Diciassette. (Ryan Thompson)
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Green With MV Stable’s Diciassette weaved through traffic at the top of the stretch and accelerated through the lane to pass Wine Candy in deep stretch and go on to a popular one-length victory in Saturday’s $75,000 Proud Man at Gulfstream Park.
The Proud Man for 2-year-olds co-headlined an 11-race program with the $75,000 Sharp Susan for 2-year-old fillies, both sprinting six furlongs over a sloppy and sealed main track thanks to overnight and early afternoon rain.
Ridden by Jonathan Ocasio for trainer Patrick Biancone, Diciassette ($4.60) – whose name means ‘seventeen’ in Italian – relished a sloppy and sealed main track to remain unbeaten in two starts following a half-length debut triumph over Florida-breds July 20 at Gulfstream, also with Ocasio up.
“I told Jonathan to ride him like last time. There was no need to rush. Everyone was going to rush because people believe when it’s sloppy you need to be in front,” Biancone said. “I said with our horse to lay him on the inside where there will be no kickback and relax and try to come. He was a little bit stuck coming out at the quarter pole, but when you have a lot of horse you find a way to come out.”
Diciassette got away cleanly from his spot inside all but one rival in the field of eight but settled in third as Street Player was intent on the lead from the rail draw. Street Player remained in front leaving the backstretch with Wine Candy looming a threat to the outside and Ocasio staying put with Diciassette.
Ocasio tipped Diciassette off the rail rounding the far turn and attempted to swing around Wine Candy once straightened for home but found his path blocked by Trelawny. Instead, Ocasio steered back to the inside and set down for a drive that saw him pass tiring pacesetter Street Player and surge by Wine Candy late.
Khon Hahn, who broke last and trailed the field in the early stages, made a dramatic late run to be second, two lengths ahead of Wine Candy. It was three-quarters of a length back to Trelawny in fourth, followed by Fourth and Central, I’m Tuff Enough, Street Player and Copernium. Squire, the Royal Palm Juvenile runner-up and 9-5 program favorite, was scratched.
Diciassette is a $100,000 son of champion Mitole, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, and a grandson of another Grade 1-winning sprinter, Henny Hughes, who Biancone trained for most of his 2-year-old season. He leaned on daughter, Andie, who works as his assistant/exercise rider as well as an analyst for FanDuel TV, for some wet weather intel.
“We were confident because he had been working very well and everything was perfect. His health was perfect. But when you’ve just won first time out and you come back the second time in a stakes, it’s questionable. Plus, we had the slop,” he said. “I called Andie, and I asked her if she knew if Mitoles go in the slop. She said she talked to Steve Asmussen, and he said Mitoles go in the slop, so I said, ‘OK, we’re in good shape.’”
Biancone improved his record to 12-for-38 (31.5 percent) at the Royal Palm Meet, including wins in the Bear’s Den with Layabout and Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies with Lennilu. He also won the Kentucky Downs Preview Mint Millions Turf Mile in a 22-1 upset Aug. 2 at Ellis Park with Beach Gold – a 4-year-old colt that won his two prior starts at Gulfstream – and was second in the Royal Palm Juvenile with Squire.
“I am fortunate to work with people that invest in nice horses and have patience, and they let us do the proper job,” he said. “So far, so good.”
Diciassette, with Jonathan Ocasio, scores in the Proud Man Stakes for trainer Patrick Biancone. #GulfstreamPark #RoyalPalmMeet pic.twitter.com/gwfVzHzngm
— Gulfstream Park (@GulfstreamPark) August 9, 2025
Biancone does not have a next spot picked out for Diciassette, who was bred in Florida by Dominique Damico.
“We need to look at the book. He’s by Mitole and I trained his grandfather, Henny Hughes. He’s speed over speed, so I think he’s going to be a good sprinter,” he said. “But I think we’re going to let him age a little bit and take our time and have a good winter.”
Meanwhile, Biancone will continue to point Squire, who he co-owns with Amy Dunne, to the Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds by nominated Florida stallions which begins with the $100,000 Dr. Fager Sept. 6.
“Squire is good. He had been at the farm, and we gelded him, so he was a little bit short in training,” Biancone said. “We decided to run him to get him a little bit more forward, but it’s not a good experience when you run into this kind of track, and you cannot win. So, we decided to wait. Our plan is the three races for Florida-breds that start next month, so we don’t need to hurt him at the moment. We have plenty of time to work with. We’ll be ready for the sixth.”
