For the fourth time in the last four seasons, Bad Debt shipped to south Florida to win a restricted stakes on the grass during the tail end of the season. In 2011 and 2012, it was the Bonnie Heath Turf Championship at Calder. Last year, it was the inaugural Sunshine Millions Turf Preview at Gulfstream Park. And on Saturday, Bad Debt successfully defended that title, doing so over familiar ground at Gulfstream Park West (formerly known as Calder) when rallying to a hard-fought and popular half-length decision over Tryer in the $100,000 Sunshine Millions Turf Preview.

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The victory was the first for Bad Debt, a 7-year-old son of Grand Reward, since his even more impressive 6 1 /2-length triumph in the 2013 Florida Millions Turf Preview. He had finished third in both the Grade 3 Tropical Turf Handicap to close out his 2013 campaign and Sunshine Millions Turf to kick off the current season.

Trainer David Jacobson claimed Bad Debt away from owner Robert Leibner and trainer Michael Trombetta for $80,000 out of a fourth-place finish early this summer at Belmont Park. But Bad Debt’s former owner and trainer were fortunate to win a five-way shake to get him back again for $62,500 six weeks later at Saratoga.

“It was like losing the family dog,” Trombetta said of losing Bad Debt via the claim box four months earlier. “We had him for a long time, and we were glad to get him back. This has been our target each season. He’s won it now each of the last four years.”

Bad Debt, who was ridden to victory by Paco Lopez, rated six lengths off the early pace set by Breitling Flyer in the 1 1/16-mile Turf Preview, rallied widest to challenge the leaders entering the stretch, gained command leaving the furlong grounds then withstood a final surge from Tryer.

The latter, making his stakes debut, nearly returned quick dividends for owner-trainer Milt Wolfson, who haltered Tryer for $30,000 just five weeks earlier. Breitling Flyer finished a tiring third in a scratch reduced field of seven older turf specialists.

Bad Debt paid $3.20 after completing the distance in 1:41.92 over the firm course. “They were playing a little cat and mouse up front, and it made me a little nervous, but he got it done,” Trombetta said when asked about the trip.

Swinger’s Party wins Distaff Preview Stakes

Swinger’s Party kicked off Saturday’s rich Sunshine Millions Preview program with a three quarter length triumph over the 16-1 Flutterby in the $100,000 Distaff Preview Stakes. Don’tcallmecharley finished nearly four lengths further back in third.

Devil’s Cave, one of two horses saddled in the race along with the winner by trainer Marty Wolfson, finished a tiring and well-beaten fifth as the 7-5 choice.

Swinger’s Party, a 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, had been idle since finishing far back after setting the pace in the Grade 3 Shuvee Handicap on July 27 at Saratoga. She had won two of her three previous starts over the Gulfstream Park West strip with her lone loss a second-place finish in the Nancy’s Glitter Handicap in June.

Swinger’s Party raced a mile in 1:40.59 over the fast track and returned $10.40.

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Brave Dave launched his career with a 1 1/4-length triumph over Singanothersong going six furlongs here on June 30. Brave Dave shipped north for the summer shortly after his debut, finishing fourth after drifting wide off the final turn in Saratoga’s Grade 2 Sanford before winning the Grade 3 Sapling earlier this month at Monmouth Park.

With regular rider Paco Lopez aboard, Brave Dave broke in stride and quickly opened a clear lead, controlled the pace under confident handling, and was never seriously menaced through the stretch. Sr. Quisqueyano rallied wide to narrowly outfinish Singanothersong for second while suffering his second straight setback after opening his career with three consecutive wins.

Brave Dave, a homebred son of Put It Back, is trained by Eddie Plesa Jr. for his wife, Laurie, and David Mellin. He completed six furlongs in 1:11.51 and paid $3.40.

“There were a couple of legitimate horses in this field,” said Plesa, who viewed the race from his summer base at Monmouth. “It wasn’t like we were coming down there to just take the money. And to watch him perform like this against a group like that makes me all the more confident and validates what I’ve thought about this colt all along.”

Plesa said it is unlikely Brave Dave would be pointed for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint.

“He’s not Breeders’ Cup nominated so it doesn’t really make sense to supplement him into the race,” said Plesa. “It’s a long winter, there are a lot of big races at Gulfstream. And at some point we’ll see if we can stretch him out. I don’t know when I want to do that, but one of these mornings you’ll see him have one of those easy mile works and then we’ll see what’s available.”

Dreaming of Sophia wins stakes debut in Cassidy

Dreaming of Sophia made her stakes debut a winning one, edging away to a two-length victory over the late running Touch Magic in the Cassidy.

Dreaming of Sophia, a homebred daughter of Lewis Michael owned by Frank Calabrese, benefitted from a dream trip under jockey Manoel Cruz. Dreaming of Sophia stalked the early pace of longshot Magical Madam, readily took command leaving the turn, lugged in briefly while well clear approaching the eighth pole, and was not seriously threatened thereafter.

Jewel in the Sky, the 2-1 favorite, was never a factor and finished ninth in a field of 10.

Touch Magic, undefeated in two previous starts, rallied from last after the opening quarter-mile to finish second, a head before the wide-running Crumb.

Trained by Luis Ramirez, Dreaming of Sophia covered six furlongs in 1:12.81 over the fast track and returned $6.40 for her second victory in three career starts.

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The four-year-old Shamardal filly covered 1 1/8 miles on soft turf in 1:52.82 to win by a neck over runner-up Trip for A. J.

“Usually, you would be concerned about soft ground, but in her case I was rather pleased that it came up that way,” winning trainer Roger Attfield said. “She’s handled it well before and did today. She was a very slow-maturing two-year-old but is just now coming around to be a nice filly. I believe she’ll go longer distance when we ask her.”

Denomination led through six furlongs in 1:17.47 before yielding the lead to Trip for A.J. in early stretch. Oregon Lady launched her bid from third entering the stretch and was able to edge Trip for A. J. for her fifth win from 12 starts.

Bred in Ireland by Joan Murphy, Oregon Lady is one of three winners from as many starters from the Gone West mare Oregon Trial and comes form the family of champion Rhythm, Grade 1 winner Frost Giant, and stakes winner and sire Mutakddim.

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Manicero, a son of Mass Media, won for the sixth time in his last seven starts, his lone setback during that period coming in the Grade 2 Hutcheson last winter at Gulfstream Park. Manicero is trained by Leo Azpurua Jr. for his father, Leo Azpurua Sr. and was ridden to victory by Paco Lopez. The In Summation was the fifth stakes win of his career.

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Paco is the nickname for Pascacio Lopez, a 22-year-old native of Mexico who is gaining attention for running away with this season’s riding title and leading the country’s apprentice jockeys in wins. As of Sept. 9, he had 171 wins—including 141 at Calder (28%) in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Lopez is getting rides and winning on many top horses, while also drawing some controversy, with an aggressive style he developed as a Quarter Horse rider in his native country.

“I began with Quarter Horses when I was 12, and I learned the feel of how horses would run,” he said.
Lopez has “natural instincts” that many young riders lack when they come to the United States, said Bill White, who has won 15 Calder training titles.

That includes what White calls ability to find openings in races and “bravado” to seize them.

However, some of Lopez’ tactics have led stewards to issue suspensions—including a 30-day ban he has appealed to the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering.

Lopez has missed 30 Calder days due to suspensions, and also has appealed a five-day suspension from July.

On Aug. 4, stewards suspended Lopez 30 days for what they called careless riding in a race the previous day. Even though no objections or inquiry were filed, they penalized him for bearing in on a horse after he twice looked at the other jockey, said state steward Rene Riera Jr.

The Florida DPMW expects to issue a decision “soon” on Lopez’ latest appeal but has not set a date, said its spokeswoman Alexis Antonacci.

Lopez said a suspension may have been warranted, but added that he feels “30 days is not justified.”

Lopez was born on a farm in Mexico’s Veracruz state. He left home at 12 to work on a ranch, where he began riding Quarter Horses.

In 2006, he moved to the U.S. to “follow my dream of riding Quarter Horses” and make money doing it.

He worked on a ranch near West Palm Beach, Fla., and rode Quarter Horses in private weekend races.

In 2007, friends who worked at Calder brought Lopez to Palm Meadows, Magna Entertainment’s training center near Boynton Beach. After impressing trainers in morning workouts, he began riding at Calder.

Lopez rode his first Thoroughbred winner July 13, 2007, at Calder. Later that summer, White referred him to agent Cory Moran, who has worked with top apprentices including 1998 Eclipse Award winner Shaun Bridgmohan.

Lopez had 30 wins at this year’s Gulfstream meet, tying for 11th place. He credits Edgar Prado for help and friendship.

“Whenever I got discouraged, Edgar would tell me ‘You have a good future,’ ” Lopez said.

Lopez’ list of Calder stakes winners includes Harold Queen’s 2-year old Big Drama, who won the Dr. Fager and Affirmed in the first two legs of the Florida Stallion Stakes.

Lopez lost his five-pound allowance for non-stakes Sept. 9. David Fawkes, Big Drama’s trainer, White, and Eddie Plesa Jr. said they will keep giving Lopez as many rides despite the loss of his “bug.”

The remainder of Lopez’ season, including candidacy for the apprentice Eclipse Award, could depend on stewards.
With 22 days left in the Calder meet he held a 139-91 lead in wins over Manoel Cruz. Calder’s Tropical meet will run from Oct. 23 through next Jan. 2.

Lopez will then ride at Gulfstream. A move to a northern track is possible later in 2009, Moran said.

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Calder leading jockey Paco Lopez, on his 23rd birthday, got a great gift when the rail opened up on the final turn, enabling Big Drama to slip past pacesetter Three Part Harmony and build an insurmountable lead in the stretch.

In the $400,000 My Dear Girl Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, favored La Chica Sensual took command at the top of the stretch and drew away in the final furlong for a 4 1/2-length win with Eddie Castro aboard.

Racing for the first time at a route distance in the 1 1/16-mile event, Big Drama defeated a large field while breaking from the rail. The Montbrook colt had to steady behind Three Part Harmony coming out of the first turn but was able to stay out of trouble the rest of the way. With Three Part Harmony racing off the rail on the lead, Big Drama was in position to exploit the opening and grab the lead coming into the lane. He drew off nicely under urging to post an easy win.

“I know this horse shows speed, but today the plan was to sit about third or fourth, maybe closer if the pace was very slow like it was,” said Lopez, who rode the dark bay in each of the FSS races. “The idea was that it’s a longer race than he has run before and we wanted to be sure to have something left for the stretch. I actually think he ran better today because we did relax early in the race as opposed to challenging the leader.”

Big Drama, who has now won four races in a row, began the FSS with a three-length win in the six-furlong Dr. Fager Aug. 16 at odds of 8-1. He followed that with a 3 1/2-length triumph in the seven-furlong Affirmed Sept. 6 as the second choice at odds of 8-5. In both of the wins, Big Drama was close to the lead while racing second before taking command.

“I really thought he’d be the favorite today,” winning trainer David Fawkes said. “But what surprised me was seeing Three Part Harmony want the lead and then holding us in there (on the rail). Whenever you have the favorite, they try to race ride you. But I think Manoel Cruz (aboard Three Part Harmony) knew that he was out of horse and allowed us to come up on the rail. (Big Drama) overcame a lot today and showed that he has a lot of guts.”

Three Part Harmony, who posted soft fractions of :24.48, :49.65 and 1:14.13, finished well to take second by 2 1/2 lengths over Edgemoor and Castro. Sincero finished fourth. Ambuscador was pulled up in the stretch and did not finish. Dryden, who stumbled badly at the start, was outrun early and was also pulled up in the stretch. He was removed from the track by van.

Big Drama joined FSS winners Smile (1984), Naked Greed (1991), Seacliff (1995), Express Tour (2000), and Sir Oscar (2003). The series started at Calder in 1982.

Owned and bred by Harold L. Queen out of the Notebook mare Riveting Drama, Big Drama began his career with a third-place finish against maiden special weights July 12 and has not lost since. His victory, worth $240,000, improved his bankroll to $410,250.

The winner paid $4, $2.80 and $2.10. Three Part Harmony, who also ran second in the Affirmed for trainer Jose Pinchin, returned $6.20 and $4. Edgemoor, coming off a maiden win for Eddie Plesa Jr., was $4.20 to show.

With the win in the My Dear Girl, La Chica Sensual came within in a head of sweeping the filly division of the Florida Stallion series for trainer Pablo Andrade and owners Jennifer Harries and Brenda Tabraue. She won the Desert Vixen by 8 1/4 lengths as the favorite Aug. 16, but was upset by a head in the Susan’s Girl by Aroma de Mujer, who ran 11th in the My Dear Girl.

“It’s a shame that she couldn’t win the ‘triple crown’, but that’s racing,” Andrade said. “We’ve worked hard to get this far. I think she’s the best 2-year-old filly on the grounds. I think she’s going to like the longer distances.”

La Chica Sensual, a daughter of Lightnin N Thunder–Lerma, by Unbridled, was making her first route try in the 1 1/16-mile My Dear Girl. She raced in eighth as Whatta Light, pressed by 56-1 shot Garter Belt, carved tepid quarter-mile fractions of :24.02, :49.12 and 1:14.68. La Chica Sensual advanced on the final turn while four wide, getting the lead from Garter Belt, who had taken over on the turn.

“She broke very sharp like she wanted to be on the lead, but then she got bumped a bit and lost some position and started to relax and fall back,” Casto said. “Once we reached the five-eighths pole, she got back on the bit and into the race. From there it was just a matter of letting her go ahead and run, so it all worked out.”

There was no challenge for the winner in the stretch as Trippi’s Greatstar, ridden by Paco Lopez, overcame a jostled start to gain the runner-up spot by a half-length over Exe and Charles Lopez. Garter Belt finished fourth. The winning time was 1:48.41.

The victory was the fourth in six starts for La Chica Sensual, who has never finished worse than second. The winner’s share of $240,000 boosted the gray filly’s earnings to $365,660.

Arthur Appleton bred La Chica Sensual, a $6,000 buy at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale in August 2007.

Sent off as the 13-10 choice in the field of 14, La Chica Sensual paid $4.60, $3.20 and $2.80. Trippi’s Greatstar, third in the Susan’s Girl for trainer Ralph Ziadie, returned $6.20 and $4.40. Exe was $10.40 to show in her stakes debut for trainer Edward Plesa Jr.

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Big Drama, a son of Montbrook out of the Notebook mare Riveting Drama, won the $100,000 six furlong Dr. Fager by three lengths Aug. 16. He came back to win the $150,000 seven furlong Affirmed by 3 1/2 lengths three weeks later. In both races, Big Drama was extending his lead at the finish. He has won three of his four starts–all at Calder.

The 1 1/16-mile In Reality will be the first race around two turns for Big Drama and eight of his rivals.

“With his breeding, the way he ran his last race and the way he trains we are confident that he can go the extra distance,” said David Fawkes, Big Drama’s trainer.

Fawkes expects that several horses “running late” could be Big Drama’s biggest threats. Big Drama, who can be expected to stalk early leaders, drew the inside post position.

“The way things change day-to-day here with the weather it is hard to say what that will mean, but under regular conditions I see no disadvantage to the one hole,” Fawkes said.

Paco Lopez, who leads Calder jockeys in wins, will ride Big Drama. He was aboard the horse in the Dr. Fager and Affirmed.

Challengers with late-running potential include Shade Tree Farm’s Three Part Harmony, Gilbert G. Campbell’s This Ones for Phil and J. Robert Harris Jr.’s Edgemoor.

Three Part Harmony, trained by Jose Pinchin, finished second in the Affirmed. This Ones for Phil, trained by Kathleen O’Connell, won Calder’s $60,000 Seacliff at one mile Sept. 6 and finished second in its $78,000 Foolish Pleasure Sept. 27. The Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained Edgemoor broke his maiden Sept. 27 at Calder, winning by 12 1/2 lengths at one mile.

Frank Calabrese’s Casey’s On Call is among the formidable shippers. The Wayne Catalano trainee won a seven-furlong allowance at Keeneland Oct. 4.

The In Reality is the companion to the $400,000 My Dear Girl–the 1 1/16-mile final leg in the Florida Stallion Stakes’ division for 2-year old fillies.

The races will conclude the 27th renewal of the series, which Calder and Florida breeders restrict to offspring of nominated stallions in Florida. Owners nominate stallions each year for $2,500 and make sustaining payments over 19 months to keep their foals eligible.

The My Dear Girl has a 14-horse field, and two also eligibles. It is headed by Jennifer Harries and Brenda Tabraue’s La Chica Sensual, and Guido Delatorre and Angel and Pedro Maestre’s Aroma de Mujer.

On Aug. 16, La Chica Sensual won the $100,000 six-furlong Desert Vixen, with Aroma de Mujer finishing third. The two fillies staged a stretch duel in the $150,000 seven furlong Susan’s Girl Sept. 6, with Aroma de Mujer beating La Chica Sensual by a head.
La Chica Sensual, a daughter of Lightnin N Thunder, is trained by Pablo Andrade and will be ridden by Eddie Castro. Aroma de Mujer, a homebred daughter of Trippi, is trained by Walter Rosas-Canessa and will be ridden by Manuel Aguilar. They drew post positions 10 and 13, respectively.
The field includes Ian Parsard’s Trippi’s Greatstar and Rustlewood Farm’s Black Russian, who finished third and fourth in the Susan’s Girl.

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