The FHBPA wants to congratulate Armando de la Cerda, Tyler Gafflione, and Midwest Thoroughbreds on a great win. We also want to give special thanks to all the horsemen who entered and participated in making the Big Drama a success.
When we asked trainer Armando de la Cerda his thoughts on the FHBPA Stakes Series he said, “It’s great. These races are a good deal for us from the Florida horsemen. It’s one of the reasons I moved to Florida because I’m going to have more Florida-bred horses. They are sending me a few babies coming next month, and as for Quijote, the owners at Midwest want him here. So, we’re scheduled to be staying in Florida and running here year-round.”
It was a perfect day for racing. As the horses came out to the track for Gulfstream’s 10th race they all looked great and behaved themselves in a very professional manner.
Most noteworthy, all of the top three finishers were OBS sales graduates.
When the gate opened, French Quarter sprung out of the 10 post and drafted next to longshot Richard the Great who took the early lead. Quijote and Mo Cash sat behind them in a swift 1:09 6-furlongs.
The son of Pomeroy edged forward along with French Quarter while Mo Cash sat a great rail trip and challenged for the lead in the lane. Quijote proved too much, besting a game Mo Cash who held second.
When asked why he thought Quijote took so well to the track Armando said, “He’d been running with top horses at New Orleans and Keeneland. They sent him to me 6 weeks ago and he’d been working good three or four times. He likes the weather here as it’s cold in New Orleans.”
“I want to see how he came out of the race, and then we might point him to the Smile Sprint in six weeks,” de la Cerda estimated.