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Set Remains Unbeaten Winning $125,000 Cutler Bay
3/30/2024
Vive Veuve Finds a Way in Sanibel Island
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Set, an impressive maiden winner when making his debut last month, continued to impress Saturday when he drove home under Emisael Jaramillo to win the $125,000 Cutler Bay at Gulfstream Park.
The Cutler Bay, for 3-year-olds at 7 ½ furlongs on the turf, was part of a blockbuster 14-race program featuring 10 stakes, five graded, worth $2.425 million in purses anchored by the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa.
Owned by Gary Barber and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and trained by Mark Casse, Set, a son of Oscar Performance, raced second behind King Julien through an opening half mile in :47.83. After drawing alongside the leader approaching the final turn, Set took the lead entering the stretch and drove home while covering the distance in 1:28.10. Double Your Money was second and Salvattore Prince was third.
I knew [King Julien] was coming out of a five-furlong race, so I allowed him [to go to the front],” Jaramillo said. “I put my horse in position and then when I asked him he responded very well. He is an extremely fast horse, but he was still running at the end.”
“He trained really well going into his first race, and we were pretty high on him,” said Casse’s assistant Nick Tomlinson. “We weren’t 100 percent sure if he was fit enough but he still got there. He trained wonderfully again coming into this race. Jaramillo came into the paddock and said that there was some speed on the inside. I said, ‘It’s up to you. You know him best.’ He sat off them, made a nice run and kept on with it.”
“He’s a lovely horse. I think as everybody knows Graham [Motion] had him before us and he gave him a lovely foundation, so a lot of the credit has to go to his crew, as well. Lovely horse, bright future, and we’re excited to see what happens.”
Vive Veuve Finds a Way in Sanibel Island
Finding a seam between horses down the stretch, jockey Javier Castellano drove Sterling Stables, LLC’s Vive Veuve to a narrow victory over race favorite Ozara in the $125,000 Sanibel Island.
A 3-year-old filly by Collected trained by Jack Sisterson, Vive Veuve has two wins in three races since arriving in the U.S. from Ireland.
The filly raced in midpack along the rail down the backstretch and around the turn and was stuck behind horses. But shortly after entering the stretch, Castellano found room between Destiny Star and Golden Ghost and drove the filly to victory.
“"It was tight. Very tight,” Castellano said. “I was able to save all the ground in the first turn and all the way on the backside, and I think that made all the difference. I liked how he split horses turning for home and the top of the stretch. I just closed my eyes and went through. At the top of the stretch. It was really tight, no place to go. I had to take a shot. I had to be aggressive and try to time it right."