Awesome Strong Sweeps FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Ryan Thompson
Awesome Strong wins the In Reality division of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes, completing a sweep of the series
With a victory in the $400,000 In Reality Stakes Oct. 1 at Gulfstream Park, CSLR Racing Partners' Awesome Strong became the 10th horse to sweep the colts and geldings division of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series.
The In Reality, the 1 1/16-mile final for the colts and geldings division of the three-race series for juveniles sired by accredited Florida stallions, co-headlined Saturday's FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes program with the $400,000 My Dear Girl, the 1 1/16-mile finals for the fillies division in which Atomically foiled Lynx 's bid to sweep the fillies division two races earlier.
"I feel like I'm on Cloud Nine," trainer Jorge Delgado said after watching Awesome Strong draw off to a 1 1/2-length victory. "I'm happy to join the names of the trainers that swept the series, knowing how hard it is to do. Earlier on the card, the filly that was the favorite, lost. Things can happen and another horse can come in and beat you."
Awesome Strong was sent to post as the 4-5 favorite in a field of 12 after dominating the first two legs of the FSS series, the $100,000 Dr. Fager at six furlongs and the $200,000 Affirmed at seven furlongs. Awesome Strong made a sweeping move on the far turn to engage Apocalypso on the turn into the homestretch before sprinting clear at the top of the stretch under Miguel Vasquez. Apocalypse dropped back as 71-1 longshot Tigre made a strong bid along the rail to finish second, as Awesome Strong held gamely to prevail.
"The horse lost some ground on the first turn and had to race wide," Delgado said. "The whole race he had to race wide. He overcame that and still had something left to win the race."
Awesome Strong ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:46.58 for his fourth victory without defeat.
Smile was the first to sweep the colts and geldings division of the FSS series in 1984. Naked Greed (1991), Seacliff (1995), Sir Oscar (2003), Express Tour (2000), Big Drama (2008), Jackson Bend (2009), Fort Loudon (2011) and Three Rules (2016) have also swept the series.
Saturday's sweep left open the possibility of Awesome Strong returning in the Nov. 4 FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Keeneland.
"We talked about if he can do it here, possibly we go to the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland and run there," said Alex Childs, of CSLR. "We don't want to strain on him. But if he can come back good, we may give it a shot."
In the $400,000 My Dear Girl division, Atomically overwhelmed nine rivals, drawing off to a 6 3/4-length victory.
Going into Saturday's 1 1/16-mile test, Arindel's Lynx had devastated her competition in all three of her previous starts, closing strongly to win her debut before trouncing rivals in the first two legs of the FSS series, the $100,000 Desert Vixen at six furlongs and the $200,000 Susan's Girl at seven furlongs. Yet, it was Atomically, a daughter of Girvin , who was the stronger filly in the Saturday.
Atomically wins the FTBOA Florida Sire My Dear Girl Stakes at Gulfstream Park
"She was training so good. And her numbers were so good. Her numbers were way above everybody else in the race," said trainer and co-owner Jose Pinchin, whose wife Tracy and ownership partner Michael Bernard bred Atomically. "We weren't overly concerned about [the post]. The only thing we were concerned about was whether she was seasoned enough, because she only had two runs."