Gold, O’Connell Triple-Up for Dr. Fager

Stanley Gold and Kathleen O’Connell have significantly showcased their respective talents for training 2-year-old Thoroughbreds to early success in the Florida Sire Stakes (formerly the Florida Stallion Stakes).

The veteran trainers, who have saddled the winners of 22 Florida Sire Stakes events between them, will seek to add to their respective achievements Saturday when Gulfstream Park plays host to the series of stakes for juveniles sired by stallions standing in Florida for the first time in its 33-year history. 

Gold, who has saddled 12 FSS winners, and O’Connell, who has visited the winner’s circle with 10 FSS winners, are scheduled to each saddle three horses for the $100,000 Dr. Fager Division for colts and geldings, which attracted eight entries Wednesday and is carded as Saturday’s 10th race.  

Gold and O’Connell, who also each entered two fillies in Saturday’s co-featured $100,000 Desert Vixen Division, have saddled four of the last five winners of the Dr. Fager. Gold, who captured the six-furlong sprint with Jackson Bend (2009) and Fort Loudon (2011), is slated to saddle Sing Praises, Of Course and Social Media. O’Connell, who won the last two runnings of the Dr. Fager with Two T’s at Two B and My Brown Eyed Guy, entered Jaiden’s Best, Taama and Wayne’s Way.

Leading the Gold-trained trio of Jacks or Better Farm homebreds is Sing Praises, who scored a 20-1 upset in the $75,000 Birdonthewire Stakes. The son of Hear No Evil rebounded from a second-place finish in debut, in which he started slowly, to post a front-running 5 ½-length score in the first stakes for 2-year-olds in South Florida this season.

“We knew he could run. If you watched his (debut) race, he got left in the gate and within a quarter of a mile he got right up there and got used up some,” said Gold, who awarded the return mount to Ramsey Zimmerman. “The next time, he came out of the gate and didn’t have to get used up, and that was it.”

Of Course, who had broken his maiden in this third lifetime start, finished fourth behind Sing Praises in the Birdonthewire – a subpar performance blamed on a missed workout due to rainy conditions leading up the race.

“My feeling is to throw that out,” said Gold, who named Edgard Zayas to ride Of Course. “He came back tired. Of course, any horse would come back tired after trying to keep up with Sing Praises that day.”

Social Media, who had finished on the board in his first two starts, broke through with a dominating victory when dropped into a $50,000 maiden claimer.

“The decision was made if we lost for $50,000, we’d be happy to sell the horse for $50,000. According to the time frame, I still hadn’t given up on the Sire Stakes if he won,” said Gold, who named Abdiel Jaen to ride Social Media. “He got the job done. If he didn’t get the job done, he wouldn’t be in the Sire Stakes.”

O’Connell’s three Dr. Fager entrants all are coming off maiden-breaking victories. Wayne’s Way, second in his debut, scored his first career victory by 2 ¾ lengths at Calder on June 22. Jaiden’s Best, who finished second that day, came right back to win by three at Gulfstream on July 20. Wayne’s Way and Jaiden’s Best are owned by breeder Gil Campbell. Lynne Martin-Boutte’s Taama scored at first asking, winning at Gulfstream on July 11 by 2 ¾ lengths.

O’Connell said saddling three horses in a race for two owners presents no problem.

“You have to look at it this way: if these horses were trained by other people they’d still be running against each other. My job is taking them over there in the best possible shape, whether it’s one, two, three or four,” O’Connell said. “I feel lucky to have three horses that I think are qualified and good enough to step up to the plate.”

Pedro Monterrey Jr. has the mount on Wayne’s Way, while Eduardo Nunez is named to ride Jaiden’s Best. Jose Gutierrez is slated to ride Taama.

O’Connell, like Gold, derives great pleasure and satisfaction while working with 2-year-olds with the Florida Sire Stakes providing great incentive.

“To me, the (Sire) Stakes are very special because I just love 2-year-olds. It’s always held a special place for me,” O’Connell said.

The Douglas Potter-trained Fierce Tide, a recent winner at Gulfstream, and the Luis Ramirez-trained Rockemagain, winless in one start, round out the Dr. Fager field.