Gormley gets third winner from first crop; Cross Traffic’s 5-year-old son Capocostello continues to excel; Into Mischief progeny stellar
LEXINGTON, Ky.—Following Sea turned in a second straight eye-catching performance last Thursday, June 3, at Belmont Park, signaling bigger things to come for the 3-year-old Spendthrift Farm colt.
After being tagged a TDN Rising Star and earning a gaudy Beyer Speed Figure in his April 10 maiden special weight win at Oaklawn Park, Following Sea was odds-on in Thursday’s 6 ½-furlong allowance that included Reinvestment Risk, who was twice Grade 1-placed in 2020.
Following Sea, under Joel Rosario, was head-to-head with Wudda U Think Now as they sped through a :22.03 quarter-mile and :44.79 half-mile. Despite the scorching pace, Following Sea shook off his competition at the top of the stretch to pull clear under a hand ride. Completely geared down in the final furlong, he crossed the wire in 1:15.28, less than a second off the track record, over the “good” main track.
Interviewed in the winner’s circle after the race, trainer Todd Pletcher said a stakes race is in the colt’s immediate future.
“We talked about the Dwyer (G3, $250,000, July 5 at Belmont) and the one-turn mile next. I think the horse will stretch out,” Pletcher said.
Homebred Following Sea is out of the stakes winner Quick Flip, also the dam of stakes-place Inspeightof. Following Sea has earned $115,520.
Think Blue third winner from Gormley’s first crop
Top-five First-Crop sire Gormley got his third winner on June 5 when the 2-year-old filly Think Blue bested the boys in a four-furlong maiden special weight contest.
The winner, who was making her racing debut for owner/trainer Dawn Martin, won by nearly four lengths while drawing away convincingly in the final furlong.
Think Blue was bred in Kentucky by Khalid Mishref Alkahtani and is the first foal out of the More Than Ready mare Quick Thinker.
Gormley has three winners from six starters, second on the First-Crop list only to Caravaggio, whose six winners have come from 24 runners.
Cross Traffic’s Capocostello continues to set records
Capocostello won his fifth Grade 1 and set a second track record with his May 29 win in the Gran Clasico Presidente de la Republica (Pan-G1) in Panama.
The five-year-old son of Cross Traffic, who has won 11 of 16 lifetime starts while dominating his competition in the Central America country, could be headed to the U. S. for a summer/fall campaign.
Saturday’s race was contested at 1 5/16-miles. Capocostello and California Music were side-by-side through six furlongs, when soon after Capocostello began to pull away from the field. He was all alone in the stretch to win by 10 lengths in 2:09 4/5 seconds.
Capocostello was bred in Kentucky by Kidder and Cole and is out of the Successful Appeal mare Ad Litem. He is one of seven eight stakes winners for Cross Traffic, who ranks In the top five on the Fourth-Crop Cumulative Sire list by black type winners and black type horses.
7MA CARRERA SABADO 29 DE MAYO 2021 HPR CLASICO PRESIDENTE DE LA REPUBLICA
Sound Machine rides rail to win Musical Romance Stakes as Into Mischief reaches 22 stakes winners in 2021
Sound Machine gave Into Mischief his second stakes winner of the day Saturday with her victory in the Musical Romance S. at Gulfstream Park, coming just 30 minutes after Fulsome captured the Matt Winn S. (G3) at Churchill Downs.
The 4-year-old filly has faced some tough competition since winning the Glitter Woman S. in early 2020, and has made a good account of herself since, placing in both the Miss Preakness S. (G3) and Hurricane Bertie S. (G3).
She got back to her winning way Saturday with a daring inside move for the lead at the top of the stretch. After tracking the pace along the fence for the first half-mile, she shot through an opening with two furlongs to run and was never headed in the stretch, winning by 2 ¾-lengths in 1:17.74 for the 6 ½-furlongs on a fast track.
“She had a little trouble in her last race, but she didn’t fire her best race either. Today, we had her back in form. Early on it looked like she would get beat, but Edgard found room,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “Today, she showed a new dimension. She kicked in and showed a lot of determination.
Sound Machine, owned by e Five Racing Thoroughbreds, is now 3-4-2 in 14 starts and has earned $218,139. She was bred in Florida by Farm III and is a half-sister to stakes winner Forever Liesl.
Champion sire Into Mischief has accounted for 22 stakes winners this year, 10 of them graded. With 120 winners of 160 races to date in 2021, his progeny have earned in excess of $10.4 million.
Gulfstream Park May 29, 2021 Race 11
Spendthrift News
Photo: Following Sea, (NYRA)
