BACK TO STORMY ATLANTIC'S HOMEPAGE
2010:
2/14/10 - STORMY ATLANTIC moves to #3 on the 2010 General Sire List in earnings and #1 with winners (26) as In The Rough, owned by Lori and George Hall and trained by Kelly Breen impressively wins the $125,000 Coconut Grove S. for Three Year ld Fillies at Gulfstream Park.
2/5/10 - Barbecue Eddie by STORMY ATLANTIC takes the $150,000 Al Thayer Motors Hdcp.
2009:
11/15/09 - STORMY ATLANTIC's Get Stormy takes the Commonwealth Turf S. G3 at Churchill Downs keeping him in the top 10 National Sire List with over $6 million in earnings.
7/5/09 - Stormy Atlantic's two daughters, SUPERIOR STORM and Exciting Empress finish one-two in the J. Archie Sebastien Memorial S. at Evangeline Downs on 7/4/09!
2/7/09 - MSW SUPERIOR STORM won the $150,000 Louisiana Premier Night Distaff at Delta Downs going a mile on the dirt. This filly, out of the mare Alittlebitsuperior by Total Departure, is owned by Jac Mac Stable LLC and was bred by Jack Dickerson. She has won 10 of her 15 starts 8 of these in stakes company. In 2008 she won 6 stakes from 7 starts going from 6 furlongs to 1 1/16th.
Lifetime: 15 10-2-1 $515,498.
2008 NEWS
Bittel Road Flies Late to Score Bourbon
by Jason Shandler
October 7, 2008
James Scatuorchio and John Iracane’s Bittel Road came from the clouds and got the final jump on Driving Snow to take the $200,000 Woodford Reserve Bourbon Stakes (gr. IIIT) ) by a head in thrilling fashion Oct. 5 on the Keeneland turf. The victory earned undefeated Bittel Road a berth in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Oct. 25 at Santa Anita.
Bittel Road, sent off as the even-money favorite, broke well but was caught in traffic and shuffled towards the back of the field of 12 2-year-olds. Under patient handling from Rajiv Maragh, the son of Stormy Atlantic saved ground down the backstretch and still had a ton of ground to make up on the leaders. But after being angled wide into the stretch he gobbled up ground from the middle of the racetrack and set his sights on Driving Snow, who had taken the lead inside the sixteenth-pole under Robby Albarado. Bittel Road finally passed his rival in the final stride.
Maragh, who picked up the mount for injured John Velazquez, was aboard Bittel Road for the first time.
“That was an exceptional finish,” Maragh said. “I was at the back and I had like eight horses in front of me. He just kept passing them one by one until he got there.”
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Bittel Road covered the 1 1/16 miles on the ‘firm’ turf in 1:44.29. Driving Snow was 1 1/4 lengths in front of third-place Ninth Client. Vaquero was fourth.
Bittel Road is now undefeated in three starts. The dark bay colt broke his maiden on the Belmont turf July 11 and entered the Bourbon off a head victory in the $80,000 With Anticipation Stakes Aug. 29 at Saratoga.
Early on in the Bourbon, Ninth Client, Vaquero and Ghost Five were in a three-way duel for the lead. Ninth Client, with Julien Leparoux aboard, eventually wrestled the lead, cleared six furlongs in 1:13.01 and took a narrow advantage over Vaquero at the eighth-pole. But Driving Snow, who was tenth after six furlongs, was angled four-wide into the stretch and took command in mid-stretch. He looked to be clear to the wire but Bittel Road, seventh entering the stretch, came flying from the middle of the racetrack.
“This colt is one we liked all along,” Pletcher said. “He was able to break his maiden going three-quarters and go to the front doing that, and he overcame some adversity at Saratoga. So we knew he was a quality colt, but I thought today he was very, very good. We hope to go to the Breeders’ Cup if everything comes out well.”
Bittel Road paid $4, $3 and $2.80. The exacta (1-10) returned $27.60 and the trifecta (1-10-5) was worth $232.80.
Bred in Kentucky by Iracane, Bittel Road is out of the Sultry Song mare Sultry.
Nashoba Bridesmaid to Quite a Bride
by Claire Novak
Quite a Bride turned in quite a performance and had 3-5 favorite Nashoba’s Key playing the bridesmaid when she rolled to a solid win in the $500,000 San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Stakes at Santa Anita Jan. 26.
Sent off at odds of 2-1, the Florida-bred daughter of Stormy Atlantic was able to get the 1 1/8-mile distance for trainer Bill Mott for the first time in her career, thanks to a perfect trip under Eclipse Award-winning jockey Garrett Gomez.
First at the start, Quite a Bride tucked back behind the frontrunning Somethinaboutlaura as Placid Lake showed quick early speed and Nashoba’s Key rated in fourth under 2007 Eclipse Apprentice Jockey Joe Talamo. They nursed through early fractions of :25.06, :50.58, and 1:14.35 with the order of the first four remaining unchanged. It was not until they hit the turn that Talamo sent Nashoba’s Key after the leaders, but Quite a Bride was already powering away through a mile in 1:37.72.
"She placed herself up close like she always does," said Gomez. "When we went into the far turn, I was expecting Nashoba’s Key to be coming after me, and when I didn’t see her, I thought maybe she got held up in traffic or maybe the soft turf was bothering her. When we got to the top of the stretch, it looked like maybe the field was coming to me. I asked her at that point, and she sprinted clear.”
Kept to the task, the 5-year-old mare breezed home under wraps to a handy 1 ¾-length win. The final time was 1:49.98. Nashoba’s Key, launching her 5-year-old career after a fourth-place finish in the Emirates Airlines Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (gr. IT), came in second and had trainer Carla Gaines blaming the pace and position for her loss.
“She was too far back off a slow pace," said Gaines. "She got to the winner right past the wire.”
22-1 shot Placid Lake hung on for third.
Owned by breeder Julio Bozano's Haras Santa Maria de Araras, Quite a Bride claimed her 10th career win in 18 starts and came off a dominating wire-to-wire victory in the South Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park Jan. 3 to claim her second consecutive victory. She is the first graded stakes winner produced by the 20-year-old Blushing Groom mare Wise Bride, whose last reported foal was an unnamed Indian Ocean yearling.
"She hadn’t won going a mile and an eighth previously, so it was a little bit of a question," said Leana Willaford, assistant to Mott. "But obviously, she got the job done.”
Willaford said Quite a Bride would go back to Florida. “She’s meant to be retired,” she said. “Her last race was supposed to be her last one, and we talked her owners into running in this one, and she’s two for two, so now I don’t know what they’re going to do.”
Quite a Bride returned $6.40, $3, and $2.40. Nashoba’s Key paid $2.20 and $2.10 to place, while Placid Lake and jockey David Flores brought $4.20 to show.
2007 NEWS
Magnificience a Dazzling Santa Paula Victor
by Jack Shinar
Date Posted: April 1, 2007
Last Updated: April 1, 2007
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Magnificience and jockey Alex Solis win the Santa Paula Stakes at Santa Anita.
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Photo: Benoit |
Magnificience, a long-striding 3-year-old filly trained by Bruce Headley, flashed just a peek of what might be expected from her when she streaked to a five-length win in the $100,597 Santa Paula (gr. III) in stakes-record time at Santa Anita Sunday.
It was just the second start for the statuesque chestnut who clocked the 6 1/2-furlong distance in 1:14.61 under a brisk hand ride from Alex Solis. That eradicated the stakes mark of 1:15.02 set by Sardula in 1994, the same year she won the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I). After completing six furlongs in 1:08, Magnificience's final time was less than a second off the track record of 1:13.71 set by Son of a Pistol in 1998.
After a dazzling debut three weeks ago from Magnificience, Headley was asked if he had ever witnessed a maiden win like that. “Nobody has, not even me,” replied the 73-year-old horseman.
In that March 11 race, also at 6 1/2 furlongs, she broke well behind the field but erased a 10-length deficit after the opening quarter mile to win by 6 1/2 lengths while geared down, leaving the crowd buzzing.
Headley put a pair of sizzling three-furlong workouts into the daughter of Stormy Atlantic (including a :33 4/5 on March 29) and they apparently paid off. Sunday, facing just three rivals as the 7-10 favorite, she was much more alert at the start while rated slightly off the pacesetter Coco Belle and Victor Espinoza on the outside. After swift fractions of :21 3/5 and :44, Magnificience ranged up on the outside of her rival to put a nose in front coming into the stretch, got control leaving the eighth pole and drew away quickly in another eye-catching performance.
“When Victor started riding his filly at the five-sixteenths pole, my filly took off,” said Solis. “Her biggest strength is the straightaway where she can stretch out. She’s got an incredible stride. She’s an incredible filly.”
Coco Belle faltered late and was passed for second by Swiss Diva, ridden by Agapito Delgadillo, who finished a length to the good of the 6-5 second choice. Adoradora trailed in the small field, which was reduced by the scratch of Jump On In. With no show wagering, the winner paid $3.40 and $2.40. The place price on Swiss Diva was $3.60.
Bred in Kentucky by Mike Akers, Randy Zeller, Theresa Levy and Jeff Bowen, Magnificience is out of Fashion Delight, by Fappiano. She earned $61,590 Sunday.
The conditioner believes the filly, whom he purchased as a yearling for $120,000 at Keeneland in September 2005, will get better as her distances increase.
“Her forte is a distance," Headley said. “She’s sprinting because she’s just a runner. When she starts going around two turns, you’ll really she something. I would have to say because of her workouts, none of my standout fillies ever worked like she did . . . not even Kalookan Queen worked that fast.”
Headley said no plans had been formulated for Magnificience’s next start.
