Gulfstream: Awesome Mass Imposing Favorite for Saturday’s $100,000 Desert Vixen

By David Joseph —-

Awesome Mass Imposing Favorite for Saturday’s $100,000 Desert Vixen
Trainer Stanley Gold Seeks Record 19th Florida Sire Stakes Win

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Trainer Stanley Gold will find himself in a familiar position at Gulfstream Park Saturday when he is scheduled to saddle the likely favorite for the $100,000 Desert Vixen Division of the Florida Sire Stakes.

Although he has saddled a record 18 winners in the series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida, Gold is still more than a little surprised to be have the opportunity to add to his impressive FSS win total with the highly promising filly, Awesome Mass.

“I wasn’t expecting to be in this position. I was down to four horses,” said Gold, who is also slated to saddle likely favorite Dunk for the co-featured $100,000 Dr. Fager Division. “I got a phone call for the horses – it was the last thing I was expecting – and then we made an agreement.”

After parting ways more than a year ago with Jacks or Better Farm, for whom he had saddled 18 FSS winners, the highly respected horseman had seen his stable dwindle down to single digits when he was contacted about training horses for Arindel, Alan Cohen’s prominent Ocala breeding farm and racing stable.

Awesome Mass was among the first 2-year-olds sent to Gold. The daughter of freshman sire Brethren became an imposing Florida Sire Stakes prospect July 20 when she drew off to an 11 ¾ -length victory, running five-furlongs in 57.18 seconds. The Florida-bred filly ran the final three-eighths of a mile in 34.20 and last quarter of a mile in 22.57 while earning one of the best speed figures produced by a 2-year-old this year.

“Did I expect her to run four fifths (of a second) off the track record? No. I expected that if she got away from the gate clean, she could wire the field. When she did get away clean and got to the front – and I could tell she was well reserved and they were chasing her – I just hoped she wouldn’t run out of trainer,” Gold said. “When she turned for home, there was a point where I knew that she had it. Did I expect her to hit another gear and widen from the field? That was a real pleasant surprise.”
Awesome Mass, who broke through with her exciting maiden score in her third career start, wasn’t a win-early type filly, nor was stablemate Dunk, another Brethren offspring who also broke his maiden impressively in his third start.

“It was a rush to get them to the races, because they just weren’t ready for them,” Gold said. “The races were short, which I didn’t think they would be the best at, but if you want to run, you have to run in those races.”

Awesome Mass debuted at Gulfstream June 7th, finishing fifth after being steadied at the start of the 4 ½-furlong sprint.

“When I brought her over I knew she was on the plump side. She wasn’t 100 percent. She wasn’t tight,” Gold said. “If you’re fit enough to run and not hurt yourself, you hope to get lucky, but everything has to go perfect.”

She returned to set the pace before faltering to fourth in her second start June 24.

“She went in 45-and-change, but she was plump and she didn’t need to go that fast,” Gold said. “Off of that race I knew she was tight and if she ran back to that race and got away clean, she just might do what she did [in her most recent race].”

Emisael Jaramillo has the return mount aboard Awesome Mass, who is scheduled to face seven rivals in the six-furlong Desert Vixen.

Pantyhose will seek to become Jacks or Better Farm’s record 19th Florida Sire Stakes winner in the Desert Vixen, Trained by Ralph Nicks, the daughter of Awesome of Course is winless in three career starts but has run well while finishing in the money all three times, including a second-place finish behind highly regarded Florida Fuego last time out. Edgard Zayas had the call.

Ramiro Medina’s Go Astray is slated to bring stakes experience into the Desert Vixen. After breaking her maiden by 4 ¾ lengths in her fourth career start, the daughter of Gone Astray finished fourth in the Brave Raj Stakes July 1, finishing a length behind victorious Rose to Fame. Jose Batista is named to ride the Angel Rodriguez-trained filly.

Just for Fun Stables’ Valid Interest enters the Desert Vixen off a sharp debut victory July 14, when the Augustin Bezara-trained daughter of Personal Interest scored by 2 ½ lengths under a returning Miguel Vasquez.

Tyler Touchet’s Sittin On Cotton has shipped from Louisiana to run in the Desert Vixen after defeating $20,000 maiden claimers by 7 ½ lengths in her debut at Evangeline Downs. The daughter of High Cotton, who was saddled by Justin Jeansonne for her front-running victory, has been sent to trainer Ron Faucheux at Gulfstream. C.J. McMahon has been named to ride.

Maidens Right On, Starship Bonita and Iwannatalkaboutme round out the field.

Gulfstream Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; XpressBet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is also a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.