Classic of Course (outside) missed in the Proud Man by a neck to Naughty Rascal. (screen shot)
For Classic of Course in Dr. Fager
– Joseph-Trained R Morning Brew, Neoequos Face Tall Tasks
– Rainbow 6 Estimated at $150,000 for Sunshine Meet Opening Day
David Joseph/ Gulfstream News & Notes
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Amy Dunne and trainer Patrick Biancone’s Classic of Course enters Saturday’s $100,000 Dr. Fager at Gulfstream Park coming off a troubled but very encouraging narrow loss in the Aug. 19 Proud Man Stakes.
The son of Awesome of Course, who encountered bumping at the start and in the stretch while finishing second in the Proud Man, doesn’t figure to have any easier time of things in the Dr. Fager, the first leg of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes in which he is scheduled to clash with Rated by Merit.
The Dr. Fager, a six-furlong stakes for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions, will co-headline Saturday’s program with the $100,000 Desert Vixen, the six-furlong first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series for juvenile fillies sired by accredited Florida stallions.
“There was a little bumping last race. He was bungling out of the gate and after that in the stretch, the winner bumped with him three or four times,” Biancone said. “It was a prep race for this. We’re going into the race full of confidence. I know there’s one horse in there that looks to be different, but he’s ready.”
Rated by Merit has been installed as the even-money morning-line favorite for the Dr. Fager on the strength of a brilliant 9 ¾-length debut victory at Gulfstream.
Classic of Course, rated third at 4-1 on the morning line, won at first asking, scoring a front-running 6 ½-length victory in a 4 ½-furlong event May 3 at Gulfstream. He was shipped to Saratoga, where he finished an even fourth in the 5 ½-furlong Tremont June 6.
“We gave it a try. To be honest, he wasn’t mentally and physically ready,” Biancone said. “I sent him up there a baby, and he came back a man. He learned a lot there and changed a lot.”
While Classic of Course has raced well at six furlongs and shorter, Biancone views him as a horse that will appreciate more ground.
“He’s been crying for longer distance, but we have to follow the program,” Biancone said. “He’s a horse who’s bred for and who would be better at a mile, or even two turns, but he has class. He has class for sure.”
Joseph-Trained R Morning Brew, Neoequos Face Tall Tasks
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr, fresh off clinching his 10th consecutive Gulfstream Park training title with 93 winners during the Royal Palm Meet, will be well represented in Saturday’s $100,000 Desert Vixen and $100,000 Dr. Fager in first-leg action of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series. R Morning Brew is rated second at 5-2 on the morning-line for the Desert Vixen and Neoequos is rated second at 3-1 for the Dr. Fager.
Both Joseph Jr.-trained 2-year-olds will be faced with the challenge of beating very highly regarded even-money favorites. Averill Racing LLC’s R Morning Brew, an impressive debut winner, will clash with Sharp Susan winner Win N Your In. Ian Parsard, Shining Stables LLC and Stefania Farms LLC’s Neoequos, a second-out winner, will do battle with Rated by Merit, one of the fastest 2-year-olds in the country.
R Morning Brew graduated over a sloppy Gulfstream Park track Aug. 9, when she rushed up to take the lead after breaking from the rail post position and went off to score by 4 ½ lengths.
“She kind of ran above expectations that day. We’re happy with her performance, and we’ll give her another try,” Joseph said. “She’s trained forwardly since. She improved from the race. We’re hoping for another good effort. She’ll need to step up, obviously. [Win N Your In] is the favorite, so she’ll need to step up her game.”
Neoequos hardly distinguished himself in his July 21 debut, in which he unseated his rider while encountering bumping out of the starting gate. The son of Neolithic, however, did distinguish himself in his second start, scoring by 2 ½ lengths after running five furlongs in 58.55 seconds. Runner-up Macho Music came back to graduate by 9 ½ lengths next time out.
“We thought he’d run well first time out, so to see him come to run well was gratifying. The horse he beat came back and won really well, so that advertises his form,” Joseph said. “But it’s a tall task. Rated by Merit was very, very impressive first time out. We’ll need to step up our game, but I feel like, if we can duplicate the last performance, we’ll be pretty close.”
Rainbow 6 Estimated at $150,000 for Sunshine Meet Opening Day
Friday’s 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is expected to grow to an estimated $150,000 on the opening day program of the Sunshine Meet at Gulfstream Park.
The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for seven racing days following an Aug. 17 mandatory payout.
The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4-9, featuring a five-furlong optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares on turf in Race 5. Joe Catanese-trained Trumpets returns from a freshening as the 3-1 morning-line favorite in a field of 10. The 3-year-old daughter of Neolithic won twice and finished second twice in her first four starts before turning in a subpar performance July 5.
The Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
