Starship Bonita prevails over Dessert Honeys in Susan's Girl

Laurence Leavy, a.k.a. Marlins Man, would have loved to have been at Gulfstream Park for the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes, but the country’s most famous and well-traveled sports fan opted to attend Saturday night’s Florida State-Alabama football game in Atlanta.

Starship Stables’ owner didn’t miss out on the action, however, watching the Gulfstream Park feed on his cellphone and cheering on his 2-year-old filly, Starship Bonita, to a photo-finish victory in the $200,000 Susan’s Girl.

“I’m screaming at my phone, ‘No, no, she’s moving too soon! Wait! She’s stopping! No, wait! She’s coming again! Oh, it’s a photo! Oh, she won!” said Leavy from Atlanta minutes after Starship Bonita prevailed over late-charging Dessert Honeys by a nose in the second leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series.

The seven-furlong event for 2-year-old fillies sired by nominated stallions standing in Florida co-featured a 13-race program that also included the $200,000 Affirmed for FSS-eligible 2-year-old colts and geldings.

Trained by Steve Dwoskin, Starship Bonita notched her first career victory in her third career start, improving upon a fourth-place finish in the first FSS leg, the $100,000 Desert Vixen, Aug. 5.

“I feel real good. We had a little problem after her last race and we corrected it. We knew she was going to run good. Did I know we were going to win? No,” said Dwoskin, who reported that the 2-year-old daughter of Gone Astray underwent three acupuncture treatments to relieve a back issue since her last start.

Sent to post at 14-1, Starship Bonita rated off the pace set by Desert Vixen winner Go Astray along the backstretch and stalked by Reagan’s Rose, before making a move to the lead coming off the turn into the homestretch under Carlos Montalvo. The Florida-bred filly, who finished second in her debut before finishing fourth in the Desert Vixen, passed a tiring Go Astray to open a clear lead but was all out to hold off Saratoga invader Dessert Honeys by a head.

“It was a dream plan by Mr. Dwoskin and [assistant trainer] Paul [Newman]. They told me what to do and I’m really happy to be a part of the team, because this filly could do it with anyone in the finale,” Montalvo said. “Coming down the stretch I knew I still had a lot of horse left, and I didn’t want to ease up on her because I knew they were coming. I could not hear them, but you could see in the end how close it was. Thank the lord we got there in time.”

Starship Bonita ran seven furlongs in 1:25.43. Eddie Kenneally-trained Dessert Honeys, a maiden who finished a troubled fourth in her debut at Saratoga Aug. 6, finished two lengths ahead of Go Astray and jockey Jose Batista. Awesome Mass, the 9-5 favorite ridden by Emisael Jaramillo, broke slowly and rallied to finish fourth.

Starship Bonita was purchased at the 2017 OBS March Sale for $72,000.

“When I went to the sale, she was my pick of the litter. I told Laurence Leavy, ‘Buy, this horse, no matter what it costs,’” Dwoskin said.