Three Rules Wins Florida-Bred Horse of Year, Champion 2-Year-Old Honors from FTBOA
HorseRacingFLA Staff Report
The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association announced Monday night that it has named Three Rules as its Florida-bred Horse of the Year for 2016.
Three Rules, a bay colt, also won the FTBOA award as Florida-bred Champion 2-Year-Old Colt or Gelding for 2016.
(Note: Photo on home page is Three Rules winning the 2016 Affirmed Stakes at Gulfstream)
The FTBOA presented its awards at its 55th annual Awards Banquet and Gala held at the Circle Square Cultural Center Ballroom in Ocala.
The Horse of the Year Award was based on a vote by the FTBOA board members. Three Rules’s award as top 2-year-old and other divisional awards were determined by points earned in designated stakes races in 2016.
By Northwest Stud stallion Gone Astray and out of Joy Rules, by Full Mandate, Three Rules became the ninth colt to sweep the open divisions of the Florida Sire Stakes in taking the $200,000 Dr. Fager, the $300,000 Affirmed and the $500,000 In Reality divisions of the series at Gulfstream Park.
Three Rules also won the $75,000 Birdonthewire Stakes at Gulfstream and was sixth behind winner Classic Empire in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Grade 1) at Santa Anita.
Three Rules is owned and was bred by the partnership of Bert and Martha Pilcher’s Shade Tree Thoroughbreds of Ocala, Fla., Geoff Roy of Stouffville, Ont., and Tom Fitzgerald of Toronto. Trained by Jose Pinchin, Three Rules earned $700,640 while winning five of six starts in 2016.
Dual Honorees
Other dual honorees were Awesome Banner, Sheer Drama and World Approval.\
Awesome Banner was named the Champion 3-Year-Old Colt or Gelding and Champion Male Sprinter.
Sheer Drama was named Champion Older Female and Champion Female Sprinter. The FTBOA board voted her the 2015 Florida-bred Horse of the Year.
sheer Drama wins the Royal Delta at Gulfstream 3-21-15
World Approval repeated as Champion Turf Horse and was also named Champion Older Male.
Trained by Stanley Gold at the beginning of his campaign before transferring to the barn of Mark Casse, Awesome Banner won the Swale Stakes (Grade 2) and Hutcheson Stakes (Grade 3) during Gulfstream’s 2015-2016 championship meet. He later won the Prized Stakes and the Foolish Pleasure division of the FSS.
Awesome Banner is a homebred product of Fred and Jane Brei’s Jacks or Better Farm in Ocala and earned $526,035 from five wins in 11 starts during the year.
Sheer Drama is a Harold Queen homebred mare who won the Madison Stakes at Keeneland in 2016. She won $252,200 during the year and boosted her career bankroll to $1,691,040. She was trained by David Fawkes.
United Nations Invitational (Grade 1) winner World Approval added $504,713 to his career earnings during the year with two wins from eight starts while racing for Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation of Ocala, which also bred him under their Live Oak Stud moniker.
Plenty of Approval
Trained by Mark Casse, World Approval is by Northern Afleet out of Win Approval, by With Approval.
Win Approval was named the 2016 Florida Broodmare of the Year at the Awards Gala.
Cajun Delta Dawn was named the Florida-bred Champion 2-Year-Old filly based on her stakes victories in the Susan’s Girl and Desert Vixen divisions of the Florida Sire Stakes and in the $75,000 Cassidy Stakes. In all, the daughter of Kantharos and the Awesome Again mare Cajun Dawn won four of six starts while accumulating $483,105 on the year.
Cajun Delta Dawn was bred by Curtis Mikkelsen and Patricia Horth and trained by David Fawkes.
Trainer David Fawkes
Flora Dora earned the trophy as the Champion 3-Year-Old Filly for owners Bob Cummings and Annette Bacola’s Coffee Pot Stables of Chicago and breeder Donald Dizney’s Dizney Double Diamond Farm LLC of Ocala.
Trained by Marialice Coffey, Flora Dora won the $100,000 Busanda Stakes and raced against some of the best fillies in North America throughout much the year in other graded races. In her ten starts in 2016, the daughter of Double Diamond Farm’s First Dude out of the Dixieland Band mare Aidan earned $212,070.
Josdesanimaux was recognized as the Champion Female Turf Horse for 2016. The daughter of Leroidesanimaux and Jost d’Oro, by Medaglia d’Oro. won the Panama City Stakes and earned $70,346 from six starts during the year.
Trained by Casse for Palm Beach Racing, Josdesanimaux was bred in Florida by Palm Beach Racing II, LLC.
Leading Stallions
The 2016 Florida Stallion of the Year was High Cotton, who stands at Ocala Stud. The son of Dixie Union and Happy Tune, by A.P. Indy. had total progeny earnings of $3,489,836. He was represented by 93 winners, five black-type stakes winners and nine black-type stakes-placed runners.
The Leading Juvenile Sire in Florida last year was Northwest Stud’s Gone Astray with total progeny earnings of $1,323,548. Gone Astray is by Dixie Union out of Illicit, by Mr. Prospector, and he produced 15 juvenile winners, one black-type stakes winner and four black-type stakes-placed runners.
Woodford Thoroughbred’s Biondetti was Florida’s Leading Freshman Sire of 2016. By Bernardini out of the Lyphard mare Lyphard’s Delta, Biondetti was represented by 36 runners who produced $401,462 in earnings. He had 10 winners on the year.
Trainer Stanley Gold
Trainers recognized by the FTBOA include Stanley Gold as the leading Florida trainer of Florida-breds by black type stakes wins; David Fawkes, the leading Florida trainer of Florida-breds by earnings; and Kathleen O’Connell, the leading Florida trainer of Florida-Breds by wins.
This is the sixth time Gold has been recognized as the leading Florida trainer of Florida-breds by Black Type stakes wins and the ninth time O’Connell has been the leading Florida trainer of Florida-breds by wins.
Trainer Kathleen O’Connell
Charlotte Weber of Ocala took home honors as the Florida Owner of the Year with $1,417,713 in Florida-bred earnings. This is Weber’s second time as Owner of the Year after also getting the title in 2011.
Gilbert G. Campbell was recognized as the 2016 Florida Breeder of the Year based on his runners racking up $2,761,261. He also had five Florida-bred, black type runners on the year and 91 Florida-bred winners. This is Campbell’s second time being recognized and the Florida Breeder of the Year.
The FTBOA is a not-for-profit association, based in Ocala. It represents more than 1,300 thoroughbred breeders and owners internationally who breed, raise, sell, train and race horses born in Florida.
