Baciami Piccola, listed-placed in France and Italy in just three career starts, got the best of a blanket finish in her stateside debut to win the GIII Florida Oaks by a half-length. Making her first start for Brian Lynch and Amerman Racing and in her first try beyond six furlongs, the bay filly was taken in hand soon after breaking from her outside post and jostled her way over to the rail. Rank and running up on the heels of rivals into the first turn, Baciami Piccola was well off the pace as longshot Valueable Charmer (Value Plus) and Conquest Bebop (Scat Daddy) took the field through fractions of :23.01 and :46.99. Tipped out to the center of the course at the top of the lane, she surged to the lead in the final sixteenth for a determined victory.
“She came over in mid-summer and was a little slow to get adjusted to the way we do things over here, so we sort of played with her through the fall,” Lynch said. “Julien [Leparoux] and her started to hook up once we got to Palm Meadows, and he spent a lot of time with her. She is a very difficult filly to ride and can be temperamental, but they seemed to get along fantastic.”
Lynch admitted he was taking a big shot with both the stretch-out in distance and the jump to graded company.
“If you have a bigger stable, you are able to gauge them a little off your better horses, and she held her own with them,” the trainer explained. “So we thought we would take a shot and run her here in the Oaks. It's wonderful when a plan comes together; you look like a genius some days and like a fool other days, but today was a good day. She is very gutsy and we have a lot to look forward to. To get the mile-and-a-sixteenth after she had never been beyond six furlongs shows she has an abundance of talent.”
Leparoux was also happy with the winner's effort.
“We've been working with her quite a bit and we always liked her,” Leparoux said. “Today she broke good, and I took her back and saved ground around the turn. I knew if I found some room in the stretch, she was going to kick nice for me. We had questions before the race because this was her first time to go that far, but she competed. She has some guts.”
Baciami Piccola opened her racing career with a debut victory at San Siro last May. She was third in a listed event at Rome in June and had been off since finishing second in a listed race at Vichy July 23 for trainer Antonio Marcialis and owner We Bloodstock SRL. Baciami Piccola is the first foal out of Lucky Legs. The mare produced a filly by Equiano (Fr) in 2014 and a colt by that stallion in 2015.
Saturday, Tampa Bay Downs
FLORIDA OAKS-GIII, $155,000, TAM, 3-12, 3yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:42.20, fm.
1–#@BACIAMI PICCOLA (GB), 116, f, 3, by Equiano (Fr)
1st Dam: Lucky Legs (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
2nd Dam: Singing Diva (Ire), by Royal Academy
3rd Dam: High Spirited (Ire), by Shirley Heights (GB)
(€33,000 Ylg '14 AR14). O-Amerman Racing LLC; B-Tirnaskea
Stud (GB); T-Brian A. Lynch; J-Julien R. Leparoux. $90,000.
Lifetime Record: SP-Fr & Ity, 4-2-1-1, $115,002. Werk Nick
Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Enjoy Yourself (GB), 116, f, 3, Sir Percy (GB)–Odense, by
Medaglia d'Oro. (7,000gns Wlg '13 TATFOA; 10,000gns Ylg '14
TAOCT). O-Sovereign Stable; B-Mrs Janet M. Sexton (GB);
T-John P. Terranova, II. $30,000.
3–Family Meeting, 120, f, 3, Sky Mesa–Family Plan, by Repriced.
O/B-Glen Hill Farm (FL); T-Thomas F. Proctor. $20,000.
Margins: HF, NK, HF. Odds: 14.50, 5.50, 7.80.
Also Ran: Princess Princess, Ava's Kitten, Gamble's Ghost, Miss Otis, Bonita, Cinder, Missalaney, Conquest Bebop, Silver Magnolia, Valueable Charmer. Scratched: Spinamiss (Ire).
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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