Three Rules Heads Up 2016 FTBOA Awards

The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association recognized their Florida-bred champions for 2016 at their 55th annual Awards Banquet and Gala held at the Circle Square Cultural Center Ballroom in Ocala Monday night. The star of the night was Three Rules, a bay colt who was named the Florida-bred Horse of the Year by the FTBOA and also took home honors and the Champion 2-Year-Old Colt or Gelding.

By Northwest Stud stallion Gone Astray and out of Joy Rules, by Full Mandate, Three Rules became only the ninth colt to sweep the open divisions of the Florida Sire Stakes in taking the $200,000 Dr. Fager, the $300,000 Affirmed and the $500,000 In Reality divisions of the illustrious series. He joined a list of colts that since the inception of the series in 1984 have swept the FSS including Smile (1984), Naked Greed (1991), Seacliff (1995), Express Tour (2000), Sir Oscar (2001), Big Drama (2008), Jackson Bend (2009) and Fort Loudon (2011). He also won the $75,000 Birdonthewire Stakes at Gulfstream and was sixth behind winner Classic Empire in the Grade1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita.

Three Rules is owned and was bred by the partnership of Bert and Martha Pilcher’s Shade Tree Thoroughbreds of Ocala, Fla., Geoff Roy of Stouffville, Ont., and Tom Fitzgerald of Toronto. Trained by Jose Pinchin, Three Rules earned $700,640 while winning five of six starts on the year.

Other dual honorees on the evening were Awesome Banner, Sheer Drama and World Approval.

Awesome Banner was named the Champion 3-Year-Old Colt or Gelding and Champion Male Sprinter and Sheer Drama, the 2015 Florida-bred Horse of the Year, was named Champion Older Female and Champion Female Sprinter. World Approval repeated as Champion Turf Horse and this year was also named Champion Older Male.

Trained by Stanley Gold at the beginning of his campaign before transferring to the barn of Mark Casse, Awesome Banner won the Grade 1 Swale Stakes, the Grade 3 Hutcheson Stakes, the Prized Stakes, and the Foolish Pleasure division of the FSS.

Awesome Banner is a homebred product of Fred and Jane Brei’s Jacks or Better Farm in Ocala and earned $526,035 from five wins in 11 starts during the year.

Sheer Drama is a Harold Queen homebred mare who won the Grade 1 Madison Stakes at Keeneland in 2016. She won $252,200 during the year and boosted her career bankroll to $1,691,040. She was trained by David Fawkes.

A daughter of Burning Roma out of the blue hen mare Riveting Drama, by Notebook, Sheer Drama is a half-sister to Eclipse Award winning sprinter Big Drama, who now stands in Florida.

United Nations Invitational (G1) winner World Approval added $504,713 to his career earnings during the year with two wins from eight starts while racing for Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation of Ocala, who also bred him under their Live Oak Stud moniker.

Trained by Mark Casse, World Approval continues to bring notoriety to the family as the half-brother to 2006 FTBOA champion grass horse Miesque’s Approval (also the 2006 Eclipse Award Turf Champion) and 2005 Florida-bred Champion Older Horse Revved Up. World Approval is by Northern Afleet out of Win Approval, by With Approval.

Win Approval was also named the 2016 Florida Broodmare of the Year at the Awards Gala.

Cajun Delta Dawn was named the Florida-bred Champion 2-Year-Old filly based on her stakes victories in the Susan’s Girl and Desert Vixen divisions of the Florida Sire Stakes and in the $75,000 Cassidy Stakes. In all, the daughter of Kantharos and the Awesome Again mare Cajun Dawn won four of six starts while accumulating $483,105 on the year.

Cajun Delta Dawn was bred by Curtis Mikkelsen and Patricia Horth and trained by David Fawkes.

Flora Dora earned the trophy as the Champion 3-Year-Old Filly for owners Bob Cummings and Annette Bacola’s Coffee Pot Stables of Chicago and breeder Donald Dizney’s Dizney Double Diamond Farm LLC of Ocala.

Trained by Marialice Coffey, Flora Dora won the $100,000 Busanda Stakes and raced against some of the best fillies in North America throughout much the year in other graded races. In her ten starts in 2016, the daughter of Double Diamond Farm’s First Dude out of the Dixieland Band mare Aidan earned $212,070.

Josdesanimaux was recognized as the Champion Female Turf Horse for 2016. The daughter of Leroidesanimaux (Brz) and Jost d’Oro, by Medaglia d’Oro won the Panama City Stakes and earned $70,346 from six starts during the year.

Trained by Mark Casse for Palm Beach Racing, Josdesanimaux was bred in Florida by Palm Beach Racing II, LLC.

The 2016 Florida Stallion of the Year was High Cotton, who stands at Ocala Stud. The son of Dixie Union and Happy Tune, by A.P. Indy had total progeny earnings of $3,489,836 and was represented by 93 winners, five black-type stakes winners and nine black-type stakes-placed runners.

The Leading Juvenile Sire in Florida last year was Northwest Stud’s Gone Astray with total progeny earnings of $1,323,548. Gone Astray is by Dixie Union out of Illicit, by Mr. Prospector and he produced 15 juvenile winners, one black-type stakes winner and four black-type stakes-placed runners.

Woodford Thoroughbred’s Biondetti was Florida’s Leading Freshman Sire of 2016. By Bernardini out of the Lyphard mare Lyphard’s Delta, Biondetti was represented by 36 runners who produced $401,462 in earnings. He had 10 winners on the year.

The 2016 Joe O’Farrell Memorial Award was presented to Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck’s Summerfield who consigned Grade 1, Florida-bred winner Noted and Quoted. Summerfield also won the O’Farrell Award in 2014.

The Joe O’Farrell Memorial Award is presented annually by Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company to the original consignor of the year’s best Florida-bred racehorse offered at public auction at OBS.

Trainers recognized by the FTBOA include Stanley Gold as the leading Florida trainer of Florida-breds by black type stakes wins; David Fawkes, the leading Florida trainer of Florida-breds by earnings; and Kathleen O’Connell, the leading Florida trainer of Florida-Breds by wins. This is the sixth time Gold has been recognized as the leading Florida trainer of Florida-breds by Black Type stakes wins and the ninth time O’Connell has been the leading Florida trainer of Florida-breds by wins.

Charlotte Weber of Ocala took home honors as the Florida Owner of the Year with $1,417,713 in Florida-bred earnings. Her Live Oak Plantation saw their Florida-breds post 15 wins and four black type wins. Leading the charge for Live Oak Plantation were Grade 1 winners World Approval and Victory to Victory and Grade and Grade 3 winner Awesome Slew. This is Weber’s second time as Owner of the Year after also getting the title in 2011.

Gilbert G. Campbell of Tyngsboro, Ma., was recognized as the 2016 Florida Breeder of the Year based on his runners racking up $2,761,261. He also had five Florida-bred, black type runners on the year and 91 Florida-bred winners. This is Campbell’s second time being recognized and the Florida Breeder of the Year.

The Needles Award, which each year honors a Florida breeder who owns a small breeding operation and has made outstanding contributions to the Florida thoroughbred industry, was presented to the University of Florida Foundation.

The Needles Award is named for Needles, who was the first Florida-bred to win the Kentucky Derby having done so in 1956.

Also during the evening, Thoroughbred Charities of America announced Raina Chingos Gunderson as it first TCA Award of Merit recipient. The merit is based on a nominee’s work to provide a better life for thoroughbreds, both during and after their racing careers, by supporting qualified repurposing and retirement organizations and by helping the people who care for them.

FTBOA also presented Run for the Ribbons All Thoroughbred Horse Show awards for the season’s top rider of a retired thoroughbred to Aggie Rybacka Blaszczk and to Carly Kowlachuck for her retired Florida-bred Evil Quest as top horse of the season.

Source: Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association