Saraguaro heads Sunshine Millions Classic

Thoroughbred Acquisition Group and Saffie Joseph's Saraguaro is slated to seek his third straight stakes victory in the $250,000 Sunshine Millions Classic Jan. 16 at Gulfstream Park, looking to continue his impressive comeback from a frightening mishap 13 months ago.

The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained 4-year-old is entered against nine Florida-bred rivals in the 1 1/8-mile centerpiece of the six-race $1.05 Sunshine Millions program, which will be followed by the 45th annual Eclipse Awards Saturday evening in Gulfstream's Sport of Kings Theater. 

The son of Express Tour has dominated his fellow state-breds recently. He captured the $150,000 Florida Sire Stakes Foolish Pleasure at Gulfstream in October and the $100,000 Millions Classic Preview in November.

On Dec. 23, 2014, Saraguaro fell to the racetrack after toppling over a fallen horse while racing in tight quarters. Initially it appeared that he had escaped injury in the spill when he came back six weeks later to finish second behind Danzig Moon, who went on to finish second in the Blue Grass (gr. I) and run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). However, the chestnut colt was sent to the sidelines after his promising effort.

"He trained good after he fell and finished second to Danzig Moon, but after that he just wasn't right. We couldn't figure out what was wrong. Nothing showed up," Joseph said. "We decided to back off on him, and it's paying off now. After the fall, he just wasn't traveling right for a while. Now he's traveling perfect."

Saraguaro made a victorious return off the layoff in July, graduating from the maiden ranks by 5 1/4 lengths. A couple of disappointing efforts followed, but he broke through with a two-length triumph around two turns in the 1 1/16-mile Foolish Pleasure. He followed up his first stakes win with a 1 1/2-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile Millions Classic Preview at Gulfstream Park West.

"I think distance is the key," Joseph said. "I think the mile and an eighth is going to be even better for him."

Joseph expects Saraguaro to continue to improve with experience, as well as distance.

"Most of his family has gotten better with age. His sister was grade I-placed and got better with age," Joseph said of half sister Lemon Drop Mom, a multiple stakes winner who finished second behind Ginger Punch in the 2008 Personal Ensign (gr. I) at age 4.

Eddie Castro, aboard for Saraguaro's recent back-to-back scores, has the return mount.

Loooch Racing's Sr. Quisqueyano, the defending Sunshine Millions Classic champion, and Runs With Bulls, the winner of the Claiming Crown Iron Horse at Gulfstream Park Dec. 5, are scheduled to be saddled by Peter Walder for Saturday's feature.

Sr. Quisqueyano pulled off a 20-1 upset in last year's Classic in his first start after being claimed for $62,500 a month earlier.

"First off the claim and he won. That was pretty exciting," Walder said. "I've kind of been pointing to this race all year. It's his time to wake up."

The 6-year-old son of Exclusive Quality   has been winless in five subsequent starts, including a ninth-place finish in the Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I), a photo-finish second in the Skip Away (gr. III) at Gulfstream, and a sixth in the Texas Mile (gr. III) at Lone Star Park last spring.

The multiple stakes winner of nearly $750,000 returned from a seven-month layoff to finish eighth in the Harlan's Holiday Dec. 12 before finishing fifth behind Fountain of Youth (gr. II) winner Itsaknockout in a particularly tough optional claiming allowance Dec. 31.

"He came back good. It's not often when you run fifth and you're kind of happy, but we got what we were looking for," Walder said. "That was a ridiculous allowance race that was more like a grade II. I thought I could train him fit. Obviously, I couldn't, so I'm going to run him fit (in the Classic)."

Runs With Bulls, a $12,500 claim, stalked the pace before he drew off to a 1 1/2-length victory in the Iron Horse to record his third straight victory.

"I keep on teasing everybody, saying he's going to beat (Sr. Quisqueyano). The boys in the barn have a bet going on," Walder said. "He ran awesome in the Claiming Crown. He looks like he'll run all day. His numbers are good. Why not? Running two at them is better than one."

Mossarosa's Catholic Cowboy, who captured the 2014 Claiming Crown Jewel, will attempt to improve upon a third-place finish in last year's Sunshine Millions Classic; David Melin, Leon Ellman and Laurie Plesa's Mr. Jordan is scheduled to run in the Classic off short rest following a disappointing fifth-place finish in last weekend's Hal's Hope (gr. III); and Ione Elkins' Yourdreamsormine, a late-running winner of the Florida Sire Stakes Unbridled, all bring solid credentials into the Classic.

So does Team Valor International's Mexikoma, a two-time allowance winner over sloppy tracks at Belmont Park last year who finished fifth in the Harlan's Holiday last time out, and PHS Racing and Run Hard Stables' Abounding Legacy, a 3 3/4-length optional claiming allowance winner at Gulfstream last time out.

This race's counterpart for females on the Sunshine Millions Card is the $200,000 Sunshine Millions Distaff, a race in which nonagenarian breeder/owner/trainer Jerry Bozzo will be represented by homebred Flutterby.

The 5-year-old mare serves as a profound sense of pride for Bozzo, who started breeding his own Thoroughbred stock well before moving to South Florida in 1969.

"She means everything, really. She's what I've been in the game for 99 years for," Bozzo said. "Actually, I am 95 now, you know. I had a birthday."

A Carnegie Mellon and MIT grad, retired civil engineer, glass bottle manufacturer, World War II veteran, and currently an aspiring novelist, Bozzo bred graded stakes-placed Flutterby from a long-line of homebreds, including Stormy Do, a multiple stakes winner of $500,000.

"I've been breeding horses from the first, since I got into the game," Bozzo said. "Flutterby is a fourth generation. She's not a freak. She's a product of my breeding. So I take double the claim there."

Flutterby, who captured a stakes in her fourth start during her juvenile season, has been a challenge for Bozzo because of her high-strung and nervous nature. The daughter of Congrats   blossomed in 2015, capturing three sprint stakes at Gulfstream. She won the Sea Lily in May to establish her then 94-year-old trainer as the oldest to saddle a stakes winner. She finished second in the Princess Rooney (gr. II) in July, but she came returned with back-to-back victories in the six-furlong Gold Mover in August and seven-furlong Added Elegance Stakes in September.

"She's run awfully well here. She won a seven-furlong race here," Bozzo said. "The race here is seven furlongs, so I've cranked her up for that."

Sent to the starting gate at 2-5 for the seven-furlong Millions Distaff Preview at Gulfstream Park West Nov. 7, Flutterby came up short and finished third after setting a pressured pace, earning a brief freshener.

"I brought her back five or six weeks ago. She's responded very beautifully," Bozzo said. "She was tired, uncharacteristically. The race was too close to the other race and too close to all the others, the whole progression of races she competed in. She needed the rest."

In the 2015 Distaff, Flutterby finished a solid third, behind Dame Dorothy, who went on to win the Humana Distaff (gr. I) at Churchill Downs, and Sheer Drama, a multiple grade I winner who is a finalist for champion older female.

Luca Panici has the return mount aboard Flutterby.

"It took him a while to understand her. They have a real harmony together now," Bozzo said.

Flutterby is slated to face nine Florida-bred fillies and mares, including multiple stakes winner Dogwood Trail and Legal Laura, the winner of the Millions Distaff Preview In November.