Lovesick Blues' path to the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) began with Johnny Podres, both sons of Nick Alexander's California sire Grazen. In mid-2023, owner/trainer Librado Barocio claimed 6-year-old Johnny Podres with David Bernsen for $40,000 and turned him into a multiple stakes winner. So last year, he went back to the same source for another older Grazen gelding and found Lovesick Blues.
"Nick had another horse named Desmond Doss that was on my radar," Barocio said. "I didn't think he would part with Lovesick Blues, so I asked him about Desmond Doss."
Alexander breeds extensively to Grazen, who has put the breeder on or near the top of California breeders for the past several seasons. The stallion regularly turns out versatile horses who win on dirt, turf, and synthetic, both short and long. While they may not be precocious, they are durable, often running well after their counterparts have been retired.
Desmond Doss, a son of Grazen, had been retired at age 8 after 27 starts, three stakes wins, and more than $500,000 in earnings. But Alexander said that he had another one: Lovesick Blues.
A good allowance horse with several stakes placings to his credit, Lovesick Blues, then a 6-year-old, had yet to win a stakes. After he finished ninth in a Del Mar allowance/optional claiming race in which Johnny Podres ran second, Alexander sent Lovesick Blues to Bobby Mitchell's Bonnie Acres Ranch in Hemet, Calif., for some rehab.
"I got in my car that morning and went to go look at him," Barocio said. "He was so beautiful, and I was so excited. I've always loved him."
Initially, Barocio thought Alexander might want to send Lovesick Blues to him to train because he didn't think the breeder would want to sell him. Alexander, however, offered to sell.
"I thought he had done so well with Johnny Podres that I'd like to give him a shot," Alexander said. "He's such a 'swing for the stars' guy—Mr. Enthusiasm."
Barocio bubbles with excitement, quick to talk with those who love racing. He grew up in San Francisco's Bay Area.
"I was always a sports fanatic," he said. "I played Pop Warner football when I was young. I went to UCLA and played football there."
Barocio's son, also named Librado, played football at UCLA as well, coached a year in the NFL, and is currently back at UCLA as a defensive analyst for the football team under head coach DeShaun Foster.
While at UCLA, the elder Barocio attended film school. Today, he not only owns and trains a racing stable, he produces and directs independent films under the name Lee Librado.
"I love both careers," he said. "I think I've found the balance between these two. It's busy, but I can't think of myself doing something else."
Barocio races in the name of Mia Familia Racing Stable, a name chosen for a couple of specific reasons. He honors his Italian ("mia") and Mexican ("familia") heritages, but most of all, he honors his family. In addition to his son, that includes his wife, Christine—"We've been together from day one"—daughters Alyssa and Mikaella, and their dog, Felix.
"One time I did an interview and talked about my family," Barocio said. "My daughter asked me, 'Dad, why didn't you mention Felix?' So I have to make sure that I include the dog because that's the family."
Lovesick Blues has quickly become a part of the family as well.
"Nick was smart, he gave him a little time," Barocio said. "I think that's what the horse needed, a little break. He came back to me, and I just took my time with him. He started blossoming. He's just an amazing horse."
The first time Barocio started Lovesick Blues, the now 7-year-old gelding ran second in the March 8 San Simeon Stakes (G3T) down the Santa Anita hillside turf course.
"I look for older Grazens, they get better as they get older," Barocio said. "I think Lovesick Blues is a rejuvenated teenager."
Lovesick Blues followed the San Simeon with a third in a California-bred stakes, a victory in the listed Siren Lure Stakes, and a fourth in the Daytona Stakes (G3T). Though all of those were on turf, Lovesick Blues had twice finished second in the Bertrando Stakes for Alexander at a mile on the dirt at Los Alamitos.
Barocio did indeed "swing for the stars" when he entered Lovesick Blues in the six-furlong Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) at Del Mar on the dirt. At 18-1, Lovesick Blues scored by 1 3/4 lengths, earning a fees-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Sprint.
Scheduled for July 26, early in the Del Mar summer season, the Bing Crosby is more than three months before the Breeders' Cup. Barocio had to decide whether to give the gelding a prep in between.
"It would have been 91 days, and he was tearing up the stall," Barocio said.
Instead of a harder work regimen, Barocio decided to enter Lovesick Blues in the Oct. 11 California Flag Handicap for Cal-breds and California-sired horses, again down Santa Anita's hillside turf course. Flying late under jockey Geovanni Franco, Lovesick Blues ran second by a nose to Man O Rose, a two-time winner of the E.B. Johnston Stakes at Los Alamitos.
"I'm happy," Barocio said after the race. "I wanted to win. Look, he wasn't going backwards. I think he thought he won. I'm not going to complain. He ran great. I'm ecstatic."
"Mr. Enthusiasm" can't wait until the Breeders' Cup.
"How am I training a Breeders' Cup horse? I'm thankful. I realize the blessings."
