Breeders’ Cup Possible for Undefeated Juvenile Sum of Success

Well-Bred Maiden Juveniles Showcased on Saturday’s Card
Bourbon & BBQ Featured at Saturday’s Taste at the Track

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – K Johnston Racing, Michael and Jules Iavarone and Hopeless Stables’ Gulfstream Park-based multiple stakes-winning 2-year-old Sum of Success, undefeated in three dirt starts, could make his turf debut next month on racing’s biggest stage.

Trainer Bobby Dibona said Sum of Success, a Florida-bred son of Grade 1-winning sprinter Win Win Win, is under consideration for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) Oct. 30 at Keeneland, contested at one mile around two turns.

Sum of Success has raced exclusively in one-turn dirt races, but a chance to try grass and the shorter distance of the Juvenile Turf than the 1 1/16-mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on dirt has the connections leaning in that direction. Dibona aims to work the bay colt over the turf course at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.

“I didn’t want to go a mile and a sixteenth,” Dibona said. “We always thought he was a turf horse. I still believe that; with his feet and just different things I know. I’m not setting anything in stone, but I’m going to plan a work at Palm Meadows and I’ll bring Luis Saez in to work him and we’ll discuss it after that.”

Sum of Success has won his three starts by 24 ¼ combined lengths at distances ranging from five to seven furlongs including the Express Tour Sept. 5 and In Summation Aug. 10, both against state-breds. The latter produced a Beyer Speed Figure of 87, ranking in the top 10 for 2-year-olds in the country this year.

“He actually was a little sick during the [last] race, and it broke out afterwards. He had to be on some heavy antibiotics and things like that, but it looks like we’re doing pretty good. I haven’t trained since he’s ran. I don’t want to feel pressured into doing anything,” Dibona said. “The majority owner [Keith Johnston] is my good friend, and his dream is to be in the Breeders’ Cup. I’ve got a good horse. If he turfs, which I believe he will, I think we got a chance.”

Originally from Boston, where he raced at such tracks as Rockingham Park and Suffolk Downs, Dibona has won 511 races and more than $14 million in purses from over 2,700 starters since 2001. He has trained graded-stakes Actin Good, Hard Enough and still-active Steal Sunshine, who is approaching $1 million in purse earnings, but has never had a Breeders’ Cup starter.

“Obviously for my career, getting on the big stage on Breeders’ Cup Day and everything, there’s a lot to be said for that; just being around those kind and wanting to have people respect you,” Dibona said. “I’ve been blessed. I didn’t grow up in Kentucky with great lineage. I come from a different place and we come up the hard way. We’ve had some good horses, not Breeders’ Cup horses, but we’ve won graded stakes and a lot of stakes and things. Everything’s the hard way.

“I’ve got a great team with me, owners and all my help, a lot of good things,” he added. “I got time and we’ll just let it kind of take shape a little bit and see what we think is best. When you’re around [Sum of Success] in the barn and stuff, he’s a very cool customer. Nothing but class. I hope he can continue to move forward. We’ll just do our thing. Right now we’re doing OK.”

Well-Bred Maiden Juveniles Showcased on Saturday’s Card

A pair of maiden special weight events stocked with well-bred 2-year-olds will be showcased on Saturday’s 10-race program at Gulfstream Park.

Victor Barboza Jr.-trained Here Comes Barry, a half-brother to a multiple-stakes winner, is scheduled to debut in Race 1, a five-furlong maiden special weight for 2-year-olds scheduled on turf. The son of Charlatan is out of Houtzen, a two-time Group 2 stakes winner in Australia who has also produced Greenwich Village, a Bob Baffert-trained 3-year-old son of Quality Road who won back-to-back turf stakes at Santa Anita earlier in the year.

Bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC, Here Comes Barry was purchased by Arcadia Michigan Stable for $80,000 at this year’s OBS March sale.

Barboza is also represented in the nine-horse field by Dr. d’Oro, a debuting son of Bolt d’Oro.

Diego Herrera has the call on Here Comes Barry, who is rated third at 9-2 on the morning line. Samy Camacho is named on Dr. d’Oro.

Trainer Patrick Biancone’s Elijah, a son of Mendelssohn who has been training forwardly at Palm Meadows, has been tabbed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite for his debut. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Coralline, a $250,000 son of Corniche who is priced at 5-2 on the morning line, will seek to improve on a disappointing fourth-place finish on dirt in his debut at 2-5 odds.

Three siblings of graded-stakes winners will look to graduate in Saturday’s Race 8, a six-furlong maiden special weight for juvenile fillies.

Jose D’Angelo-trained Starship Sephora, a half sister to multiple graded-stakes winner and Grade 1 stakes-placed Finite, is rated second at 5-2 on the morning line. The Starship Stable’s daughter of Epicenter has been working sharply at Gulfstream for her debut.

Trainer Fausto Gutierrez will be represented by a pair of high-priced daughters of Into Mischief – Germaine Lass, who is coming off a fourth-place finish in her debut at Colonial Downs, and Charming Charlotte, who will make her third start following out-of-the-money outings at Ellis Park and Colonial Downs.

Germaine Lass (5-2), purchased for $800,000 by Saint George at the 2025 Keeneland September sale, is a half sister to multiple graded-stakes winner and Grade 1 stakes-placed Tyson. Saint George’s Charming Charlotte (6-1), who brought a winning bid of $750,000 at the 2025 Keeneland September sale, is a half sister to millionaire Atone, who captured the 2022 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1).

Joseph-trained Scottish Lass has been tabbed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite for her debut in the field of eight. The Summer Wind Equine LLC homebred daughter of McKinzie breezed a bullet half-mile in 46.65 seconds at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, in preparation for her unveiling.

Race 8 will be included in Saturday’s 20-cent Rainbow 6 sequence that will span Races 5-10.

Pure Elegance, a 3-year-old filly by Known Agenda who is 2-for-2 at Gulfstream, is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in a field of seven fillies and mares entered in the Race 9 feature, a five-furlong optional claiming allowance on turf. She is slated to make her first start for Joseph while coming off a six-month layoff following an entry-level allowance victory at a mile on turf at Gulfstream.

Formerly trained by Jack Sisterson, Pure Eloquence debuted with a five-length victory in a five-furlong maiden special weight at Gulfstream in June 2025. She went winless over Turfway Park’s all-weather surface for two races before returning to Gulfstream. Sunglow, who won her two starts in Southern California before going to the sidelines, seeks to improve on an even effort in her first start at Gulfstream for trainer Joe Orseno following an 11-month layoff.

Bourbon & BBQ Featured at Saturday’s Taste at the Track

Gulfstream’s popular Taste at the Track series continues Saturday with Bourbon & BBQ.

The event, in the Flamingo Room overlooking the track, provides an unlimited tasting and beverage experience including BBQ bites including New Orleans shrimp, brisket chili and smoked pulled pork, and premium bourbon selections, including Bib & Tucker, Angel’s Envy, Whistle Pig and Old Forester. There will also be specialty cocktails.

General tickets for $60 are good from 1-4 p.m. VIP tickets for $80 are good from noon to 4 p.m.

For tickets and information click here.