Edward P. Evans’ homebred A LITTLE WARM (Stormin Fever) made his stakes debut
a winning one in Saturday’s $100,000
Spectacular Bid S., the first of five stakes comprising the inaugural
Gulfstream Sprint Showcase. While the Tony Dutrow pupil stormed late down the
outside to score by 1 1/2 lengths, the 9-5 favorite Discreetly Mine (Mineshaft)
endured a troubled passage along the rail and ultimately checked in fourth.
Discreetly Mine, coming off runner-up efforts in the Champagne S. (G1) and
Futurity S. (G2), bobbled at the break on the sloppy, sealed going and found
himself near the back of the pack. Soon recovering, the favorite advanced along
the inside to stalk the pace. A Little Warm, a recent maiden romper making his
first start against winners, was content to bide his time back in fifth beneath
Jeremy Rose.
Up front, the speedy Wildcat Frankie (Wildcat Heir) reeled off an opening
quarter in :22 1/5. Westover Wildcat (Forest Wildcat), the winner’s stablemate who had also stumbled at
the start, moved up to challenge the pacesetter through a half in :45 3/5. By
this time, Discreetly Mine tried to sneak through on the inside, but was bounced
around between the front-running Wildcat Frankie and the fence. Although
Discreetly Mine had clear sailing thereafter, he was unable to threaten in the
drive.
Meanwhile, Wildcat Frankie spurted away from Westover Wildcat turning into
the stretch, and the longtime leader continued his momentum through five
furlongs in :57 3/5. Wildcat Frankie shrugged off one Dutrow runner, but the
other Dutrow contender was on the march. A Little Warm, who had begun to gain ground while wide
on the turn, kicked into high gear inside the final furlong. Rapidly overhauling
Wildcat Frankie, A Little Warm blew by to complete six furlongs in 1:10 1/5 and
paid $12.80, $6.40 and $3.20 as the 5-1 fourth choice.
“The trip was beautiful,” Rose said. “The horse had been training really
well. (Trainer) Tony (Dutrow) always has them ready for races like this. He sat
there, took the trip perfect, and I felt like I had the winning horse from the
half-mile pole in. I got him outside of everybody, and never had to touch him
with the stick. A horse like that, one that rates, will go as far as you need
him to go.”
“I was very concerned about the conditions,” Dutrow said. “Until they run on
it (a sloppy track) you just don’t know, but he handled it fine and was very
professional. He always showed ability, but it took a couple of races before he
put it all together, and then he really came around when he broke his maiden by
10 in his last start. I see no reason why he won’t go on (and handle more
distance). We’ll discuss it with Mr. Evans, but the seven-eighths race (the
Hutcheson S. [G2] on February 20) is there and we’ll consider that. The other
horse (Westover Wildcat) ran well too.”
Wildcat Frankie, the 4-1 third choice, held second by 2 3/4 lengths and
returned $6.60 and $4.20. Westover Wildcat stayed on for third, and the 2-1
second choice gave back $3.20 to show. The exacta was worth $83.60, the trifecta
totaled $267.40, and Discreetly Mine rounded out the $622.80 superfecta
(9-3-5-2) another 2 1/4 lengths adrift. Next came Mr. Green (Proud Accolade),
Sum Champ (Champali) and Grand Times (Greatness), while Call Shot (Tale of the
Cat) and Barry’s Money (First Tour) were withdrawn.
Jockey Johnny Velazquez recapped his trip aboard Discreetly Mine.
“I got bumped against the rail and didn’t have to check; I was already
there,” Velazquez said. “And that was it. He got intimidated from there. They
got away from him, and he just couldn’t catch up again. He wasn’t quick out of
the gate, but there’s nothing you can do from there. He put himself in good
position until just around the three-eighths pole where he got bumped and thrown
against the rail. He didn’t like that at all and that was it.”
A Little Warm improved his mark to 5-2-2-0 and boosted his bankroll to
$104,280. The Virginia-bred bay took four tries to break his maiden, but showed
steady improvement during that span. A well-beaten second on his debut last June
at Philadelphia Park, where he was forced to swerve a fallen foe, A Little Warm
finished a closer fourth next time out at Delaware in August. After just being
worn down by a head at Delaware in October, he made no mistake back at Philly in
November, trouncing his rivals by 10 3/4 lengths.
Out of Grade 3 heroine Minidar (Alydar), A Little Warm is a three-quarter
brother to the winning Ministorm (Storm Cat), herself the dam of Grade 2
victress Mini Sermon (Pulpit). He also has an unnamed yearling full brother.
Minidar is a half-sister to Grade 2 diva and stakes producer Colonial
Minstrel (Pleasant Colony), as well as multiple stakes scorer Unrestrained
(Unbridled). They were all produced by Minstrella (The Minstrel), Ireland’s
champion two-year-old of 1986. This is the family of the late Saint Liam (Saint
Ballado), the 2005 Horse of the Year who died after one season at stud, but is
already making an impact with his only crop of foals.
A Little Warm’s fifth dam is Hall of Famer Gallorette (*Challenger II), the
champion handicap mare of 1946 who beat males in such major contests as the
Brooklyn H., Metropolitan H., Whitney S. and Carter H. over the course of her
career.