Garter and Tie makes extra distance pay off

Garter and Tie couldn’t quite get there at six furlongs, but he was along in time going seven.

Rallying gamely under Emisael Jaramillo, Garter and Tie got to longshot pacesetter Well Defined just before the wire and won the $200,000 Affirmed Division of the Florida Sire Stakes by a neck at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.

Garter and Tie, trained by Ralph Nicks for his breeder, Fred and Jane Brei’s Jacks or Better Farm, had crossed the finish third before being placed second last month in the six-furlong Dr. Fager Division of the Florida Sire Stakes, but he was caught wide in that race and closed best among a bunched three-horse finish. The extra distance Saturday made all the difference.

“It’s nice to get Fred back in the winner’s circle in the stallion series,” Nicks said. “I told Fred from the beginning he’s not a 4 1/2-furlong horse. He behaved himself better in the paddock today. It looks like two turns will be right up his alley.”

The final division of the Florida Sire Stakes, the $400,000 In Reality, will be contested at 1 1/16 miles around two turns on Sept. 29.

“I gotta like him going forward,” Nicks said.

Garter and Tie sat fifth down the backstretch as Well Defined, a well-meant 19-1 shot from trainer Kathleen O’Connell, went to the front, relaxed, and set fractions of 23.21 and 46.26. Well Defined still was cruising at the quarter-pole, but Garter and Tie, despite switching leads several times in the homestretch, got up a head of steam and got to the leader just in time.

Garter and Tie was timed in 1:23.05 over a fast track and paid $9.20 to win. Cajun Firecracker, who was privately purchased and turned over to Nicks following his win in the Dr. Fager, raced somewhat one-paced throughout and finished third. Fully Loaded, the 8-5 favorite who looked likely to lead, failed to make the front, never threatened, and checked in fourth.

Garter and Tie is by Brooks ‘n Down and was produced by the Anasheed mare, Garter Belt. He’s a half-brother to Twotwentyfive A, who won the 2014 Affirmed Division of the Florida Sire Stakes for the Breis.

Cookie Dough wins maiden in Susan’s Girl

Cookie Dough, a three-race maiden, won the $200,000 Susan’s Girl Division of the Florida Sire Stakes by five lengths.

Breaking alertly under Jeffery Sanchez in a field reduced to nine when Select Friday was scratched, Cookie Dough took a strong hold as she pressed Nancysaidso through splits of 22.93 and 46.48 in this seven-furlong dirt sprint. Sanchez gave his mount her head with about a quarter-mile to run and the race was over. Cookie Dough quickly left her pace rival and never had an anxious moment through the final three-sixteenths, stopping the timer in 1:24.46 over a fast track. She paid $26 to win while running the race of her life.

“She never really got a chance to run,” in her first three starts, said trainer Stanley Gold, who notched his 19th sire stakes victory. “She got away this time and had a chance to run.”

Starship Nala, who was rank on the backstretch, plugged away to finish second with Blazing Brooke third. Capture Your Dream, the 3-5 favorite off a front-running win last month in the Desert Vixen Division of the Florida Sire Stakes, broke in and bumped with Snowzilla just after the start, failed to make the front from her inside draw, got stuck behind horses much of the trip, but came up empty when asked for more at the quarter-pole, checking in sixth.

Gold trains Cookie Dough for her breeder, Alan Cohen’s Arindel. Cookie Dough is by Brethren out of Brooke’s Valentine, by Fusaichi Pegasus, and became the first stakes winner for her dam and second dam.

Entirely holds on in Sharp Susan

Even-money favorite Entirely overcame a rough trip, held off fast-closing A Bit Special, and survived a stewards' inquiry and jockey's objection to win the $100,000 Sharp Susan Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Emisael Jaramillo rode the winner for trainer Jonathan Thomas and owner-breeder George Strawbridge's Augustin Stables.

Entirely was a sharp maiden turf sprint winner at Gulfstream in her career debut, ran decently in a listed race over Woodbine's all-weather surface, and tried two turns for the first time in the one-mile Sharp Susan. Her afternoon got off to a rocky start when Sweet Hitch Hiker, leaving the gate one stall to her outside, broke sharply inward, brushing against Entirely and causing Jaramillo to take up while also costing A Bit Special plenty of early position. Jaramillo clung to the fence around the first turn as several 2-year-old fillies raced rank on a slow pace, and when Jaramillo probed up the inside with about a half-mile to run his path was taken away, forcing him to grab his mount again.

Jaramillo eased back, took Entirely wide around the far turn, and despite rallying into a slow 49.27-second half-mile, Entirely roared to the front at the top of the homestretch. As she drifted in, and tiring pacesetter Rosedale drifted out, Yako, the eventual fourth-place finisher, had to be checked while trying to move between those two horses. That would be a question for the judges, but the immediate concern for Entirely was A Bit Special, who had made a long run from last and was closing fast.

The wire, though, came just in time for Entirely, who hung on by a head while running 7 1/2 furlongs over firm ground in 1:31.39. Entirely paid $4.20 to win as Dangerous Curves plugged away along the rail to finish third.

Entirely is by Point of Entry and out of Reef Bay, by Danzig.

Dakota’s Dude wires Proud Man

Since he’d never been on the lead in four previous starts it was surprising to see Dakota’s Dude make the front Saturday in the $100,000 Proud Man Stakes. Even more surprising was his refusal to relinquish that lead.

At odds of 22-1, Dakota’s Dude set legitimate fractions in the Proud Man, where the half-mile split of 47.87 was about 1 1/2 seconds faster than in the Sharp Susan Stakes over the same 7 1/2-furlong trip earlier on the card. But Jose Bautista roused him vigorously at the three-sixteenths pole, Dakota’s Dude surged, and he had just enough heart to hold off a steady bid from 3-1 second choice Timmy M.

Rory Miller trains Dakota’s Dude for Flying Finish Farm, and the 2-year-old son of First Dude and Brenna’s Song, by Concerto, won his second race in a row after three losses to start his career. He ran 7 1/2 furlongs over a firm course in 1:30.65 and paid $47.80. Mozzo Bello finished third.