With Less Fanfare, Live Oak Takes Top Florida Honors

The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association has announced its Florida-bred champions for 2019. Typically, the awards are presented at an annual awards gala held on the Monday before the Ocala Breeders' Sales' March auction. The event was not held this year, however, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it will not be rescheduled.

For the 16th time, Charlotte Weber was honored with a Florida-bred champion who was bred by her Live Oak Stud and owned by her Live Oak Plantation, located in Ocala, Fla., as Global Access was named the Florida-bred champion 3-year-old colt or gelding.

Live Oak Stud was named the Florida breeder of the year for the third time and the leading owner by Florida-bred earnings for the fourth time.

Weber also won the breeder title in 2006 and 2007 and the leading owner title in 2011, 2016, and 2017.

Global Access, a son of Giant's Causeway, ran to a 4-1-3 record from nine starts in 2019 for trainer Michael Trombetta. He finished the year with a career bankroll of $373,401.

Another Florida-bred who took home multiple honors was Starship Jubilee, the champion older female and champion female turf horse. Bred by William Sorren of Miami Beach, Fla., and trained by Kevin Attard for Blue Heaven Farm, Starship Jubilee received Sovereign Awards as Canada's Horse of the Year and champion female turf horse for 2019, adding to titles she also earned in 2017 and 2018. The Indy Wind mare finished the year with a 3-3-1 record from seven starts, and her career earnings were $1,171,387 at the end of 2019.

Shooting Star Thoroughbreds' Chance It, a son of Currency Swap, was named champion 2-year-old colt or gelding, while Karl Pergola's K P Dreamin was named champion 2-year-old filly.

William Stiritz's Wildwood's Beauty used the Florida Sire Stakes program for older horses and Florida-bred stakes to catapult herself to the title as the champion 3-year-old filly and champion female sprinter.

In the stallion categories, Journeyman Stallions' Khozan  was Florida's leading juvenile sire and leading freshman sire, while Ocala Stud resident Adios Charlie  was Florida's stallion of the year.

Khozan had 44 runners, 19 winners, and three black-type stakes horses for progeny earnings of $1,275,632, and Adios Charlie progeny acquired $3,753,347 from 106 runners, 65 winners, and three black-type stakes winners.

Khozan was represented by his leading money earner and stakes winner Liam's Lucky Charm ($233,800), while multiple graded stakes winner Jean Elizabeth was the leading money earner for Adios Charlie with $264,888.

Kathleen O'Connell and Saffie Joseph Jr. are tied with 58 Florida-bred wins at Florida tracks. O'Connell was also the leading Florida trainer of Florida-breds by black-type stakes wins with six, and Joseph was the leading Florida trainer by Florida-bred earnings with $1,977,046.

It was the 12th time O'Connell has won or shared the title as the leading Florida trainer by wins (2003, 2009-18) and the first time Joseph has won a Florida-bred title in either category. O'Connell has won or shared the Florida black-type wins title twice before in 2013 and 2017.

The Joe O'Farrell Memorial Award presented by Ocala Breeders' Sales went to William A.T. and Lyn Rainbow's The Acorn as the original consignor of Starship Jubilee, the year's top Florida-bred graduate of OBS.

Sally Andersen of Ocala was presented the Needles Award as Florida's small breeder of the year. Andersen bred multiple stakes winner Anyportinastorm and recorded earnings of $843,513 as a breeder of Florida-breds. Andersen was presented a John Deere Riding Mower 330 as the Needles Award winner.

In June, the FTBOA recognized Imperial Hint as the Florida-bred with the top Beyer Speed Figure during 2019, as awarded by Daily Racing Form. Imperial Hint logged an electrifying 114 Beyer while setting a Saratoga Race Course track record for six furlongs in 1:07.92 in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1). Imperial Hint is trained by Luis Carvajal Jr. for Raymond Mamone, and he was bred in Florida by Bert and Martha Pilcher's Shade Tree Thoroughbreds in Fairfield.