ftboa.com • Tuesday & Wednesday • Dec 15 & 16, 2020 FEC/FTBOA PUBLICATION FLORIDA’SDAILYRACINGDIGEST FOR ADVERTISING Sweezey Following INFORMATION or to subscribe, please call ‘Jerkens Way’ to Antoinette at 352-732-8858 or Success at Gulfstream email: [email protected] Former Jimmy Jerkens Assistant Making Most of Opportunities In This Issue: PRESS RELEASE _________________ Lenzi’s Lucky Lady Wins Co-Feature at HALLANDALE BEACH, FL—Falling back Gulfstream Park on the knowledge he gained while serv- ing as an assistant to trainer Jimmy Bellocq and Leggett Selected For Joe Jerkens’ for three years, J. Kent Sweezey Hirsch Media Roll of Honor has been making a name for himself while competing in South Florida on a Journeyman Joyce Rides First Winner in year-round basis for the first time this Nearly Seven Years year. “We’re doing old school stuff with the Eagle Orb Looks to Step Up in Jerome cheaper horses and, I’ll tell you, it’s working,” he said. Fresh off a banner Gulfstream Park TrackMaster President David Siegel to West meet, during which he saddled 11 Retire at Year-End winners from 31 starters, Sweezey so far has four winners with three seconds and Gulfstream Park Charts two thirds during the Championship Meet at Gulfstream that started Dec. 2 Track Results & Entries and continues to March 28, 2021. “We’ve got a good group of horses. J. Kent Sweezey/COADY PHOTO It’s been a learning curve. What we have Florida Stallion Progeny List now are a lot of the lesser-level horses, the COVID thing was going on. I thought but they’re winners. We’ve got a barn this was the one place that was staying Florida Breeders’ List full of winners,” said Sweezey, who sad- open, would continue to run and had good purses,” Sweezey said. “I knew the dled Phat Man for a third-place finish to Wire to Wire Business Place Tax in Saturday’s $100,000 Harlan’s place, I thought it was a good time to Holiday (Grade 3) at Gulfstream. leave horses here year-round.” “They’re lesser-level horses. They’re not Sweezey, who had a larger string Click for Holiday Hours maiden special weight or allowance based at Monmouth Park during the horses. I’ve got a couple of those. The 2- summer, wasn’t able to be as hands-on year-olds we have did well in Jersey and with his horses at Palm Meadows, Featured Advertisers down here. I hope they keep going and Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in we get some fresh 2-year-olds coming Palm Beach County, as he would have Florida Department of Agriculture in.” liked. FTBOA Sweezey’s year-round success in “I expected to come down every cou- Journeyman Stud ple weeks and check things out and try to South Florida has been very much a case Ocala Breeders’ Feed & Supply of making the best of a very bad situa- grow my business a little bit, but with restrictions that were put in, we couldn’t Ocala Stud tion. Seminole Feed “When we stayed down here this year, See GULFSTREAM on page 3 Fred Burton Paving Back to Top Page 3 Phat Man/COGLIANESE PHOTO Gulfstream Continued from COVER travel like we wanted to,” he said. “I came down one time early on and had to quarantine for 14 days when I went back to Monmouth. I couldn’t keep doing that.” Sweezey’s horses were left in very capable hands with assis- tant trainers Steve Moyer and Eddie Azate, who also had pre- viously worked for Jerkens. “The same things I learned is the same stuff Steve Moyer learned. With Eddie it’s the same way. We all learned the Jerkens Way,” Sweezey said. “We just need to get the grooms to buy into it. We already know it works.” Sweezey grew up in Lexington, Ky., where his parents oper- ate Timber Town Stable. “I did the sales, foals and mares, and yearling prep. I did all that,” he said. Sweezey went on to work for trainer Christophe Clement for a year, before venturing to Southern California to work for trainer Eoin Harty for three years and returning east to serve as Jerkens assistant for three years. “As soon as I started at the racetrack, I wanted to work for the best people,” he said. “I wanted to win races. That’s what you get up for in the morning.” Sweezey went out on his own in 2017 and has saddled 128 winners, including Phat Man, who gave him the first graded- stakes success while winning the Fred Hooper (G3) at Gulfstream Park last January. Sweezey, who saddled Phat Man for runner-up finishes in last season’s Harlan’s Holiday and Gulfstream Park Mile (G2), is hoping to build on that success during the 2020-2021 Championship Meet and beyond at Gulfstream. “We’re big-time looking forward to the meet and we love Palm Meadows,” Sweezey said. “We’re always trying to pick up new owners. We’ve had some calls, because they see us down here. This is a constant. The good thing about South Florida is it’s a constant.” Back to Top Back to Top Page 5 Lenzi’s Lucky Lady Wins Sunday Co-Feature at Gulfstream BY BROCK SHERIDAN ___________ Making her second start for trainer Bob Hess Jr., and owners David A. Benson LLC and Jeffery Lambert, Florida-bred Lenzi’s Lucky Lady returned to her winning ways in Sunday’s eighth race at Gulfstream Park. The second-level, $62,500 allowance optional claiming presented a purse of $45,900 to the seven fillies and mares who went five furlongs on the turf. Making her first start in more than a year two starts back for trainer Kathleen O’Connell and owner Stonehedge LLC, the 3-year-old Lenzi’s Lucky Lady finished second to Reluctant Bride in a first-level, $75,000 optional claiming going six fur- longs on a surface labeled as good at Gulfstream on July 23. Although that was her first start since a sixth-place finish to Ceci Valentina in the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association Florida Sire Stakes Susan’s Girl at Gulfstream Park in August of last year, Hess and Benson dropped the $75,000 claim to acquire COADY PHOTO Lenzi’s Lucky Lady. A month later, Hess took Lenzi’s Lucky Lady to Charles Town for the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks going seven furlongs on Aug. 28, but she faded to finish eighth to winner Fly On Angel after pressing the pace into the turn. Sunday, Lenzi’s Lucky Lady went to the starting gate at 8-1 but left post four looking more like a favorite as she jumped to the lead under jockey Paco Lopez. FTBOA Holiday Schedule By the time she competed the first quarter-mile in a rapid :21.41, Lenzi’s Lucky Lady was a length-and-a-half in front of Christmas Lagertha and Spun Glass together in second and she continued to • The FTBOA, FEC offices will be closed Thursday, Dec. 24 and show the way through a half-mile in :43.92 and although Lagertha Friday, Dec. 25 for the Christmas Holiday. edged closer. Lenzi’s Lucky Lady ran down the stretch holding a • The Friday, Dec. 25 nor the Saturday-Sunday Dec. 26, 27 length lead and prevailed by a half-length ahead of Legartha at the issues will not be published in order for staff to celebrate finish in a time of :55.84 on the firm turf. Christmas Eve and Christmas. Legartha was a length better than Spun Glass in third followed New Year’s Day in order by Roman d’Oro, Sweet Yare N Dira, Miss Deplorable • The FTBOA, FEC offices will be closed Friday, Jan. 1 for the and Something Magical. Lenzi’s Lucky Lady won for fourth time in seven career starts New Year’s Day holiday. • The Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 2-3 issue of Wire to Wire will not be published in order for staff to celebrate New Year’s Day. See FLORIDA-BRED on page 7 Tampa Bay FSS Win Only Supplements Date Race Conditions Distance Purse 1-16 Pasco Stakes 3yo 7 fur. $125,000** 1-16 Gasparilla Stakes 3yo fillies 7 fur. $125,000** **Includes $50,000 Win Only Supplement for Florida Sire Stakes Eligible Horses, and $25,000 Win-Only Florida-bred Supplement **Closing Jan. 2 Back to Top Back to Top Page 7 Florida-bred page 5 9, the seven-and-a-half-furlong turf feature for 3- Continued from with one second and the $29,500 winning check year-olds and older. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the 4- increased her lifetime earnings to $183,020. year-old son of Street Sense hasn’t seen action since Much of that revenue came last year when she winning the Poker (G3) at Belmont July 20. Social began her career with three consecutive wins, two Paranoia has won twice in three starts over the of which were in stakes company at Gulfstream. Gulfstream turf course, including a maiden-breaking She won on debut against 2-year-old Florida- score in 2019 and a triumph in the Appleton (G3) on bred fillies in a five furlong maiden special this year’s Curlin Florida Derby (G1) undercard. Irad weight at Gulfstream on June 6 before graduat- Ortiz Jr. has the call. ing to win the five-and-a-half furlong, $75,000 The Mark Casse-trained Olympic Runner, a mul- Golden Isles Stakes by five-and-a-quarter tiple graded stakes-placed son of Gio Ponti, is also lengths on June 28.