Seeking the Gold Still Sizzling

- The 21-year old sire Seeking the Gold had a resurgent year in 2005, finishing 10th on the overall sire list, thanks in part to 15 stakes wins by 11 different stakes winners, including Pleasant Home, who has an outside shot to win an Eclipse for older mare tonight. Now, he’s off to a hot start in 2006 after a big weekend which started with the impressive allowance win by Bob and John at Santa Anita on Friday.

Seeking the Gold added two more stakes winners over the weekend to a ledger that now totals 73 out of 776 foals, for a percentage of 9.4% which is just a smidgen away from being rounded up to the magic 10% level. As mentioned earlier, Happy Hunting took the G3 Aqueduct Handicap on Saturday, and on the same day, his three-year old filly Sweet Fervor took the non-graded Gasparilla Stakes at Tampa Bay in just her second start, and her first since graduating in September at Belmont. Taking advantage of a quick early pace and 9th after a quarter mile, Sweet Fervor circled the field five wide on the turn and drew off to win by seven on a very fast racing strip in a stakes-record 1:23.78. [DRF] The Florida Oaks on March 18 is a possible next start.

Trained by Bill Mott for Steinbrenner’s Kinsman Stable, Sweet Fervor is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner and current Kinsman sire Concerto, as well as stakes winner Illusioned, and Wondertross, who just missed to Vicar in the 1999 Florida Derby.

And speaking of Concerto, his three-year son Old Midleton, a full-brother to Bellamy Road, graduated in his second start at Laurel on Sunday, getting the seven furlongs in a sluggish 1:27. The nine race card drew only 56 entrants, as the track feels the effects of the total quarantine being imposed at Pimlico. Only eight races have been carded for the Wednesday program.