Lightning Tones catches One Sharp Cookie, upsets Sunshine Classic
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Lightning Tones overcame a slow start and a wide trip to run down the pacesetting One Sharp Cookie by three parts of a length to upset Saturday’s Sunshine Classic at Gulfstream Park.
Secret Chat, the 2-1 favorite, was third.
Lightning Tones, winner of the 2023 Carry Back Stakes, brought a nine-race losing streak into the Sunshine Classic and appeared destined to extend that skein after hitting the starting gate and coming away slowest in a field of seven older Florida breds.
Lightning Tones began to advance steadily outside horses upon leaving the backstretch, rallied four wide into the stretch and readily ran down the leader to win going away.
One Sharp Cookie, stretching out around two turns for the first time in a dozen lifetime starts, controlled the pace from the outset but could not resist the winner. Secret Chat raced within easy striking distance, moved three wide to close contention approaching the stretch, but could not sustain the bid.
Lightning Tones, whose previous victory came in November 2023, was haltered by his present connections, trainer Carlos Narvaez and JC Racing Stables, for $16,000 out of a fourth-place finish on July 28. The Sunshine Classic was the first time the 5-year-old son of Tonalist had competed in a race restricted to statebreds in his 26-race career.
Lightning Tones covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.34 seconds and paid $15.40.
Trainer Sal Santoro’s decision to claim Ashima for $8,000 on Nov. 17 continues to pay big dividends for new owner Wallace Moore Jr. after the versatile filly made it 2 for 2 for her new connections and became a stakes winner for the first time with her 1 1/4-length victory over 6-5 favorite Great Valentine in the $75,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf.
Ashima, who led throughout to win a first-level optional claiming and allowance race restricted to Florida-breds over the Tapeta track off the claim in her 2024 finale, switched to the turf and used similar tactics to upset the one-mile Sunshine Filly and Mare Turf. Ashima set the pace under clever rating by her regular rider Emisael Jaramillo before readily holding safe Great Venezuela at the end.
Great Venezuela, who brought a four-race win streak into the race and had captured six of her last seven starts, was stretching out to a mile for the first time off a series of sprint races and battled on gamely to be second-best. Princess Bettina was another half-length farther back in third.
Ashima, a 4-year-old daughter of The Big Beast who had registered all five of her previous wins over the synthetic Tapeta track, completed the distance over a firm course in 1:33.73 seconds and paid $17.00.
“Right now he’s my only horse,” said Santoro, who won the 2012 Delta Downs Princess (G3) and 2013 Honeybee (G3) and Fantasy (G3) with Rose to Gold. “I’ve got like five or six others that are probably coming in.”
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