Dancing Buck draws off to win Saturday’s Elusive Quality in his New York return. NYRA Photo.

After a pair of runner-up finishes in graded stakes events at Santa Anita Park, Grade 3 winner Dancing Buck returned to his winning ways Saturday with a victory in the $150,000 Elusive Quality Stakes.

Racing over 6 furlongs on the turf in one of three stakes that highlighted the first Saturday card of the Belmont at the Big A meeting, Dancing Buck broke well and immediately took the lead to control the pace. The 6-year-old son of War Dancer opened more than a length on the field early before the other added pressure through the first quarter in :22.40.

Dancing Buck didn’t have it easy on the front end but kept his lead through the half in :44.60. He turned for home in front, putting away his early arrivals and bracing for a late run from American Monarch. That rival cut the gap but fell short by 1 1/4 lengths. Alogon finished another half-length back in third. Dancing Buck won in 1:07.58 over the firm turf.

“Manny (Franco) gave him a great ride,” said Michelle Nevin, who trains Dancing Buck for his breeders J & N Stables and Diamond M Stable. “He took advantage of (Nothing Better) not breaking and once he had control of the race, the horse was there for him.”

The Elusive Quality was Dancing Buck’s first victory since he took the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint back on Oct. 2, 2022 during the first Belmont at the Big A meet. Dancing Buck improved to 7-for-21 with five seconds in the Elusive Quality and padded his bankroll to $592,920. Included in those 21 starts are two stakes wins and five stakes-placings.

Dancing Buck spent the winter in Southern California with trainer Rick Dutrow before returning to Nevin’s barn in New York after his second in the Grade 3 San Simeon March 9. He also finished second in Santa Anita’s Grade 2 Joe Hernandez in late December.

“Having more recency on the other horses is always going to help,” Nevin said. “He loves this turf course, so we were excited to have him back.

Nevin said Dancing Buck’s next start could come in the Grade 1 Jaipur on the June 8 Belmont Stakes card at Saratoga Race Course.

A third-generation New York-bred, Dancing Buck is out of the multiple stakes-placed Catienus mare Frivolous Buck. That mare has produced four winners from six to race with Dancing Buck’s full sister, Mz Big Bucks, earning her own stakes victory in June 2023. Mz Big Bucks has been working regularly at Belmont Park as she prepares for her 2024 debut.

Frivolous Buck is one of two stakes performers for her own dam Terminal Buck, who produced multiple stakes placed Buck Mountain. Buck Mountain is also the dam of multiple stakes-winning mare Our Last Buck.

Frivolous Buck foaled a War Dancer colt named Shenanigans Buck last year for Elizabeth Jameson and was bred back to the stallion for 2024.

My Mane Squeeze keeps big week rolling for her breeder and co-owner Buck Butler in the Grade 2 Eight Belles Friday at Churchill Downs. Coady Media/Churchill Downs Photo.

By Tom Law

William “Buck” Butler won a maiden race Sunday at Aqueduct with homebred Mama’s Dream – who wound up claimed for $30,000 to add to the $19,800 he picked up from the purse – and figured the week couldn’t get much better.

Friday between raindrops at Churchill Downs in front of a packed pink-clad house on Kentucky Oaks Day, Butler went for a revision.

“This is pretty good,” he said after celebrating with new partners from WinStar Farm when My Mane Squeeze scored a mild upset in the Grade 2, $534,340 Eight Belles Stakes. The 3-year-old daughter of Audible won the 7-furlong Eight Belles under Luis Saez by 2 lengths from Impel over the sloppy and sealed track.

Butler, who bred My Mane Squeeze out of his Speightstown mare In Spite of Mama, said the Eight Belles ranked as his best win.

“This has got to be it,” he said. “My first graded win. Some of the others with offspring of my mares, with siblings … they were real good, too, but not like this. And it all goes back to my Mama Theresa. She was the only stakes placed horse I had so that’s where I started with her.”

Mama’s Dream, a 3-year-old by Freud claimed Sunday, is out of the Carson City mare Mama Theresa. So is In Spite of Mama, who has now produced a graded stakes winner in addition to the multiple stakes winner Rotknee. About 24 hours before My Mane Squeeze’s victory, Butler and his wife Loretta were on hand at Aqueduct to celebrate Rotknee’s win in the $97,000 Affirmed Success Stakes to open the Belmont at the Big A meeting.

An early-morning flight from New York to Louisville got the couple to Churchill with plenty of time, but when Buck Butler felt the heat and humidity that blanketed the area following overnight, morning and afternoon showers he wasn’t quite sure what to think.

“With the rain and the heat, I said, ‘I’m going home,’ ” Butler said. “But (Loretta) made me stay. We went down and saw her in the paddock and I was overjoyed when I saw her. She wasn’t feeling real good out at Oaklawn. She looked her old self out here.”

Eighth as the favorite in the Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes March 30 at Oaklawn, a defeat which scrapped any aspirations for a run in Friday’s Grade 1 Longines Kentucky Oaks, My Mane Squeeze went to the post for the Eight Belles as the 6-1 third choice behind odds-on choice Denim and Pearls and 9-2 second pick Impel.

Saez kept My Mane Squeeze in close pursuit of Asternia, Halina’s Forte and R Harper Rose as they scrimmaged through the opening quarter-mile in :22.46.

My Mane Squeeze inched up to third behind Asternia and Halina’s Forte through the half in :45.23. Saez kept her to the outside to that point and around the far turn before taking the lead turning for home.

“My horse handled the off track beautifully,” Saez said. “She traveled great the entire backstretch and was in a very comfortable position. You can tell by my silks that they are still clean and I think that helped her down the lane. We stayed out of all the kickback and she got stronger as we got closer to the wire.”

My Mane Squeeze, winner of the Franklin Square and Maddie May against fellow New York-breds to start her sophomore campaign, opened up a 1-length lead in midstretch and widened it to 2 at the finish.

Juddmonte’s Impel, third in the Grade 1 Central Bank Ashland last time out, rallied to finish third and was 4 1/2 lengths ahead of the 28-1 Asternia. My Mane Squeeze won in 1:22.85.

Mike Maker, who trains My Mane Squeeze for Butler and WinStar Farm, said the filly was in season during her trip to Hot Springs last time out. She acted up in the starting gate, dropped back to last of 10 early and finished a non-threatening eighth behind eventual Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna.

“That was out of character,” Maker said of My Mane Squeeze’s antics in the gate at Oaklawn. “We did some schooling and it looks like it paid off. Maybe the outside post helped, she wasn’t in gate too long. But the previous start just wasn’t her.

“I was happy the way she saddled, and then when she loaded in the gate and she was behaving I was happy, and then the way she broke it was like, ‘we’ll see if she’s good enough.’ ”

Maker and Butler, who took on WinStar as a partner after her victory in the February 18 Maddie May, said My Mane Squeeze earned a shot at Grade 1 company in the Acorn Stakes June 7 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.

My Mane Squeeze and Rotknee were foaled at Keane Stud in Amenia and they’re two of four winners out of In Spite of Mama.

In Spite of Mama is also the dam of the 6-year-old New York-bred Into Mischief colt Lookin for Trouble, was a winner and multiple stakes-placed for Butler and Maker. He earned $170,220. In Spite of Mama is also the dam of the 4-year-old New York-bred Bolt d’Oro colt Mama’s Gold, a four-time winner in 14 starts with earnings of $172,641; and a New York-bred 2-year-old filly by 2019 Preakness Stakes winner War of Will and a yearling full brother to Rotknee.

In Spite of Mama, a 12-year-old out of the Carson City mare Mama Theresa, went 3-2-2 in 17 starts for Butler and Maker from 2014 to 2016.

Butler bought Mama Theresa for $65,000 at the 2005 OBS April sale of 2-year-olds in training. She won six of 25 starts, placed in two stakes and earned $240,898 for Butler and Timothy Twomey and the late trainer Dominic Galluscio. In Spite of Mama is Mama Theresa’s second foal and a half-sister to five other winners, including Mana’s Dream and stakes winner A Freud of Mama, an earner of $399,818 who also finished third in the Grade 3 Matron Stakes at Belmont Park in 2019 for Butler and Maker.

My Mane Squeeze picked up $291,400 for her Eight Belles victory to boost her earnings to $604,110 from a record of 5-0-2 in eight starts.

Rotknee returns to the winner’s circle in Thursday’s Affirmed Success to kick off the Belmont at the Big A meeting. NYRA Photo.

Rotknee kicked off what could be a super weekend for William “Buck” Butler and his family with a victory in Thursday’s $97,000 Affirmed Success Stakes on Opening Day of the Belmont at the Big A meeting.

The 5-year-old homebred son of Runhappy topped four opponents in the 6-furlong Affirmed Success, run about 24 hours before his half-sister and fellow Butler homebred My Mane Squeeze runs in the $600,000, Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes on Kentucky Oaks Day at Churchill Downs.

Rotknee also opened a Belmont meet the same way he closed last year’s fall stand at Aqueduct, winning a stakes against fellow state-breds. He won by 1 3/4 lengths over Sheriff Bianco in 1:09.89 over the fast track. Manny Franco rode the winner for trainer Mike Maker, with Butler and his family on hand before a trip to Louisville Friday morning to catch My Mane Squeeze.

“I’ve never seen a bad step from him,” Butler said. “He’s been outrun before, other than that, he knows how to race. He knows how to race and has a heart. He’s got a big heart. I felt that coming down the stretch.

“I wish I could add something. Honestly, I was watching my grandsons as much as I was watching the horse. I had an absolute ball watching them. They come out with me occasionally and it is nice to be able to bring them along here.”

Rotknee, who improved to 10-for-19 with his sixth stakes victory, won last year’s Hudson Stakes on the Empire Showcase Day card to close the Belmont at the Big A fall meeting. Franco didn’t ride that day, nor in Rotknee’s victory two starts back in the Say Florida Sandy Stakes in late January at Aqueduct, but never felt like he was on anything but the winner.

“Yes. Definitely,” he said when asked that very question.

“I knew Excellent Timing, the horse outside me, he got speed, so I was thought he was going to do it [set the pace],” Franco said. “He never cleared me, so I just kept my position and my horse ended up on the lead before the half-mile. I was comfortable where I was.”

Rotknee led at every call in the Affirmed Success, clicking off splits of :22.39 and :44.97 before turning for home with an almost 2-length lead. He rolled past 5 furlongs in :56.93 and held off Sheriff Bianco’s late run. Donegal Surges finished another 2 ¾ lengths back in third with Excellent Timing and Thrill of It completing the field.

Rotknee earned $55,000 for his latest victory and pushed his earnings to $640,580. He also bounced back from a sixth in the Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap March 2 at Aqueduct.

“He had some tough competition,” Butler said of the Tom Fool. “He came back to visit the New York-breds and he’s pretty successful here.”

My Mane Squeeze ventures out of the New York-bred ranks for the second straight start in the 7-furlong Eight Belles, which goes as the ninth race on the Oaks Day card at 4:04 p.m. ET. The daughter of Audible finished eighth in the Grade 2 Fantasy last time after trouble behind the starting gate, but won three straight New York-bred stakes before that effort at Oaklawn Park.

Butler remains confident in the filly out of his Speightstown mare In Spite of Mama.

“I’m really excited [after the effort] we gave them last time, and I think we had an excuse with the acting up [before the Fantasy],” Butler said. “I’m very, very excited.”

Rotknee and My Mane Squeeze were foaled at Keane Stud in Amenia and they’re two of four winners out of In Spite of Mama.

In Spite of Mama is also the dam of the 6-year-old New York-bred Into Mischief colt Lookin for Trouble, was a winner and multiple stakes-placed for Butler and Maker. He earned $170,220. In Spite of Mama is also the dam of the 4-year-old New York-bred Bolt d’Oro colt Mama’s Gold, a four-time winner in 14 starts with earnings of $172,641; and a New York-bred 2-year-old filly by 2019 Preakness Stakes winner War of Will and a yearling full brother to Rotknee.

In Spite of Mama, a 12-year-old out of the Carson City mare Mama Theresa, went 3-2-2 in 17 starts for Butler and Maker from 2014 to 2016.

Butler bought Mama Theresa for $65,000 at the 2005 OBS April sale of 2-year-olds in training. She won six of 25 starts, placed in two stakes and earned $240,898 for Butler and Timothy Twomey and the late trainer Dominic Galluscio. In Spite of Mama is Mama Theresa’s second foal and a half-sister to four other winners, including stakes winner A Freud of Mama, an earner of $399,818 who also finished third in the Grade 3 Matron Stakes at Belmont Park in 2019 for Butler and Maker.

Spirit of St Louis returns a winner and against open company in Saturday’s Danger’s Hour Stakes at Aqueduct. Walter Wlodarczyk/NYRA Photo.

By Paul Halloran

Saturday’s Danger’s Hour Stakes at Aqueduct may have been the first foray into open company for Spirit of St Louis, but when you have stared City Man in the eye twice in your last three races – and beaten him once – how hard could it be?

As it turned out, not very.

Confidently handled by jockey Manny Franco, who was seeking his fourth straight win on the card, the Chester and Mary Broman-bred Spirit of St Louis swung wide on the far turn and rolled down the middle of the fresh turf course to win the $150,000 stakes for 4-year-olds and up.

“He can compete in open company,” said Franco, who has ridden the 5-year-old Medaglia d’Oro gelding in five of his eight races, winning four of them. “He’s a nice horse. I’m glad to be on him.”

Franco had Spirit of St Louis in sixth, well off the pace set by Heaven Street, who went a quarter-mile in :23.25 and a half in :46.35. He maintained that position before asking his horse to pick it up midway on the far turn and getting the response he was looking for.

“I cut the corner at the three-eighths pole and I had a lot of horse,” Franco said.

The winning margin was 1 3/4 lengths with a final time of 1:33.57, a track record over a course that was being used for the first time this year.

“He’s a hell of a nice horse,” said trainer Chad Brown, who also ran second with Equitize and last with pace-pressing Masen. “We gave him a little break and he’s really used his time off well to refresh himself. I couldn’t ask for anything more from his first race back. It was an excellent race for him.”

Spirit of St Louis was coming off a win over City Man in the Mohawk Stakes, after getting caught by the $1.2 million earner and Grade 2 winner two races prior in the West Point Stakes on New York Showcase Day at Saratoga Race Course August 27. That is one of only two blemishes on his record, the other coming when he ran second in a state-bred allowance in his second career start.

Purchased by Michael Dubb for $280,000 at the 2023 Keeneland April horses of racing age sale, Spirit of St Louis is a full brother to 2017 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner and New York-bred champion Bar of Gold. They are out of the Lemon Drop kid mare Khancord Kid, a Grade 3 winner who has produced five winning foals. Madaket Stables and Richard Schermerhorn bought in after the purchase.

“I’m just fortunate to have bought the horse,” Dubb said. “I knew when he was at the sale last year that he had all kinds of ability. He, to me, seems a lot better than just a restricted, state-bred type of New York-bred, but I’ll leave it to Chad to tell me what is next.”

After winning three of his first four starts, Spirit of St Louis, a $300,000 Keeneland September yearling in 2020, tried state-bred stakes company for the first time in the West Point. He bounced back by taking the Ashley T. Cole Stakes, followed by a win in the Mohawk, with City Man second.

The Bromans bought Khancord Kid’s dam, Confidently, in 2000. In addition to Bar of Gold and Spirit of St Louis, Khancord Kid produced stakes-placed Land Mine and Homeland, as well as Im Just Kiddin. She has an unraced 2-year-old filly by Uncle Mo named Mo Khanfidence, and a yearling full brother to Bar of Gold.

The Danger’s Hour is named for a Grade 1 winner who made 21 of his 25 career starts in New York and was owned by Rokeby Stables, trained my Mack Miller and ridden by Jerry Bailey.

Sunday Girl improves to 2-for-2 with victory in Sunday’s Park Avenue division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes at Aqueduct. NYRA Photo.

Sunday Girl ran to her odds and added another stakes winner to three-time leading New York sire Central Banker’s resume with a victory in Sunday’s $200,000 Park Avenue division of the New York Stallion Series at Aqueduct.

The 3-year-old filly, fresh from an eye-catching debut victory February 10 at Aqueduct, rolled to a 3-length victory in the 6 1/2-furlong Park Avenue under Katie Davis. Owned by Mitre Box Stable, Clear Stars Stable and Eighth Note Stable and trained by David Duggan, Sunday Girl won in 1:16.91 as the 6-5 favorite in the field of eight.

“I gave her [Davis] no instructions,” Duggan said. “I knew she [Sunday Girl] was going to be a little bit sharper again and she had a clear trip on the outside. She had to pass the test today and she did that. The question mark going in was seasoning and she passed that test.”

Longshot Bustin Time took the early initiative in the Park Avenue, setting the pace through the opening quarter-mile in :22.36 with Davis and Sunday Girl content to track from her outside down the backstretch.

“Honestly the first time she ran, she broke great, but she was more, ‘What’s going on?’ kind of thing,” Davis said. “She broke out of the gate and was like ‘what do you want me to do,’ but she was nicely in my hands. Today, the post really helped us nicely and I got to take advantage of the outside post and being where I wanted to be and she was game.

Sunday Girl pulled Davis to the lead around the bend and approaching the half in :45.18. In control coming off the turn, Sunday Girl spurted away in the stretch as My Shea D Lady, Fast and Frisky and Sohana tried to cut into her advantage. Sunday Girl switched leads late and held off her rivals in hand, cruising under the wire as her sire’s 13th blacktype winner.

“I knew warming up,” Davis said about when she knew Sunday Girl was ready. “The pony guy goes, ‘Oh my god’ and I go, ‘Oh, I know, if you want to stop galloping, I’m good, we can keep her calm and relaxed.’ A filly like that the best thing you can do is keep their heart rate down and let them know it’s OK.”

My Shea D Lady, a stakes winner in her final start of 2023, finished second in her 3-year-old debut and led a 2-3-4-5 finish for her sire Solomini with Sohana third, Fast and Frisky fourth and Handle On You fifth.

Sunday Girl collected $110,000 for her connections in the Park Avenue to boost her earnings to $148,500. Duggan said Sunday Girl could show up next in the $125,000 Bouwerie Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-old fillies on the Sunday, June 9 card of the Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga Race Course.

“You roll on to the next challenge that they give us which will probably be the Bouwerie at Saratoga,” he said. “If she gets seven-eighths – there will be a different type of horse coming in there, so with a little more time and maturity you’d like to think that you’re going to improve again. I don’t think she needs to improve a whole lot but that was quite a nice performance today.

“The punches are going to get tougher now. I’m very realistic. You’re in a good position going into the next stake. If she holds form or improves a little bit, she’ll be right there.”

Sunday Girl brought the highest price for a New York-bred in the open portion of the 2022 OBS October yearling sale on a bid of $43,000 from Kathryn Martin. Mitre Box Stables purchased her for $100,000 about seven months later at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale, out of the de Meric Sales consignment.

Bred by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds LLC and Spruce Lane Farm and foaled at McMahon of Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, the chestnut filly is out of the winning Harlan’s Holiday mare Lady Daphne.

Sunday Girl is a half-sister to Lady Jasmine, a New York-bred daughter of Cairo Prince also bred by McMahon and Spruce Lane who won her debut in 2022 at Saratoga Race Course. She’s earned $79,068 in 11 starts. Lady Daphe is also the dam of the winning New York-bred Laoban filly Proper Grammar, who pushed her bankroll to $53,134 this month.

Lady Daphne, purchased by McMahon of Saratoga for $17,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, is also the dam of a 2-year-old colt by Solomini and a yearling full brother to the Park Avenue winner.

Central Banker, a three-time defending leading sire in New York, stands for $7,500 at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds in Saratoga Springs. Solomini also stands at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds.

Antonio of Venice rolls to another stakes victory in Sunday’s Times Square division of the New York Stallion Series at Aqueduct. NYRA Photo.

Antonio of Venice followed up on convincing stakes victory last month with another professional performance winning Sunday’s $200,000 Times Square division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes at Aqueduct.

The 3-year-old son of the late former leading New York-based freshman sire Laoban collected his third stakes victory in the Times Square, adding the 6 1/2-furlong stakes to his victory in the March 17 Damon Runyon and last year’s $500,000 Great White Way division of the NYSS.

Under regular pilot Manny Franco as the 6-5 favorite in the field of seven, Antonio of Venice won by 2 1/4 lengths over 2-1 second choice Doc Sullivan with 34-1 first-time starter Grand Opening third. Antonio of Venice won in 1:15.32 over the fast track.

“He looks like he’s improving every time,” said winning trainer Rudy Rodriguez, who co-owns the colt with Michael Imperio, Robert Cotrone and Hibiscus Stables. “The other day when I worked him in the morning, I looked at my watch and I said, ‘wow.’ This horse is just in a different league right now, so we’re just happy he keeps improving and hopefully keeps doing that.”

Franco, aboard for Antonio of Venice’s last four starts which include those three stakes victories, also noticed the improvement.

“I want to give all the credit to the horse, the team, and Rudy Rodriguez,” Franco said. “The horse is turning good at the right time. He’s improving every race he runs and you could see today that he just ran really hard. I’m just happy to be on him and part of the win.”

Bred by Cypress Creek Equine LLC, Antonio of Venice sold for $35,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling sale and for the same price at the 2023 OBS March sale. Antonio of Venice is the third foal out of Stella Performance, who also produced winning full siblings to the multiple stakes winner winner in New York-breds Modern Midas ($79,860 in earnings) and I’m Wide Awake ($158,603).

Stella Performance is also the dam of yearling New York-bred colt by McKinzie and filly by Keepmeinmind born February 18 in New York, and both bred by Cypress Creek Equine LLC.

A maiden winner at Saratoga Race Course in his third start, Antonio of Venice finished off the board in his first two stakes tries in Skidmore at Saratoga and Aspirant at Finger Lakes before a victory in the $500,000 Great White Way in mid-December. He started the season with a runner-up effort in the Rego Park in late January at Aqueduct before a 9 1/4-length victory in the Damon Runyon March 17.

The victory in the Times Square boosted Antonio of Venice’s earnings to $535,744.

Rodriguez kept the door open for several possible spots for Antonio of Venice.

“We’re going to enjoy the New York-bred, Stallion Series, maybe we take him to Finger Lakes,” he said. “Maybe we’ll take him to Saratoga, to Finger Lakes, and then try Saratoga again. We’ll see.”

Bustin Bay, less than a week removed from runner-up in Biogio’s Rose Stakes, wins the Sis City starter on NY Claiming Championship card at Aqueduct. NYRA Photo.

Winning Move Stable’s Bustin Bay, six days removed from a runner-up stakes effort that came just 10 days after an open-company allowance-optional victory, led the New York-bred contingent during Saturday’s New York Claiming Championship at Aqueduct.

Bustin Bay, a 6-year-old daughter of Bustin Stones, rolled to a front-running 2 3/4-length victory in the $75,000 Sis City starter for fillies and mares that started for a claiming price of $25,000 or less in 2023-24. Kendrick Carmouche rode the winner for trainer Linda Rice.

Bred by Robert Rosenthal, Peter Rosenthal and Martin Greenberg, Bustin Bay improved to 13-for-43 with nine seconds, six thirds and $740,490 with the Sis City victory.

Claimed by Rice for $45,000 out of a victory in a state-bred allowance-optional September 24 during the Belmont at the Big A meeting, Bustin Bay finished second in the March 24 Biogio’s Rose Stakes at 1 mile at Aqueduct. Racing on the lead in the Sis City at the same distance, Bustin Bay clicked off splits of :23.50, :46.39 and 1:11.24 en route to victory over Movie Moxie in 1:36.36 over the fast track.

Bustin Bay is one of three winners out of the multiple stakes-winning Frost Giant mare Frosty Bay, who is also the dam of New York-breds Frosty Invasion ($86,680) and Icey Cash ($24,447).

The Sis City victory also produced significant awards for Bustin Bay’s connections – $16,500 to the breeders, $4,125 to stallion and $8,250 to the owners.

The New York Claiming Championship card featured six starter allowance events at various distances. Sue Ellen Mishkin, a 5-year-old New York-bred daughter of Mohaymen owned and trained by Rice, also finished second in the $55,000 Videogenic on the card.

Set, a son of Oscar Performance bred by Blue Chip Bloodstock, wins Saturday’s Cutler Bay Stakes. Lauren King/Gulfstream Park Photo.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ and Gary Barber’s Set stayed undefeated Saturday with a victory in the $125,000 Cutler Bay to kick off the stakes portion of the Florida Derby Day card at Gulfstream Park.

Bred by Blue Chip Bloodstock, the son of Oscar Performance added the 7 1/2-furlong turf stakes to his victory at the same trip February 24 at Gulfstream. The 3-5 favorite in the field of seven, Set raced in second early under Emisael Jaramillo as King Julien set the pace. King Julien led by a length through the opening quarter-mile in :24.14 and a half-length through the half in :47.83 over the firm turf.

King Julien didn’t have much left to hold off Set around the turn as the New York-bred quickly challenged and took over by the time the field reached the stretch. The only pressure Set endured down the was from his own jockey’s urging with no serious challenges coming from the rest of the field. Set won by 1 1/4 lengths over Double Your Money in 1:28.10.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Barber purchased Set for $150,000 at last year’s OBS April 2-year-olds in training sale from consignor Gene Recio.

Trained by Mark Casse, Set is out of the Irish-bred Strategic Prince daughter Three Am Tour, who won three races in her career. Set is the second stakes performer for the mare, who is also the dam of the New York-bred stakes-placed Busy Morning. Overall, she has produced three winners from four to race.

“He trained really well going into his first race, and we were pretty high on him,” said Casse’s assistant Nick Tomlinson. “We weren’t 100 percent sure if he was fit enough but he still got there. He trained wonderfully again coming into this race. Jaramillo came into the paddock and said that there was some speed on the inside. I said, ‘It’s up to you. You know him best.’ He sat off them, made a nice run and kept on with it.

“He’s a lovely horse. … I think as everybody knows Graham [Motion] had him before us and he gave him a lovely foundation, so a lot of the credit has to go to his crew, as well. Lovely horse, bright future, and we’re excited to see what happens.”

Three Am Tour is out of a half-sister to the British stakes placed Falak with her granddam a three-quarter sister to top broodmare Maryinsky. The pedigree also includes Grade 1 Preakness Stakes winner and Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile winner War of Will among the 10 Grade 1 winners under Set’s fourth dam Minnie Hauk.

Three AM Tour produced a colt from the first crop of Hidden Lake Farm’s Galilean last year before returning to Oscar Performance for a full sibling to Set.

Stonewall Star, sixth in back-to-back starts in open allowance-optional races, returns to winner’s circle in Sunday’s Biogio’s Rose Stakes. NYRA Photo.

Horacio De Paz looked for answers when multiple stakes winner Stonewall Star turned in atypical performances in her three starts last fall and this winter since returning from a more than seven-month break.

He made a few changes with Barry Schwartz’s homebred daughter of Flatter, namely taking off blinkers for her morning breezes leading up to Sunday’s $97,000 Biogio’s Rose at Aqueduct. De Paz also took them off for the 1-mile stakes originally carded for Saturday but pushed a day later when New York Racing Association officials shifted the slate to avoid wet weather that blasted the region Friday and Saturday.

Stonewall Star, running without those familiar black blinkers she’d been decked out with in all 11 of her starts, returned to the form that landed her four victories in her first seven starts with a victory over Bustin Bay in the Biogio’s Rose. Ridden by Isaac Castillo, Stonewall Star won by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:36.51 for the mile on the track labeled fast.

“We worked her in her second work back (March 9) and took the blinkers off and she was on the inside – she galloped out really well,” De Paz said. “I figured stretching out would make the pace a little bit easier and it would be a good idea to take them off. She’s a sharp filly and a happy type of filly.”

Stonewall Star raced close to the early pace set by Security Code with 6-5 favorite Venti Valentine to her outside. That trio raced as a team through the opening quarter-mile in :24.35.

Security Code, winner of the Broadway Stakes by a neck last time out over Venti Valentine, still led 9-2 fourth choice Stonewall Star by a tenuous head through the half in :47.61. Stonewall Star put her head in front midway around the far turn and led Security Code by a head past the quarter-pole and 6 furlongs in 1:11.95.

Castillo let Stonewall Star out in the lane and she opened up a 1 1/2-length lead in midstretch as Security Code and Venti Valentine backed up. Bustin Bay, coming back after winning an open-company allowance-optional March 14 for trainer Linda Rice, made a run from fourth in the lane to land the runner-up spot. Venti Valentine finished third with Security Code fourth and Sweetest Princess fifth.

“She’s really kind,” Castillo said. “The trainer did a very good job to get the filly to relax before the race. I know the [other] horses were coming, but she feels so comfortable up there. When I asked her, she still had so much left.”

De Paz was pleased with the decision to remove the blinkers and also race Stonewall Star in the state-bred ranks for the first time since winning the Franklin Square Stakes last January at Aqueduct. The Biogio’s Rose also marked the first time Stonewall Star raced at the 1-mile trip.

“She was always a talented filly, we just had trouble bringing her back to form,” De Paz said. “Just letting the pace be a little easier back in New York-bred company [helped] and I figured she could stretch out. She handled 7 [furlongs] just fine, especially at Laurel and when we tried Keeneland [third in the Grade 3 Beaumont last year]. Isaac rode a great race, controlled, and just let her be where she was comfortable and not rush her. I’m very happy for her to come back.”

Bred and foaled at Schwartz’s Stonewall Farm in Granite Springs, Stonewall Star improved to 5-for-12 with a second and four thirds in the Biogio’s Rose. A stakes winner at 2 and 3 and an earner of $353,198, Stonewall Star is the fourth foal and one of three stakes winners out of the Proud Citizen mare Jonata.

Whatlovelookslike, a 5-year-old daughter of English Channel and finalist for champion New York-bred turf female honors in 2023, sports a record of 5-3-2 in 14 starts with earnings of $416,350 for Schwartz and trainer Todd Pletcher. Whatlovelookslike won last year’s Port Washington Stakes at Belmont Park and finished third in the John Hettinger Stakes during the Belmont at the Big A meeting.

La Fuerza, a now 8-year-old full brother to Stonewall Star, won three stakes carrying his owner and breeder’s black and white colors in 2018. He won four of eight and earned $261,610. Jonata is also the dam of New York-bred winner Citizen K, a gelding by Mizzen Mast with a record of 3-2-2 in 18 starts and a bankroll of $185,212.

A $100,000 purchase by Schwartz at the 2011 Keeneland September yearling sale, Jonata won two of 17 starts with five placings and $140,800.

Sweet Brown Sugar adds Sunday’s East View to her victory last season in the Shesastonecoldfox Stakes at Finger Lakes. NYRA Photo.

Richie Rich Racing Stable’s Sweet Brown Sugar made a significant improvement off her first try in stakes company on the New York Racing Association circuit with a victory in Sunday’s $100,000 East View for 3-year-old New York-bred fillies.

The daughter of Collected, fifth in the Franklin Square Stakes in mid-January for Finger Lakes-based trainer Paul Barrow, used a pair of preps in allowance-optional company for her second stakes victory Sunday. Sweet Brown Sugar won the 6-furlong East View under Jose Lezcano, coming up the inside on the far turn and drawing off by 4 lengths over Bernietakescharge.

“We’ve won a few stakes at Finger Lakes, but this is the first good horse we’ve had at NYRA,” said Barrow, celebrating his first stakes score on the NYRA circuit. “It’s unbelievable; it’s great. When you start training, you want to win these races. I’m a big New York-bred guy, so to win it with a New York-bred, it’s great.”

Sent off as the 6-1 third choice in the field of seven and just two weeks after winning an allowance-optional on a muddy track, Sweet Brown Sugar raced third early as Bustin Time and Bernietakescharge sparred through the opening quarter-mile in :22.48.

Lezcano kept Sweet Brown Sugar down on the inside heading into the far turn and slipped through an inside at the midpoint of the bend to take the lead. Sweet Brown Sugar led by a half-length after a half in :46.12 and spurted clear turning for home.

“She doesn’t like the dirt too much in her face, and I got lucky with [Bustin Time], she stayed way out and I was able to keep [her] face clean,” Lezcano said. “She responded and came up with a good race and is feeling very good. I had a lot of horse when I asked her.”

Sweet Brown Sugar, winner of the Shesastonecoldfox Stakes back home at Finger Lakes to closer her 2-year-old season, widened through the lane and won in 1:10.55. Bernietakescharge held second as the 4-5 favorite, a length in front of 8-5 second choice Caldwell Luvs Gold. Thirteen Red Flags, Bustin Time, Ruming and Soloshot completed the field.

Barrow was quick to credit Lezcano, aboard Sweet Brown Sugar in her last two races before the East View.

“If you watch the race, Jose did keep her very clean in the race,” he said. “It was key to her finishing. The rider made the difference in this case, and she’s improving. Masterful ride. When he’s on the inside like that, it’s very tough to keep them clean, but I thought he did a great job.

“My biggest concern was her getting trapped behind a wall of horses and the kickback and all that, for him to [have to] negotiate a way to get outside. But he was smart enough to stay inside and keep her clean.”

Barrow said he’d ship Sweet Brown Sugar back to Finger Lakes and “give her a little time off” after coming back on short rest to win back-to-back starts. Sweet Brown Sugar picked up $55,000 for the East View and boosted her bankroll to $150,500 from a record of 4-0-1 in six starts.

Bred by Chester and Mary Broman and foaled at their Chestertown Farm in Chestertown, Sweet Brown Sugar originally sold for $10,000 through the Sequel New York consignment at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. She was then offered as part of the Scenic Sales consignment at the 2023 OBS June sale and brought $32,000 from Nick Hines, agent for Richie Rich Stables.

Sweet Brown Sugar is the first and lone foal out of the Broman’s homebred Bodemeister mare Rachel’s Blue Moon, the winner of two of 11 starts and $97,096. Rachel’s Blue Moon is out of the Broman’s homebred multiple stakes-winning and Grade 1-place El Corredor mare Beautiful But Blue, who is also the dam of stakes-placed Montebello. Beautiful But Blue won five of 17 starts and earned $395,450. She’s out of the multiple stakes-winning Dixie Brass mare Beautiful America, who won six of 21 starts and earned $523,927 for the Bromans from 2002 to 2004.