SUSAN’S GIRLY PRINCESS

Princess Secret shook off her upset in the $100,000 FSS Desert Vixen on Aug. 1 and a stretch-long bid on Aug. 29 by a relentless Oh Deborah to score a hard-earned victory in the $200,000 FSS Susan’s Girl.

Princess Secret, who finished second in the first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes Series as the even-money favorite for owner/trainer Daniel Pita, came through in the Susan’s Girl, scoring by threequarters of a length over Oh Deborah as the 6-5 favorite. The daughter of Florida’s 2019 leading stretch, eking out only a head lead at each point of call, to close down Lyrical. She showed a professional racehorse performance when she later took on Oh Deborah to win by one-and-three-quarter lengths. She completed seven furlongs in 1:23.02.

“She’s a very gutsy filly. She doesn’t like to lose,” Pita said.

Making her first start since winning her July 19 debut by three-and-one-quarter lengths, Oh Deborah finished four lengths clear of thirdplace finisher Go Jo Jo Go.

Princess Secret was purchased for $30,000 at the 2019 OBS October sale from Brent and Crystal Fernung’s Journeyman Bloodstock Services. She debuted at Gulfstream Park with an impressive four length triumph on May 7. The Floridabred filly returned two months later to finish a close second against the boys in the first allowance race for two-year-olds of the Spring/Summer meet

Gritty Filly Princess Secret to earn favoritism while facing fillies in the FSS Desert Vixen. Fights Hard in Susan’s Girl Win She set an early pace before being overtaken by Go Jo Jo freshman and juvenile sire Khozan, chased long“This is hope for when you go to the sales and shot pacesetter Lyrical during fractions of :22.64 pick yearlings. We don’t have millions of dollars. and :45.22 for the first half-mile before moving to We always try to get some sort of bargain. She the lead on the turn into the homestretch, only to was a nice purchase by a stallion that seems to immediately meet an outside challenge from the get nice runners. We were lucky enough to get Stonehedge homebred, Oh Deborah. her,” Pita said. Princess Secret responded gamely to jockey Pita is confident that Princess Secret will Miguel Vasquez’s urging from the half to the carry her speed around two turns in the $400,000 Go in the stretch. My Dear Girl, the mile-and-a-sixteenth finale of the Florida Sires Stakes series on Sept. 26. “I think breeding is going to be the biggest factor in the next leg of the series. I think she showed it today,” Pita said. “Hopefully, she’ll come out of the race in good order and we’ll see you in four weeks.” RYAN THOMPSON PHOTO

“We feel very blessed to still be doing what we love. Ocala is the best place in the world to raise a racehorse and we want to continue to bring quality stallions here. ” —Crystal Fernung

Khozan is by Distorted Humor out of Delta Princess, by A.P. Indy and is a half-brother to champion Royal Delta. Entering stud in 2016, he is a top five nationally ranked second crop sire with five stakes winners, $2,247,212 in earnings, and 46 winners from 79 runners through Sept. 8. Prior to stud, Khozan was one of the top lots at the Fasig-Tipton Florida sale of two-year-olds in training in 2014, selling to Al Shaqab Racing for $1 million. Khozan made two starts winning by three-andthree-quarter lengths and then by 12¾ lengths.

His stakes winners include Liam’s Lucky Charm, winner of the $200,000 Florida Sire Stakes Affirmed Division in 2018; Airbus, winner of the G1 Clasico Polla de Potrillos in Peru; Sebs Princess, winner of the Louisiana Jewel Stakes at Delta Downs; Go Jo Jo Go; and Princess Secret.

Interestingly, although Stonehedge’s Oh Deborah was beaten by Princess Secret, they still won. They own 25% of Khozan and stand the stud at Journeyman Stallions in Ocala, Fla.

It’s there where the Fernung’s use their knack for finding success in the series. In 2014, the series was at one point referred to as the “Journeyman Stud edition” because so many runners from the farm’s stallions ran so well in the series. The stallions sired the winners of all six inaugural Florida Sire Stakes races plus a onetwo finish and two one-two-three finishes. In 2014, Sing Praises by Hear No Evil won the Dr. Fager and Of Course by Awesome of Course was second. Both stood at Journeyman Stud and were property of Fred Brei’s Jacks or Better Farm, the current series leader with 16 wins. Third was Jaiden’s Best by Journeyman Stud’s four-time Florida Stallion of the Year Wildcat Heir.

The Affirmed Stakes included Brei’s Twotwentyfive A by Awesome of Course, followed by Brei’s Sing Praises and Wildcat Heir’s Jaiden’s Best. The In Reality Stakes finish was again Sing Praises in first followed by Royal Squeeze by Wildcat Heir. The Desert Vixen Stakes winner in 2014 was another Hear No Evil, but a filly this time, Leap Year Luck, who also

LAUREN KING PHOTO

finished third in the Susan’s Girl. The Susan’s Girl winner was Jose Pinchin’s Holywell by Exclusive Quality who also went on to win the My Dear Girl Stakes and was followed up by third place finisher Awesome Ice by Awesome of Course.

The Fernung connection was not new to the FSS program. They literally go back to the very beginning when it was called the Florida Stallion Stakes. Originally conceived in 1979 by then Ocala-based breeder/owner Dan Lasater, Brent Fernung was an eyewitness to history as Lasater Farm’s broodmare manager.

“I actually sat in on the conversation that Dan had with Calder’s Kenny Noe [then-president of the track],”said Fernung. “What Dan wanted was a series of races to showcase his farm’s stallions and Noe told him that a private series like that wasn’t going to happen.”

Fernung added that Lasater then said, “Then let everyone run in my race. We’ll outrun them anyway.”

Lasater’s idea came to fruition through the efforts of Calder Race Course management, then Florida Thor

oughbred Breeders’ Association president Fred W. Hooper, Florida breeding industry columnist Chuck Tilley and Tartan Farms president John Nerud. In the inaugural 1982 Florida Stallion Stakes, Lasater’s contention proved prophetic. Lasater Farm stallions Raise a Bid and Great Above were well-represented by their progeny, accounting for four wins in the six-race series. El Kaiser, by Raise a Bid, won the Dr. Fager Stakes and Affirmed Stakes. Crystal Rail, by Great Above, tallied wins in the Desert Vixen Stakes and Susan’s Girl Stakes.

“It was kind of surreal watching horses sired by stallions at our own operation all these years later, win the Florida Sire Stakes and remembering back to that conversation Dan had with Kenny Noe,” said Crystal Fernung. “We feel very blessed to still be doing what we love. Ocala is the best place in the world to raise a racehorse and we want to continue to bring quality stallions here, it only makes sense to capitalize on the two together.” ■

Princess Secret on her way to winning the FSS Susan’s Girl