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Lady of City Romps in the Juvenile Fillies Sprint as Great Venezuela Takes the Groupie Doll at Gulfstream Park

Published

17 hours ago

November 14, 2026

Lady of City, with Marcos Meneses aboard, gallops clear in front of the Gulfstream Park grandstand to win the Juvenile Fillies Sprint.

Saturday’s Sunshine Meet card at Gulfstream Park belonged to the favorites, as Lady of City ran away with the $75,000 Juvenile Fillies Sprint at 3-5 and Great Venezuela powered through the lane to land the $60,000 Groupie Doll, sweeping the Hallandale Beach track’s featured double.

Coming off a 38-1 upset victory in her debut, Gelfenstein Farm LLC’s Lady of City lived up to her 3-5 favoritism Saturday in the $75,000 Juvenile Fillies Sprint at Gulfstream Park.

In her five-furlong debut Oct. 3, the diminutive daughter of 2019 Pegasus World Cup Invitational winner City of Light dropped well off the early pace before rallying to a 2 1/4 length victory. Saturday, she closely stalked the early pace before asserting herself in the stretch to win the six-furlong stakes going away by 4 3/4 lengths under Marcos Meneses.

“She’s a small filly with a big heart,” trainer Antonio Sano said.

Purchased for $50,000 at the OBS Open in June, Lady of City sat just off the pace set by Army Salute, pressed by Early Spark, for a quarter of a mile in 22.40 seconds. Early Spark took over the pace on the far turn, as Lady of City quickly pulled alongside. The Sano trainee put her nose in front turning for home after completing the first half-mile in 45.68 and continued on to a dominant score in 1:11.84. She returned $3.40 for the win.

“The filly improved from her last race. We’re very happy with that,” said Meneses, who was also aboard Lady of City’s debut victory. “I think this is a filly that wants to go a bit more long.”

Early Spark held on for second, a half-length ahead of Hot Rod Honey, who rallied from off the pace under Samy Camacho.

Sano was undecided when Lady of City will race next.

Great Venezuela Rules the Tapeta Again in the Groupie Doll

Orlyana Farm’s 5-year-old homebred mare Great Venezuela, back on her preferred surface for the first time since mid-June, took the lead from pacesetter Vindicate Cha Cha at the top of the stretch and powered through the lane to a popular 3 1/4-length victory in the $60,000 Groupie Doll overnight handicap.

Ridden by Diego Herrera for trainer Victor Barboza Jr., Great Venezuela ($3.80) covered 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:03.37 to give the chestnut daughter of Neolithic her eighth win in 11 tries over the all-weather Tapeta course and 11th overall in 22 starts, pushing her career bankroll over $500,000.

“I’m very happy for my mare, for my team, for my owner and breeder,” Barboza said. “She’s won 11 times. It’s a very important number and a very difficult number. For one horse to maintain the same condition for two, three years is very difficult. I am very happy for her. She was very impressive today.”

Herrera settled Great Venezuela, favored at 4-5 against five rivals, in second along the rail pressed to her outside by Duboff as Vindicate Cha Cha broke running from furthest outside and led through fractions of 22.26 and 45.28 seconds. Vindicate Cha Cha left an opening on the inside straightening for home that Great Venezuela came through and opened up to win decisively.

Braganza made a late run to edge Vindicate Cha Cha for second, followed by Fantastic Flame, Secret Revenge and Duboff. Tiffany Gold, Great Venezuela’s multiple turf handicap-winning stablemate, was scratched.

Her win was the fourth in a featured event for Great Venezuela, following the Lightning City on turf at Tampa Bay Downs and Portofino Bay and Islamorada overnight handicaps over the Gulfstream Tapeta, all in 2025.

“I had a lot of confidence with the filly today. She was training really good. She had three consecutive workouts which is very important for my filly,” Barboza said. “Before this race she had little problems and never have consecutive breezes. It made a difference today. She is very professional.”

Co-bred by trainer William ‘Buff’ Bradley and his father, the late Kentucky State Senator Fred Bradley, Groupie Doll won 12 of 23 races and nearly $2.7 million in purse earnings from 2011-14, capping her career with a popular and dominant victory in the 2014 Hurricane Bertie (G3) at Gulfstream Park. She earned the Eclipse Award as champion female sprinter of 2012 and 2013 by winning seven graded-stakes during that span, four of them Grade 1, including back-to-back editions of the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).

Arctic Wolf Goes Wire to Wire to Win the $175,000 Awad Stakes at Belmont Park

Published

17 hours ago

November 14, 2026

We Speak Media

Arctic Wolf, number 9 with Kendrick Carmouche aboard in black silks with pink polka dots, winning the Awad Stakes at Belmont Park.

Five starts at five different tracks, and Arctic Wolf keeps finding the winner’s circle. The grey son of Frosted took the field gate to wire Saturday at Belmont Park, winning the $175,000 Awad Stakes by three lengths under Kendrick Carmouche.

The Awad, run as the eighth race, was scheduled for the Widener turf course and moved to the new Tapeta track, where Arctic Wolf set fractions of :22.83, :46.00 and :57.28 before finishing six furlongs in 1:08.99. He paid $13.90 to win and earned $96,250 for owners MHM Stables LLC, Chad Calvert and John F. Goldthorpe.

Metallican finished second, a length and three quarters ahead of Riyadh Way in third. Titan Ready was fourth and More Champagne fifth.

Trained by Jack Sisterson, Arctic Wolf was bred in Kentucky by Flying B Ranch Thoroughbreds and is by Frosted out of the mare Firewolves. Carmouche said after the race that Sisterson’s instructions were simple: take the lead and do not hold back.

The Awad was Arctic Wolf’s second stakes win of the fall. He won the Speakeasy Stakes at Santa Anita on October 3 by two and a quarter lengths, and his five career starts have now come at five different tracks.