquist-Stiffed, by Stephen Got Even) was unbothered as she remained unbeaten with a victory in the Gr. II, $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes going 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita Park to lead the slate of stakes-winning OBS grads for the week.

    After hopping at the start and trailing the field, Cavalieri improved to 5-for-5 for trainer Bob Baffert while also earning a fees-paid berth to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar. It was Cavalieri’s first start since winning the Gr. I Beholder Mile in March at Santa Anita. 

    “She is just so talented, the further the better for her,” Baffert said.

    A 4-year-old daughter of Nyquist, Cavalieri was purchased by Peter Fluor’s Speedway Stables for $900,000 from the Wavertree Stables consignment at the 2023 OBS April Sale after she breezed in :20 2/5.

    At Aqueduct, R. Lee Lewis’s Gun Song (Gun Runner – Nicole H, by Mr. Greeley) overtook Gr. 1 winner Randomized and powered away to a score in the Gr. II, $250,000 Beldame Stakes. By winning the Beldame, part of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Dozen series for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff in November at Del Mar, Gun Song receives a credit of $30,000 toward entry fees for the Distaff. Trained by Mark Hennig, the 4-year-old daughter of Gun Runner enjoyed a tremendous sophomore season that included a win in the Gr. II Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico Race Course.

    Gun Song was purchased by her owner for $400,000 at the 2023 OBS March Sale out of the de Meric Sales consignment after breezing in :10 1/5.

    Also at Aqueduct, George Mellon’s Patriot Spirit (Constitution- Mistical Plan, by Game Plan) power away late to post a 1 1/2-length score in the Gr. III, $200,000 Vosburgh Stakes, earning himself a fees paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar.

    Trained by Michael Campbell, the 4-year-old Constitution colt was purchased by George Mellon for $235,000 out of the Clary Bloodstock consignment at the 2023 OBS March Sale after breezing in :10 flat. 

    At Santa Anita Park, Innovative (Complexity-Lantiz, by Tizway) roared through the stretch to win Saturday’s Gr. III, $100,000 John C. Harris Stakes on the hillside turf course. Innovative prevailed by a neck over Lee’s Baby Girl with another half-length back to morning line favorite and fellow OBS grad Warming in third.

    Trained by Phil D’Amato, the daughter of Complexity is owned by Little Red Feather Racing and Sterling Stables. She was purchased by Little Red Feather Racing for $230,000 at the 2024 OBS April Sale from the consignment of Longoria Training & Sales after breezing in :9 4/5.

    At Gulfstream Park, rising star Lennilu (Leinster – Lulu’s Pom Pom, by Pomeroy) booked her ticket to Del Mar for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint by capturing her third stakes victory in the $75,000 Hollywood Beach.

    Owned by Amy Dunne, Cailtin Dunne, Brenda Miley, Jean Wilkinson, Hoffman Family Racing, Tranquility Lake Farms, Maury Hamilton and Christopher Harrington, the daughter of Leinster was making her return to turf after prevailing by a nose in the $100,000 Desert Vixen. Trained by Patrick Biancone, Lennilu was purchased by Glencrest Farm for $23,000 from the Abbie Road Farm consignment at the 2024 OBS Winter Mixed Sale.

    At Remington Park, trainer Danny Pish sent out Essential Time (Essential Quality-Twilight Curfew, by Twirling Candy) to victory in the $150,000 Clever Trevor Stakes.

    Owned by Duffy’s Racing Stable and Heider Racing Stables, Essential Time was bred by D. J. Stable and offered at the 2025 OBS April Sale where he failed to meet his reserve after breezing in :10 1/5 from the consignment of 1880 Bloodstock.

    At Remington Park, Everything’s Cricket Racing’s Sabalenka (Good Samaritan-Darling Daughter, by Maria’s Mon) won the $75,000 Ricks Memorial Stakes as she rallied from sixth place to gain the victory over fellow OBS grad Neom Beach. Trained by Joe Sharp, she won by 2 3/4 lengths in a time of 1:42.12 over the firm course.

    Sabalenka was purchased by Four Quarters at the 2022 OBS April Sale and for $35,000 from the Harris Training Center consignment after breezing in :10 1/5.

    So There She Was (Munnings-Risk Premium, by Take Charge Indy) highlighted the Remington Park card when she put away heavy favorite Lemon Zest to take the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks. The 3-year-old filly pocketed $120,000 for owners Great Friends Stables and Mark Davis of Vista, Calif.

    Trained by Doug O’Neill, she was purchased by Mark Davis for $100,000 at the 2024 OBS March Sale from the Gene Recio consignment after breezing in :10 1/5.

    Another winner on the Oklahoma Derby Day card was Paradise Farms, David Staudacher, Gata Racing Stable and Turman Racing’s Woodstock (Yaupon-Hot Hippie, by Medaglia d’Oro) who captured the $50,000 E. L. Gaylord Memorial. The filly, trained by Michael Maker, was purchased by Maker from this year’s OBS March Sale for $100,000 from the Global Thoroughbreds consignment after breezing in :10 2/5.

Sunday, September 28, 2025
She'll go on grass in Juvenile Turf Sprint . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Rising star Lennilu exited her dominating 1 ¾-length romp in Saturday’s $75,000 Leinster Hollywood Beach at Gulfstream Park in good order.

    “She’s doing very good,” trainer Patrick Biancone said this morning from his stable at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. “Perfect.”

    Lennilu stalked Monster into the stretch before breezing by the 3-2 favorite to win the five-furlong turf stakes for juveniles going away as the 9-5 second choice. The mighty daughter of race sponsor Leinster ran five furlongs in :54.97 seconds on the way to her third stakes victory and fourth win in five starts. Her only loss came in a third-place finish in the Gr. II Queen Mary at Royal Ascot won by Aidan O’Brien-trained True Love, who happened to win a Group 1 stakes at Great Britain’s Newmarket earlier in the day Saturday.

     Biancone confirmed Lennilu will be pointed toward the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar on Oct. 31. After beating the boys in the Hollywood Beach, she’ll take them on again in the five-furlong Juvenile Turf Sprint rather than run against fillies in the one-mile Juvenile Fillies Turf the same day.

    “After the Queen Mary, I said we would give her some time to recover and get her ready for the Breeders’ Cup [Juvenile Turf] Sprint – and here we are,” said Biancone, whose multiple stakes-winning filly earned a ‘Win & You’re In’ berth in the five-furlong Queen Mary with a victory in the five-furlong Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies Turf at Gulfstream.

     In addition to notching stakes wins in the Royal Palm Juvenile Turf and the Leinster Hollywood Beach, Lennilu prepped for Saturday’s return to turf with a game victory in the $100,000 Desert Vixen, the six-furlong first leg of the Florida Sires Stakes series on dirt.

    Lennilu’s stablemate, Squire, came out of his fifth-place finish in the Hollywood Beach in good order. “Squire came out good, but he’s just not as good, and he wants a little more distance,” said Biancone of the son of Leinster, whose only turf start from his three previous races was a second-place finish in the Royal Palm Juvenile.

Friday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $125,000

    The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be estimated at $125,000 when the Sunshine Meet resumes with a 10-race program Friday, Oct. 3. First race post time is 12:50 p.m.
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Wins $75,000 Hallandale Beach . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Amanda Hernandez’s Willow Case came with a steady drive through the stretch to reel in favored Vita Mia and edge clear by three-quarters of a length to extend her win streak to three races in Friday’s $75,000 Hallandale Beach at Gulfstream Park.

    Named for the city that Gulfstream has called home since it opened in 1939, the Hallandale Beach for 2-year-old fillies going a one-turn mile headlined a nine-race program to kick off September’s final weekend of the Sunshine Meet.

    Ridden by Leonel Reyes for trainer Ramon Minguet, Willow Case ($8) covered a fast main track in 1:38.01 to win her second consecutive stakes following Gulfstream’s six-furlong Sharp Susan Aug. 9.

     “I was very confident because she is a very professional, very focused filly,” Minguet said. “I thought that running a mile it would fit her very well. I think the longer distance is better for her than the short distance.”

    Reyes had Willow Case positioned in fourth as 45-1 longshot Triple Threat led along the rail through a quarter-mile in 24.02 seconds with Sharp Susan runner-up Tessellate between horses in second and Sept. 6 maiden winner Vita Mia cruising three wide in third. Tessellate inherited the lead pressed to her outside by Vita Mia when Triple Threat began to drop back after a half in 47.19.

     “This filly ran beautifully,” Reyes said. “It was the plan to sit behind the speed. I was behind two or three horses and at the eighth pole, I took her out and she finished good.”

    Reyes tipped Willow Case to the far outside approaching the stretch and, after Vita Mia put away Tessellate, the bay daughter of Neolithic continued to gain ground with every stride before moving up on even terms past the sixteenth pole and galloping past the wire.

    “That was the plan, to stalk the pace behind the speed horses. She was running well and I was happy with her position. She closed the way I expected,” Minguet said. “In the last half-furlong I got a little worried, but at the end she responded.”

    Vita Mia was second, followed by Tessellate, Dakota’s Lil Auror, That Police – who stumbled badly out of the starting gate – and Triple Threat.

    Reyes was encouraged with the way Willow Case galloped out in what was her fourth career race and first at a route of ground. “I think she can get more distance – a mile, a mile and an eighth, a mile and a sixteenth,” he said. “That will be OK for her.”

    Willow Case went off a 30-1 longshot when she ran a distant fourth behind subsequent Grade 3 winner Mythical in debut April 17, returning two weeks later to graduate by a neck at 14-1 odds going the same 4 ½-furlong distance. She went unraced until the Sharp Susan, which she won in a 27-1 upset. Friday she was the third choice in a field of six at 3-1.

    “We’ll see how she comes back to the barn. It’s been working for her to give her some time between races, four weeks to six weeks, and she responds to that,” Minguet said. “We’ll see in a few weeks what it looks like.

Thursday, September 25, 2025
Lennilu, Squire, Monster set for $75,000 race . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - The Leinster Hollywood Beach, indeed.

    The nine-horse field for Saturday’s $75,000 Leinster Hollywood Beach at Gulfstream Park features three very promising offspring of red-hot freshman sire Leinster – multiple stakes-winner Lennilu, as well as stakes-placed Squire and Monster.

    Patrick Biancone-trained Lennilu is scheduled to make a highly anticipated return to turf in the five-furlong test for 2-year-olds after prevailing by a nose in the $100,000 Desert Vixen, the six-furlong first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series for fillies on Gulfstream’s main track.

    After rallying to win her 4 ½-furlong debut over a sloppy Keeneland main track on April 6, Lennilu made a highly successful transition to turf with a 3 ¾-length front-running victory in the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies at five furlongs at Gulfstream on May 10, earning a fees-paid berth into one of six stakes during the Royal Ascot Meet. She went on to finish third in the five-furlong, Gr. II Queen Mary before capturing the Desert Vixen.

    “She’s good. She has the attitude of a good horse,” Biancone said. “She doesn’t want to get beat.”

    The Hollywood Beach will be Lennilu’s final prep for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar on Oct. 31, as long as the race remains on turf. “If it comes off the turf, Lennilu will run the following weekend in Kentucky,” Biancone said.

    Lennilu, rated second at 2-1 on the Hollywood Beach morning line, is nominated to the $300,000 Indian Summer, a 5 ½-furlong turf event at Keeneland on Sunday, Oct. 5. Jonathan Ocasio has the return mount on Lennilu, who is owned by Amy Dunne, Caitlin Dunne, Brenda Miley, Jean Wilkinson, Hoffman Family Racing, Tranquility Lake Farms, Maury Hamilton and Christopher Harrington.

    Amy Dunne and Biancone are also well represented by Squire in the Hollywood Beach field. Squire, like Lennilu, has demonstrated versatility in his brief career. The 2-year-old gelding overcame bumping at the start of his 4 ½-furlong debut to win by a head at Gulfstream. He returned on turf to finish second in the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile behind Sandal’s Song, who went on to finish third in the Gr. II Norfolk at Royal Ascot. Squire finished fifth on dirt last time out following a less-than-ideal trip in the $100,000 Dr. Fager, the six-furlong first leg if the FFS series.

    Dalila Rivera has the call on Squire, who is rated third at 9-2.

    Arindel’s Monster, who finished fourth and fifth in his first two career starts in Kentucky, demonstrated a distinct preference for turf while scoring a nine-length front-running victory in a five-furlong maiden special weight at Gulfstream. “He really likes the turf, and he really likes the turf here,” trainer Jose D’Angelo said. “It’s not soft ground, and he really likes that.”

    Monster, who is favored at 9-5 on the Leinster Hollywood Beach morning line, set the pace in the 5 ½-length Skidmore on turf at Saratoga before settling for a second behind Bobrovsky, a highly- regarded Dale Romans-trained son of Daredevil. Monster’s performance in the Hollywood Beach will dictate his next start.

    “I’d like to go to the Breeders’ Cup,” D’Angelo said. Edgard Zayas, who was aboard Monster for his sensational maiden-breaker, returns to the saddle for the Leinster Hollywood Beach. Squire, Lennilu and Monster, all Florida-breds, will break from the three outside post positions – 7, 8 and 9, respectively.

     “I like his post,” D’Angelo said. “We have to go.”

    Leinster, a Rusty Arnold-trained son of Majestic Warrior, closed out his racing career with a victory in the 2021 Gr. III Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint Stakes before entering stud duty at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Ocala.

    D’Angelo is also represented in the Hollywood Beach field by Fugget About It Racing Stables’ Itza Lock, a gelded son of Silver State who is coming off a front-running 3 ½-length maiden romp at Gulfstream in his second career start in a five-furlong maiden special weight on Tapeta. “He is really improving. That’s why I’m giving him a chance in the stakes,” D’Angelo said. Samy Camacho is scheduled to ride Itza Lock for the first time Saturday.

    Daugherty Racing’s Win N Juice, a Florida-bred son of Win Win Win, figures to make his presence felt in the Hollywood Beach. After finishing sixth in his debut in the Royal Palm Juvenile, he graduated at five furlongs on turf at Gulfstream and finished second behind Hey Nay Nay in the Tyro at five furlongs on turf at Monmouth. Undefeated Hey Nay Nay went on to win the Gr. III Del Mar Juvenile Turf. The Nolan Ramsey trainee failed to menace in the Juvenile Sprint at Kentucky Downs in his most recent start.

    Ramsey is also scheduled to saddle Robert Proulx’s Street Player, who is set to make his first start on turf after breaking his maiden at Gulfstream in his second career start and finishing off the board in a pair of stakes.

    Miguel Vasquez has the call on Win N Juice, while Yolber Torres has the mount on Street Player.

    Candido Vargas and Darinel Arguela’s The Princess Bro, a daughter of Win Win Win trained by Kevin McKathan, and Leon Ellman, Glassman Racing and Laurie Plesa’s Timeless Victory, a son of By My Standards trained by Eddie Plesa Jr., are slated to make their respective stakes debuts coming off debut maiden special weight victories.

    Trainer Daniel Hurtak’s Zevi’s Zone, a son of Uncle Chuck who graduated first off the claim in a $35,000 maiden claimer at five furlongs on Tapeta, rounds out the field.

Thursday, September 25, 2025
Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 returns . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Friday’s programs at Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita Park will mark the debut of the Sunset Six, and the return of the popular Coast-to-Coast Pick 5.

    The Sunset Six will always feature the final three races at Gulfstream and Santa Anita Park. The Sunset Six will be offered anytime both tracks are running. There is a $1 minimum, low 15-percent takeout, no consolation payouts, and a carryover if no one selects all six winners.

    The Sunset Six will be available to retail customers only.

    Friday also marks the return of the Coast-to-Coast Pick 5. Like the Sunset Six, there is a $1 minimum, low 15-percent takeout, no consolation payouts, a carryover if no one selects all five winners, and is available to retail customers only.

    Gulfstream’s first race post Friday is 12:50 ET. First race Friday at Santa Anita is 4 ET.