Stablemate Time Passage Set for Saturday’s Honey Ryder

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr.’s highly promising Ticking is scheduled to try turf for the first time Saturday in the $75,000 English Channel at Gulfstream Park.

The English Channel, a mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds, will co-headline Saturday’s 11-race program with the $75,000 Honey Ryder, a mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Both stakes will each offer a $25,000 FTBOA bonus for a Florida-bred winner.

Florida-bred Ticking enters the English Channel off a pair of dominating seven-furlong victories on dirt during Gulfstream’s Championship Meet. A troubled third in his career debut in July, the son of Bolt d’Oro returned to action with a thoroughly dominating 6 ¼-length maiden score Feb. 18. He came back to notch a 2 ¼-length optional claiming allowance win over graded stakes-placed Great Navigator March 16 for owners Leon Ellman, Laurie Plesa and Glassman Racing LLC.

In preparation for his turf debut, Ticking was vanned from Gulfstream to Palm Meadows for a workout on the turf course of Gulfstream’s training facility in Palm Beach County, where he breezed a half mile in a ‘bullet’ 46.05 seconds..

“I was making plans to send him up to Monmouth for a May 13 stake {Oceanport] because there wasn’t a [dirt] stake here for him. But I said, ‘The Bolt d’Oros are doing well on turf, so why don’t I put him on the turf to see how he handles it?’” Plesa said. “We sent him up there, Edgard Zayas was on him. He was never asked. He did it all on his own. He galloped out in 59 [seconds for five furlongs] and 1:11 and change [for six furlongs]. When Edgard got off him, I asked him ‘What do you think he went in?’ He said, ‘I don’t really know. He does things so easily.’ He was shocked how fast he went.”

Emisael Jaramillo will sub for a sidelined Zayas for the English Channel.

“Emisael worked him in his last work, and he was impressed with him also,” said Plesa, whose colt breezed a half-mile on dirt at Gulfstream in 47.75 seconds last Friday. “I told him to go in 49 and he went in 47. He does things so easily. He’s such a big, beautiful, nice moving horse.”

Ticking, a half-brother to $699,000 earner Harper’s Wild Ride, was purchased for $675,000, as the OBS April sale for 2-year-olds-in-training.

“We gave a lot of money for him, so it was a commitment for all three of our parts to pay as much as we paid for him,” Plesa said. “When you’re looking for a good horse and you see him, sometimes you just put your hand up.”

Ticking is scheduled to face nine rivals, including John Oxley and Breeze Easy LLC’s Boppy O. a graded stakes-winning son of Bolt d’Oro. The Mark Casse-trained colt, who captured the With Anticipation (G3) on turf at Saratoga last year, finished fourth in the Kitten’s Joy (G3) and third in the Colonel Liam during this year’s Championship Meet before checking is second in the Sophomore Turf at Tampa last time out.

Edwin Gonzalez has the call on Boppy O.

The English Channel has been carded as Saturday’s last race.

Plesa, his wife Laurie, and Glassman Racing LLC will be represented by Time Passage in the Honey Ryder, carded as Race 4.

Time Passage is coming off a pair of strong efforts in sprints on Tapeta. The Florida-bred daughter of Tunwoo captured an open allowance by 2 ¾ lengths Feb. 23 before losing an April 22 open optional claiming allowance by a neck after a less-than-ideal trip.

“I think she’s a nice filly. Her last race she should have won. Her stablemate [third-place finisher Oh Darlin] cost her the win. The jockey wouldn’t let her get through. He was just doing his job,” Plesa said. “The race before that, I thought was impressive also. She got into gear at the eighth pole and just blew by everybody.”

Plesa has questions how Time Passage will handle turf and the mile distance in the Honey Rider.

Kevin Krigger has the return mount aboard Time Passage, who will clash with seven rivals.