Weekend Hideaway Rolls in 'Millions' Sprint
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New York-bred Weekend Hideaway dispatched pacesetter Happy My Way with a furlong to run and romped clear to win the $100,000 Florida Sunshine Millions Sprint Jan. 17 at Gulfstream Park .
The 5-year-old son of Speightstown cruised to a 4-length triumph and added a fifth stakes victory to his record, his first outside his native state. He emphatically made amends for his next-to-last-place finish last time out in the Fall Highweight Handicap (gr. III) at Aqueduct Racetrack after setting a swift early pace.
Trained by Philip Serpe for Red and Black Stable, Weekend Holiday improved to his career line to 7-3-3 from 20 starts and increased his lifetime bankroll to $507,332 with the $60,760 winner's share of the Sunshine Millions Sprint purse. His record includes a third-place finish in the Futurity Stakes (gr. II) at Belmont Park. He is the first New York-bred to win a Sunshines Millions race after becoming eligible when the event was opened up to horses bred in the Empire State, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, as well as Florida, last month.
Weekend Hideaway was time in 1:08.64 for six furlongs on a fast track as the 5-1 third choice among six Florida-breds. Breaking from the outside post and guided by Javier Castellano, he tracked Happy My Way from second through a snappy :44.96 half mile and secured the win when powering to the lead a furlong out. Grande Shores, the 5-2 second choice and following behind the top two, spurted past 4-5 favorite Happy My Way along the inside to take second. Happy My Way stayed on for third, 1 3/4 lengths back.
"The way I handicapped the race, Happy My Way had the speed and the one-hole, so he had to go. I sat right off the pace, and it worked out great. I think the outside post gave me a big plus to win the race," Castellano said. "The way he did it in the last part, he was very comfortable. I know they went really fast on the pace and it paid off in the last part of the race."
Weekend Hideaway ($12.20) is the first starter for his dam, the Wiseman's Ferry mare Apocalyptical. He was purchased by Michael Hoffman's Red and Black Stable for $40,000 in the yearling portion of the breeder Flying Zee Stables dispersal in October 2011.