Little Mike leads all the way in Canadian Turf

Little Mike has now won six of eight starts on turf (Guy Gustafson/Horsephotos.com) While Priscilla Vaccarezza’s LITTLE MIKE (Spanish Steps) couldn’t carry his speed over 1 1/8 miles in the February 5 Gulfstream Park Turf H. (G1), the front-running gelding found the flat mile of Sunday’s $150,000 Canadian Turf S. (G3) much more congenial. The 5-1 third choice in a field of 10, he ripped the firm-turf mile at Gulfstream Park in 1:32 1/5 and provided his loyalists with $12.80, $5.80 and $4.20. Little Mike hustled to the lead for Joe Bravo through an opening quarter in :22 3/5, but Twilight Meteor (Smart Strike) advanced to apply pressure through a half in :45 2/5. Shrugging off Twilight Meteor with ease, Little Mike pulled away on the far turn, getting six furlongs in 1:08 3/5, and enjoyed a 2 1/2-length lead in midstretch. The 5-2 favorite Yankee Fourtune (Yankee Gentleman) tried to improve his position without much success, leaving the late-running Society’s Chairman (Not Impossible [Ire]) as the only potential danger inside the final furlong.

Although Society’s Chairman inched a bit nearer, Little Mike still held a 1
1/2-length advantage at the wire. Yankee Fourtune, who checked in another 2 3/4
lengths back in third in his reappearance, was suffering his first career loss
on turf. Tannersville (West Acre) outfinished Nicanor (Dynaformer) by a head for
fourth, with Zifzaf (War Chant) a nose away in sixth. Rogue Victory (Victory
Gallop), Twilight Meteor, Dr. Smarty Jack (Smarty Jones) and China (Tale of the
Cat) completed the order of finish.

“I thought they were going awfully fast early, but the field was bunched, so
they were all going pretty fast,” winning trainer Dale Romans said. “Then, when
he opened up at the top of the stretch, I knew he would go on.”

“As long as he’s happy and flipping his ears around, how fast he’s going
doesn’t really matter,” Bravo said. “Time only matters when you’re in jail.”

Little Mike was registering his second career stakes victory. Two starts back
on January 9, he gutted out a photo-finish win in the 1 1/16-mile Ft. Lauderdale
S. (G3) here in what turned out to be his final outing for Allen Iwinski. The
four-year-old bay was then transferred to Romans. The aforementioned
Gulfstream Park Turf was his debut for his new barn, where he faded to sixth.
His resume now reads 12-6-2-0, $305,970, reflecting a sparkling 8-6-1-0 mark on
turf.

That was not the first trainer switch for Little Mike. He was initially
trained by William P. White, for whom he finished second in his debut prior to a
fading eighth in the Dr. Fager division of the Florida Stallion S. in 2009.
Resurfacing last summer with Iwinski, Little Mike was well beaten in two maidens
on the dirt, but came to hand promptly when trying the turf. He won his first
three starts on the surface, took runner-up honors in his stakes bow in the
November 21 Monarch’s Maze S. at Aqueduct, and returned to the winner’s circle
when overcoming trouble in a December 11 allowance at Calder.

Bred by Carlo E. Vaccarezza in Florida, Little Mike is a half-brother to
multiple stakes winner Little Nick (Tiger Ridge). Their dam, the winning
Wavering Monarch mare Hay Jude, has since produced a juvenile gelding named
Little Nicholas (Hook and Ladder) and a yearling filly named Priscilla Marie (Bustin
Stones). This is the family of Brazilian Group 1 victor Gold Pleasure
(Discover).

“We’ll discuss options, maybe Keeneland,” said Romans, referring to the
Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) on April 15. “There are a lot of good races at a mile,
but I think he’ll go farther if we ask him.”