Delgado taking conservative route to Breeders' Cup with Smile winner Willy Boi

Reigning Filly and Mare Sprint champ Ce Ce was the star of the show last weekend at Gulfstream Park when successfully and easily defending her title in the Grade 2 Princess Rooney, a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. But Ce Ce wasn’t the only horse on the card with designs on the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 5, a date trainer Jorge Delgado has circled on his calender for Willy Boi, impressive winner of the Grade 3 Smile Sprint earlier on the card.

The six-furlong Smile was the third win in as many starts for Willy Boi since he joined Delgado’s barn earlier this season and followed one-sided victories in an allowance race at Tampa Bay Downs and the Big Drama for Florida-breds at Gulfstream. His one-length decision over Pudding in the Smile earned Willy Boi a career-best 98 Beyer Speed Figure and his owners, Lea Farms LLC, $30,000 in expenses toward their entry fees for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

“Lea Farms transferred their horses, including Willy Boi, to me on January 29 and I knew from his past performances that I was getting a very good horse to work with,” said Delgado, who is currently tied for fourth in the trainer standings during the spring-summer meet. “Our goal right from the start was to go to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, and so far it looks like we’re half way there.

“We decided to go little by little with him instead of throwing him to the big dogs right away, which is why we started at Tampa and then the restricted race here to build his confidence up coming off the layoff.”

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Delgado acknowledged the Smile was easily Willy Boi’s best effort yet, citing the fact he defeated Grade 1 winner Drain the Clock in the process, while calling his horse’s recent success a “team effort.”

“He’s a tough horse to train in the mornings, so I consider his groom, his exercise rider, and Chantal Sutherland, who is on the horse for every breeze and has ridden him in all three of his victories, as key parts of how well he’s performed for us so far,” Delgado acknowledged.

Delgado said he will continue to make things as easy as he can on Willy Boi between now and the Breeders’ Cup.

“We’ll keep him home for a while, with his next start to come in the Benny the Bull [on Aug. 13], which is for Florida-breds going seven furlongs,” Delgado said. “I’ll probably ship him to Monmouth after that and look for one more race somewhere before the Breeders’ Cup.”

Delgado also has had similar results over the past several months from another Lea Farms speedster who joined the barn earlier in the year, the 3-year-old Lightening Larry, winner of the Grade 3 Chick Lang at Pimlico on Preakness Day. Lightening Larry is currently stabled at Monmouth Park, where he’s scheduled to make his next start in the Jersey Shore Stakes on Aug. 6.

“Lightening Larry came out of his last race great and it’s exciting the way his breezes every weekend have all been better than the previous one,” said Delgado, who presently has 44 horses in his care split between Gulfstream and Monmouth.

Delgado is bullish on his chances in the upcoming Florida Sire Series on Aug. 6 with a pair of colts, Awesome Strong and Zelenskyy Strong, to run in the six-furlong Dr. Fager and Gemma’s Curls to compete in the filly division, the six-furlong Desert Vixen.