Breeze On By had dead aim on Boca Boy and a historic sweep Sept. 26 of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes for male 2-year-olds.
With a furlong to the wire, he pulled within two lengths of the frontrunner.
But Boca Boy refused to allow the 1-5 favorite to blow by and held on by two lengths in the $400,000 In Reality division of the annual series for offspring of registered Florida sires, springing the upset at odds of 12-1.
Ridden by Edgard Zayas, Boca Boy—who was coming out of a mile-long turf stakes—took well to the sloppy going, assumed early command of the 1 1/16-mile stakes, and maintained his lead to the wire.
Boca Boy, trained by Cheryl Winebaugh for owner Kenneth Fishbein, is a 2-year-old son of Prospective. He was making his fourth career start Saturday, and the victory was his first since breaking his maiden on a sloppy track at Gulfstream July 17.
The two geldings met in the first leg of the series, the six-furlong Dr. Fager division Aug. 1, with Boca Boy finishing more than nine lengths back in third.
But he was a new horse Saturday, and both the slop and added distance of the In Reality proved to his liking.
"I came into the race planning to make the best out of my horse and, at the same time, find a way to beat Breeze on By," Zayas said. "I was trying to get the trip I wanted and put him in the spot to control the race from there. My horse kept on fighting and relaxed very well on the lead, which helped him a lot in the stretch."
Boca Boy was bred by Carol Hershe out of the Gimmeawink mare Baliwink. He is a half brother to stakes winner Toni Ann's Miracle and multiple stakes-placed Man With a Plan.
Princess Secret Adds Second Jewel in My Dear Girl
Princess Secret didn't sweep the Florida Sire Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, but she did the next best thing by taking the final two legs, including Saturday's $400,000 My Dear Girl division.
The 2-year-old daughter of Khozan ran down Restofthestory in the stretch of the 1 1/16-mile stakes to take the third and final leg of the annual fixture for offspring of registered Florida sires.
"This is what horse racing's all about," said winning trainer and owner Daniel Pita. "It's about trying to get the one horse that will put you on the map."
With jockey Miguel Vasquez in the irons, Princess Secret settled into a stalking position, several lengths behind a determined Restofthestory, before making her move in the final turn and pulling off late to win by a half-length.
"She fights every time. She's all heart," Pita said. "The pace set up exactly how we thought it would be. We knew Restofthestory was going to be the pacesetter. It was smart of Miguel to sit back and save the horse for the end."
Big Rings, the 6-5 favorite, ran third.
Princess Secret was making her fifth start and her first in a two-turn event. She finished second to Go Jo Jo Go in the first leg of the series, the Desert Vixen division Aug. 1, before winning the second leg, the Susan's Girl division Aug. 29. She has never finished worse than second in any of her races and now has earnings of $434,300.
"Every single time she shows up, and you can see what kind of special filly she is," Pita said.
The question now becomes whether Pita decides to continue racing her this year or give her some time off to freshen up and prepare for a 3-year-old campaign in 2021. A possible date in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) Nov. 6 at Keeneland has not been ruled out.
"She's run hard all summer," Pita said. "We won't know, probably, until the beginning of next week if she's going to remain in training for the rest of the year. She probably deserves a rest. She'll tell us if she can give us another effort and, believe me, Keeneland's in the back of my mind a little bit. But I'm not going to commit to anything just yet."
Princess Secret was bred by Brent and Crystal Fernung out of the Belong To Me mare Golden Horseshoe and is a half sister to multiple stakes-placed Epic Journey. She was purchased by Pita for $30,000 from the Journeyman Bloodstock Services consignment to the 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sales October Yearlings Sale.
Noble Drama Comes Through in Wildcat Heir
Harold Queen's homebred Noble Drama lived up to even-money favoritism with a length victory in the $150,000 FSS Wildcat Heir. The 5-year-old Gone Astray gelding rated off a strong early pace before making a sweeping move on the turn into the homestretch under Emisael Jaramillo. Garter and Tie made a solid run through the stretch to finish second over Just Kidding.
Noble Drama is out of the stakes-winning Burning Roma Queen Drama, a half sister to 2010 Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner and champion sprinter Big Drama and a full sister to multiple grade 1 winner Sheer Drama. He pushed his bankroll to $596,837 with his victory in 1:35.34 for the one-turn mile.
