Sum of Success Heads List of Winners in $100,000 In Summation

All Six Colts Entered in Six-Furlong Florida-Bred Sprint Exit Victories

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – K Johnston Racing, Michael and Jules Iavarone and Hopeless Stables’ Sum of Success, dominant in his debut last month, takes the jump up to stakes company against five other first-out winners in Monday’s $100,000 FHBPA In Summation at Gulfstream Park.

The In Summation for Florida-bred 2-year-olds sprinting six furlongs on the main track headlines an eight-race program that begins at 12:20 p.m.

In April, trainer Bobby Dibona paid $165,000 at the OBS auction of 2-year-olds in training for Sum of Success, a grandson of In Summation out of the mare All Summed Up. Though it was more than he anticipated spending, Dibona is convinced it was well worth the cost.

“I overpaid for him, I thought, at the sale because I was in love with the horse. It was one guy and me bidding and you don’t want to let up. I ended up giving a lot of money for the colt,” Dibona said. “From the beginning, he looked like a special colt. I was kind of saying that all along. I had a good feeling about him from the beginning.”

Sum of Success displayed his talent from the time he started breezing in mid-May at Gulfstream. His first work out of the gate was a half-mile move in 47.44 seconds June 26 that ranked second of 18 horses and was an eye-opener for Dibona.

“Then I knew he was for real,” he said. “Then he ran, and got annihilated leaving there on both sides, banged all around. He was never really asked to run and just won easy.”

Breaking from Post 3 in a field of eight, Sum of Success overcame the early trouble to get to the front after a quarter-mile in 22.52 seconds and continued to gain separation at every call, going five furlongs in 58.13 to win the state-bred maiden special weight by 7 ½ lengths and earn a Beyer Speed Figure of 80, tops among all 2-year-olds at Gulfstream this year.

“You can see when you watch that race, he was never asked to run at any point. He was in a hammer lock, so I think there’s a lot left there,” Dibona said. He got a big number. [There’s] a little pressure when you’ve got a nice horse like this, but I think we’re well-spotted. He’ll be tough to handle.”

Jonathan Ocasio returns to ride Sum of Success, favored at 7-5 on the morning line, from Post 3.

“To be a great horse, I think you’ve got to have a great mind and you have to have speed,” Dibona said. “I think he possesses both of these qualities. We’ll have to see. You’ve got the Florida-bred races, naturally, that make a lot of sense. But, also, I don’t know how good he is. There’s a chance that he could go to the Breeders’ Cup. We kind of just have to go race by race and let him earn things. But he’s really, really a good boy.”

Red Diamond Stable’s American Roadster (Post 2, Leonel Reyes, 4-1) came from off the pace with a strong rail bid to score a 2 ¼-length debut victory July 3 in an open maiden special weight going five furlongs. Though sent off at odds of 9-1, his victory didn’t come as a shock to trainer Joel Santiago.

“I was prepared for the way he was going to run because of the way he’s been working and breezing in the mornings and the way he gallops. To me, it wasn’t a surprise just because he’s been forward with everything he’s done,” Santiago said. “I thought he ran an excellent race.

“The only thing I was worried about was him going over there … but he handled everything really good. Going on the van it was a little funny because it was kind of like what they do at the starting gate – walk up and stand there and look. They’re like, ‘What do I do?’” he added. “I was laughing. I was like, ‘C’mon, man, go in there. We’ve got to go win a race today.’”

American Roadster broke from the rail in his unveiling and got an inside draw again in the In Summation, a factor that bothers neither horse nor trainer.

“He’s a very nice colt. He’s so laid back, but when it’s time to do something it’s like the light comes on,” Santiago said. “He loves the inside, which is rare. He likes the inside more than he likes the outside. I told Leonel, ‘Don’t worry about being on the inside because he does everything perfect.’

“He did everything so professional. He did everything like an older horse would do. [Reyes] was so surprised. He told me he basically toyed with those horses because he wasn’t even at 50 percent when he was riding him,” he added. “He took it all in like it was just another day, like nothing bothered him, which I was very happy about. He’s just one of those horses that’s a pleasure to be around.”

Smith Ranch Stables’ Spicy Taco (Post 5, Diego Herrera, 7-2) encountered all kinds of trouble in his June 20 debut, a 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight state-bred sprint where he was bothered at the start by the favorite and eventual runner-up, Strike, then had to steady leaving the backstretch but was able to launch a four-wide rally to get up by three-quarters of a length.

Ken Ramsey’s Boyhood Dream (Post 1, Miguel Vasquez, 9-2); Champion Equine’s Road to Midnight (Post 4, Edwin Gonzalez, 6-1), the only entrant with more than one start; and Ken Davis and Ortega Stables’ It’s Smoking (Post 6, Edgar Perez, 8-1) complete the field.

Bred in Florida by Arthur Appleton and owned by Waterford Stable, In Summation won 12 of 29 career starts and more than $1.2 million in purses from 2005-09. Eleven of his wins came in stakes, including graded triumphs in the 2007 Bing Crosby Handicap (G1), 2008 Palos Verdes Handicap (G2) and 2008 and 2009 El Conejo Handicap (G3).