Twotwentyfive A gives Gold FSS record with Affirmed win; Holywell upsets Susan’s

Twotwentyfive A gives Gold FSS record with Affirmed win;
Holywell upsets Susan’s Girl

Stablemates Twotwentyfive A (outside) and Sing Praises ran one-two in the Affirmed (Kenny Martin/Adam Coglianese Photography) Twotwentyfive A produced a late surge to overtake stablemate Sing Praises by a neck at the wire to capture Saturday’s $252,000 Affirmed division of the Florida Sire Stakes at Gulfstream Park, giving owner/breeder Jacks or Better Farm and trainer Stanley Gold their respective 15th FSS successes. “You can’t ask for a better picture than that — it’s all polka dots,” said Jacks or Better Farm’s Fred Brei, whose purple and gold dots silks were worn by both winning jockey Abdiel Jaen and runner-up Ramsey Zimmerman. Twotwentyfive A’s late-charging victory in the seven-furlong Affirmed propelled Gold out of a tie with the late and legendary Frank Gomez to become the winningest trainer in FSS history. “It’s nice. It’s notable, and we beat a good man, may he rest in peace,” Gold said. “Someone will come and get me…but I hope I’m not done yet.” The photo finish also produced the third straight 1-2 finish in the Florida Sire Stakes this season for Jacks or Better and Gold, who teamed for 1-2 finishes in both the Dr. Fager and Desert Vixen on August 9.

Pacesetting Sing Praises, who won the Dr. Fager, looked
well on his way to capturing his second straight Florida Sire Stakes event
Saturday when Twotwentyfive A, who sat out the series’ first leg, suddenly
loomed as a most dangerous threat nearing the finish line.

With one late surge, Twotwentyfive A snatched victory away
from his tiring stablemate at the wire to prevail by a
neck in the Affirmed. Sing Praises, the 2-5 favorite in a field of eight
two-year-old offspring of Florida-base stallions, finished 1 3/4 lengths clear of Jaiden’s Best.
Boozin Time, Of Course, Vespertini, Bwana Dance and Wayne’s Way completed the
field under the wire following the scratches of Jack’s Comprise, Keyed for Speed
and Rockinatten.

Twotwentyfive A , who was sent to the starting gate as the
9-2 second choice, brought one-race experience into the Affirmed, having
captured an August 3 maiden by 3 3/4 lengths at Gulfstream. The Awesome of
Course chestnut now banked $178,053 lifetime.

“I liked the way he ran in his debut, and he’s been working
really good. I had a lot of faith in him,” Jaen said. “The last hundred meters,
I saw the other horse (Sing Praises), and it looked like he was getting tired.
That’s when I thought I’d get there.”

Gold watched the final yards Saturday with somewhat mixed
emotions.

“You just watch. I cheer for both of them. A dead-heat
would have been nice,” said Gold, who also saddled Dr. Fager runner-up Of Course
for a fifth-place finish in the Affirmed. “You just watch and you’re happy and
sad at the same time.”

Gold said both Twotwentyfive A and Sing Praises were likely
to return in the Florida Sire Stakes finale, the $350,000 In Reality, at
Gulfstream on October 4.

Holywell just held the rallying Moment of Delight to take the Susan’s Girl (Leslie Martin/Adam Coglianese Photography) One race following the Affirmed, a nostril separated the top two finishers in the $259,500 Susan’s Girl — the second leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series’ filly division — and when the win photo was posted, it was a 40-1 long shot that got the nod. Tracy Pinchin’s homebred Holywell emerged victorious in the Susan’s Girl, making up for a poor showing in the first leg, the Desert Vixen, on August 9. Trainer Jose Pinchin had expected his filly to put in a strong performance that day, but those hopes were squandered when Holywell encountered traffic trouble at the race’s start. She was bumped and shuffled back immediately after breaking from the gate, was never able to make up the lost ground, and eventually finished sixth, 17 lengths behind that day’s winner, Leap Year Luck. “She ran really good (today),” Pinchin said. “Her last race, I expected her to run good, but she was interfered with. When she came out of the gate, she was turned (sideways). She got wiped out — almost got turned around.” That performance may have made Pinchin feel even better about his chances in the Susan’s Girl, because he felt his filly didn’t exert herself much in her Desert Vixen effort. “She came out of the race good,” Pinchin said. “She didn’t run (that day). She just galloped around.”

On Saturday, Holywell turned the tables on Leap Year Luck, who
had to settle for third, 3 1/4 lengths behind the winner and runner-up Moment of
Delight, who impressed in her second career start and stakes debut, closing from
almost six lengths off the pace to miss by a whisker. Awesome Ice, Jamie’s
Dancer, Evelyn’s Dream, Herecomesmisskitty, R Sassy Lass, Miss Amalita, I’m a
Good Looker, Media Rules, Standard Deal and Hangover Saturday completed the
order of finish.

“I wasn’t sure (if Holywell had won the photo),” Pinchin said.
“I’ve won two close races recently — last week I won one by a big lip and now
this one by a small lip. That’s just how it goes sometimes.

“She was working super and doing everything good,” he
added. “We had some confidence in her.”

Holywell benefited from a noticeably better trip Saturday,
breaking well and settling behind early pacesetter I’m a Good Looker. She then
took over the lead at the quarter-pole and carried it into the stretch,
separating herself from the field by two lengths. When Moment of Delight closed
in, she gamely held on under jockey Orlando Bocachica.

“I told Boca (Bocachica) to get the lead, and if he
couldn’t get the lead, to stay close,” Pinchin said. “He did what he had to do.”

“We were chasing the horse on the lead,” Bocachica
explained. “I kept asking, asking, and little by little she started to pick it
up. I just kept asking her to the wire. I thought I had it. I know the horse was
closing fast, but I thought she just held on.”

Holywell, a daughter of Exclusive Quality, also demonstrated that she can go a distance of ground
by successfully stretching out from six to seven furlongs Saturday. The next
objective will be the 1 1/16-mile third leg in the FSS series for fillies, the
$300,000 In Reality on October 4.

“She might like to go a little longer,” Pinchin said. “Her
sister won a 1 1/16-mile race at Calder, so hopefully she’ll get there. She’ll
definitely be in the next leg. She’s committed. We’ve got to try it.”

Holywell paid a healthy $85.60 to win while improving her record to 4-2-0-1,
$184,924.

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