Sunday marked the first victories for freshman sires Flashback and He’s Had Enough, both well-bred sons of Tapit and onetime rivals on the 2013 Kentucky Derby (G1) trail.
Hill ‘n’ Dale stallion Flashback got off the mark when Owning rolled by 2 1/2 lengths in his unveiling in the 2ND race at Los Alamitos. Owned by Reddam Racing and trained by Simon Callaghan, the 3-1 chance pressed the pace set by 8-5 favorite Hartel before stamping his authority. Owning covered 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.20 on the fast main track with Mario Gutierrez, while Hartel retreated to last.
The gray colt was bred by Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings and initially sold to Brad Grady’s Grand Oaks for $60,000 as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October. A profitable pinhook under the tutelage of Bobby Dodd, Owning worked a furlong in :10 1/5 at the under tack show before commanding $260,000 at OBS April.
Owning was produced by the winning Meridian Mama, a Forestry half-sister to multiple stakes hero and 2017 Arkansas Derby (G1) runner-up Conquest Mo Money. This is the family of Canadian champion Serenading and Grade 1 victor Brilliant Speed. Owning’s third dam, Grade 1-placed multiple stakes winner Daijin, is a full sister to 1997 Belmont Stakes (G1) and Haskell (G1) hero Touch Gold, and their half-brother is Canadian Hall of Famer With Approval.
Flashback, a younger full brother of multiple Grade 1 vixen Zazu, rapidly emerged as a top Derby contender for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. After an impressive premiere at old Hollywood Park, the Gary and Mary West runner followed up with a 6 1/4-length rout in the Robert B. Lewis (G2). But Flashback was then overturned at even-money in the San Felipe (G2) and Santa Anita Derby (G1), finishing second in both, and injury knocked him off the trail. Back in action late in the season, he was a close runner-up in the Damascus and fourth in the Malibu (G1) before heading to the sidelines again. Flashback returned from an eight-month layoff, placing third in the Ack Ack (G3) in his final start, and retired with a 7-2-3-1 record and earnings of $405,730.
Out of the winning Mr. Greeley mare Rhumb Line, Flashback is also a half-brother to stakes winner Corinthian’s Jewel and Group 2-placed Art Princess, the dam of Japanese stakes-placed Tap That (by Tapit). Full sister Zazu has become a graded producer in Japan, with her daughter Arusha placing in the Daily Hai Queen Cup (G3) in Tokyo back in February. Another full to Zazu and Flashback, Star of Sapphire, is the dam of Hush Writer, beaten a neck in third in the June 17 Prix Hocquart (G2).
Flashback stands at Hill ‘n’ Dale near Lexington, Kentucky, for a fee of $5,000, stands and nurses (or $7,500 payable from proceeds).
Earlier in Gulfstream Park’s 1ST Race, former Reddam colorbearer He’s Had Enough registered his first winner courtesy of Midwest Thoroughbreds’ Garbar Boy. The 8-5 favorite on the drop from maiden special to the $35,000 maiden claiming level, the Armando de la Cerda trainee was also going dirt to turf and stretching out. Garbar Boy tracked in second for jockey Jeffrey Sanchez, rallied to overtake the leader by a half-length, and finished about 7 1/2 furlongs on the firm course in 1:34.01.
Bred by Karen J. Silva in Florida and purchased for $40,000 as an OBS October yearling, the gray gelding debuted with a sixth in a 4 1/2-furlong maiden for state-breds on June 2. Garbar Boy is a half-brother to current multiple stakes winner and Grade 3-placed Strategic Dreams. Their dam, the winning D’wildcat mare D’fashion, is in turn a half to Grade 2 scorer Express Tour.
He’s Had Enough, who broke his maiden at first asking at Del Mar, came closest to stakes glory in the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) when just missing by a head to champion Shanghai Bobby. Trained by Doug O’Neill, He’s Had Enough compiled a mark of 11-1-1-2, $492,910, reflecting a distant third in Flashback’s Lewis as well as the show spot in the Sam’s Town at Delta Downs.
With Broodmare of the Year Courtly Dee being his third dam, He’s Had Enough descends from the all-star family of Althea, Green Desert, and Bayern. He is out of the stakes-winning Dixieland Band mare Amelia, making him a full brother to Japanese Grade 2 vixen Rabbit Run. He’s Had Enough is a half-brother to four other graded performers – multiple Grade 2 queen Rainha Da Bateria and Grade 3 scorers Assateague, Kindergarden Kid, and Asakusa Genki.
The eight-year-old stallion stands at Woodford Thoroughbreds near Reddick, Florida, for $5,000 live foal (stands and nurses).
