Private Thoughts, Lauren King Photo
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Bargain buy Private Thoughts, who has turned an $11,000 investment into $263,274 in purse earnings through 15 starts, looks to keep a perfect season intact and extend his win streak to four races in Sunday’s $70,000 Empire Builder overnight handicap at Gulfstream Park.
The Empire Builder, scheduled for one mile on the turf course, highlights an 11-race program that begins at 12:10 p.m.
Trained and co-owned by Ron Spatz with David Romanik, Private Thoughts capped his 3-year-old season with a win on the all-weather Tapeta course and a second while facing older horses on the turf last fall. The 4-year-old Neolithic gelding went unraced for 279 days before returning with a half-length victory at the course and distance Aug. 1, an effort that didn’t surprise his trainer.
“Not at all. He was really training fantastic and he matured. His stride galloping was much better. He showed himself right up to that first race back,” Spatz said. “He had a slight injury we had to take care of, and we did, and he’s come back even better. He hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s never been better.”
Private Thoughts has been a model of consistency over his career, finishing third or better 11 times with seven wins. Spatz can only recall one poor race, an optional claimer last August where his horse wound up sixth, beaten 14 lengths.
“He kind of hopped out of the gate,” Spatz said. “He did that a lot when he was young and you had to just hustle him a little bit and put him right in stride. When that didn’t happen, he didn’t run well.”
Private Thoughts will cut back after back-to-back victories going 1 1/16 miles, one each on the Tapeta and turf, the latter a determined head triumph over Relampago Verde in the Oct. 4 Jet Propulsion overnight handicap under jockey Leonel Reyes, who has been board for all three races this year and four of his seven career wins.
“He knows him,” Spatz said. “The other day when he won I said, ‘Man, he cut it close.’ And he said, ‘You know what? He just kind of loafs a little bit when he can’t feel anybody pressing him and when he felt that other horse, he jumped back into the bit again.’ Even though the other horse had the momentum, he never thought the other horse would get by him.”
Spatz purchased Private Thoughts in March 2023 and his modest investment returned immediate dividends when the bay debuted with a front-running maiden special weight triumph against fellow Florida-breds sprinting six furlongs on Gulfstream’s main track. After a fifth in the Juvenile Sprint, he has been on turf or Tapeta ever since.
While Private Thoughts’ British-bred mare, Love Itself, went unraced, Neolithic was third in three Grade 1 races including the inaugural 2017 Pegasus World Cup, and earned nearly $2.3 million in purses in 12 starts.
“He’s an interesting horse,” Spatz said. “I bought him out of a 2-year-old sale, very inexpensive. I liked his looks, and in his pedigree on the dam’s side he’s got three European champions. He looked like he should be grass. We didn’t know much about Neolithic yet, but we had high hopes. He was cheap so I took a shot.”
Reyes and Private Thoughts will have to overcome outermost Post 12 against a field that includes Relampago Verde, Lorenz, Just a Photo and Prevent, respectively second through fifth in the Jet Propulsion; Kalik, winner of the 2023 Pennine Ridge (G2) who gave trainer Sebastian Pulgarin his first career win Oct. 4 at Gulfstream; 2023 Hawthorne Derby winner Act a Fool; Anamnestic, third in the Jan. 25 Sunshine Turf at Gulfstream; I Know I Know, Tee At One, and Grade 3-placed Sherlock’s Jewel and Divin Propos.
“Post 12 is tough,” Spatz said, “but I have no place else to go and he’s doing well so we’re going forward.”
Saturday’s Rainbow 6 Estimated at $150,000; Mandatory Sunday
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is estimated to reach $150,000 for Saturday’s 11-race program at Gulfstream Park which will also have five-figure carryovers in the Late Pick 5 and Super Hi-5 wagers.
First race post time is 11:55 a.m.
The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for seven consecutive racing days following multiple mandatory payouts of $1,872.46 Oct. 12.
In the Rainbow 6, the carryover 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 usually goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
On mandatory payout days the entire Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is disbursed to the bettor or bettors with the most winners in the wager’s six-race sequence. Another mandatory payout is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 2, when the jackpot pool is expected to reach $1 million if not solved beforehand.
Saturday’s sequence spans Races 6-11 and opens with the $75,000 Armed Forces for 2-year-olds scheduled for one mile on the grass led by 8-5 program favorite Teleport from Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. The finale is the $75,000 Showing Up for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles where multiple stakes-placed Jimmy’s Dailys is entered to make his grass debut against Aug. 2 Bear’s Den winner Layabout and Souper Forces, undefeated in two starts.
Crafty Collector’s $124.60 upset of the $75,000 Cellars Shiraz in Friday’s Race 10 finale also created carryovers of $86,818.27 in the 50-cent Late Pick 5 (Races 7-11) and $11,989.98 in the $1 Super Hi-5 (Race 11).
Crafty Collector Springs 61-1 Upset in $75,000 Cellars Shiraz
Ad Hoc Stable Inc.’s Crafty Collector Rallied from off a hotly contested pace to register a 61-1 upset victory in Friday’s $75,000 Cellars Shiraz Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
The Gerald Bennett-trained daughter of Collected earned her first stakes victory in the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies under a well-judged ride by Edwin Gonzalez.
Multiple stakes winner Starship Impulsive, who was sent to post as the 4-5 favorite in a field of nine, broke alertly to take the lead going into the first turn while under pressure to her outside by Phoenix of Wit, who went on to take the lead heading into the backstretch. Phoenix of Wit and Starship Impulsive continued to tussle while completing a half-mile in 45.89 seconds.
Stalker Mischief in Motion took complete command leaving the backstretch and appeared on her way to victory while opening a big lead at the top of the stretch. However, Crafty Collector suddenly loomed in mid-stretch and caught the tiring Mischief in Motion nearing the finish line.
Crafty Collector prevailed over Mischief in Motion by a length. Ramsey Pond finished third, another 1 ¼ lengths back.
Notes: Jockey Emisael Jaramillo registered back-to-back wins aboard Insolenta ($5.40) in Race 4 and Blaze of Color ($4.80) in Race 5 and completed his hat trick on Secret Revenge ($44.80) in Race 7 … Insolenta marked the first training victory for Nick Tomlinson, former longtime assistant to Hall of Famer Mark Casse.
