It’s been quite the week for jockey Luis Saez. First, he got the win aboard Sassy Princess at Saratoga on Wednesday, then just 3 days later, he picked up another win for us at Monmouth Park on Saturday in the 4th Race on Haskell Day down in New Jersey. This time it was Mr. Papagiorgio who we own in partnership with Michael Dubb that he led to victory. It was a mile, seventy yards on the dirt in an Allowance Optional Claimer and Luis wasted no time vying for the early lead and became the pace setter. It came down to a thrilling finish as Mr. Papagiorgio held off an oncoming Valentinain and Irad Ortiz, Jr. in a photo finish for the win in 1:42.12. It was the fourth win with Luis Saez this year as he becomes our leading jockey for the year and it was his tenth overall, becoming the fourth jockey to reach double digits in victories for us. Saez was aboard Analyze the Odds back in 2019 for our first ever win and he joins Silvestre Gonzalez, Kendrick Carmouche and Manny Franco on the list of double-digit victors. It was our first win at Monmouth this year, and fifth overall as it becomes the 8th track we’ve recorded a win at this year. It was also the second win with trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. this year.
Sassy Princess scored a victory in Wednesday’s 6th Race at Saratoga for America’s Pastime Stables’ first Saratoga win in 2025 and the sixth consecutive year of reaching the Winner’s Circle at the Spa. Jockey Luis Saez sat off the pace but gained ground heading into the second turn and used the three path to gain momentum into the stretch and take the lead at the three-sixteenths pole and held onto the lead in the final furlong for the victory. The final time on the one and one sixteenth mile race on the inner turf was 1:42.46. It was the third win with jockey Luis Saez this year and our second win with Sassy Princess and trainer Brendan Walsh along with partner Jeff Bloom. Sassy Princess was claimed following the race by trainer Amelia Green and we wish her luck with her new connections going forward.
Unlimitedpotential made his 3rd trip to the Winner’s Circle for us on Thursday at Aqueduct as it marked the 150th win for America’s Pastime Stables. The cutback in distance wasn’t a problem as the 6-year-old Union Rags colt handled the 6 furlongs with ease. Sitting just off the pace in 4th, Silvestre Gonzalez took the lead at the top of the stretch and battled with the favorite before digging in during the final three-sixteenths to take a 3 1/2 length victory in 1:09.51. 6 furlongs is the shortest Unlimitedpotential has ever gone, but the 99 Equibase figure tied the second highest mark of his career. In 4 starts this year, Unlimitedpotential has 2 wins and 1 second and 5 wins in 14 career starts.
With our 150th win, it was fitting that our winningest jockey, Silvestre Gonzalez, was aboard as he collected his 28th win for us. Trainer Ilkay Kantarmaci won his 3rd race of the year for us and his 18th overall as the listed trainer, combined with his brother, Mertkan, the Kantarmaci brothers have recorded a total of 71 victories for us. It was also our 4th win at Aqueduct and 54th overall as we have recorded over twice as many wins at the Big A than any other track.
On this date in 2019 we were preparing for our second ever start and today we are celebrating our 1,000th start. From just over 6 years, going from our first race with Analyze the Odds to our 1,000th race today with Sassy Princess, we want to take a moment to thank all our partners, trainers, jockeys, exercise riders, grooms and everyone else who helped us get to this milestone.
We are thrilled to announce the birth of this nice Cody’s Wish filly at WinStar Farm this week. Out of one of our mares, Figure of Beauty, who has a big pedigree with both speed and winners, she is owned in partnership with Spruce Lane Farm and is a half-sister to Graded Stakes winner of $1.6 million Vergara. She is also a half-sister to stakes winner Bullseye Bun and two other six-figure winners. She will be bred back to first crop sire Cogburn.
The decision to go west for Starts Now, the 5-year-old Mucho Macho Man mare out of Very Funny has paid off. After racing exclusively on the NYRA circuit since her debut in 2022, Starts Now appeared to be in top form, winning an Allowance Race at Aqueduct on November 17th and doing so with an 89 Equibase figure, the highest in her career, surpassing the matching 82 figures as the previous high in her career, which occurred in her previous 2 starts. That’s when a difficult decision had to be made, with the turf course closing for the winter in New York, does Starts Now also shut it down for the winter, or do we go elsewhere and see if this the start of something special?
Richard Baltas, a California based trainer got the call and Starts Now shipped off to Santa Anita. On January 4th she debuted in a Starter Allowance at Santa Anita. After sitting mid pack, Starts Now charged down the stretch finishing second, losing to Tirupati who would go on to finish second in the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes on March 1st. That race would set a new high Equibase figure of 93 and got surpassed with a 94 speed figure in her next race on February 2nd. Despite the fifth-place finish, Starts Now ran a great race hitting the stretch in 2nd and staying within striking distance into the final furlong but couldn’t produce a bid to the wire.
That brings us to Sunday and with all the stars in Hollywood for the Oscars, all the stars aligned perfectly for Starts Now on the March 2nd start. Reigning Eclipse award winning jockey, Flavien Prat, took the mount and Starts Now drew the outside post which would ensure a clean break from the gate. From there everything went according to plan. Starts Now grabbed the early lead and never looked back, scoring an easy 2 1/2 length win in the one and an eighth mile Starter Allowance race in 1:49.16.
The win gave Starts Now a new career high 99 Equibase figure. It marked our stable’s first win at Santa Anita as we have now registered wins at 19 different tracks. It was also our first trip to the Winner’s Circle with jockey Flavien Prat and trainer Richard Baltas. Congratulations to the connections and our partners at Bloom Racing Stable on the win!
