It was a weekend double for leading freshman sire MCKINZIE when Cyclone State won for the second time and Sell It broke his maiden at Gulfstream.
The Dixiana-bred Sell It was making his first Florida start after racing on the Kentucky circuit all summer and he proved to love the Gulfstream turf. Racing a few lengths off the leader in the 7 ½ furlong sprint, the colt was happy to run in fourth for much of the race after a bit of trouble at the break.
As the field raced toward the stretch, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr swung Sell It wide and sent him after the leader. It took until a few jumps before the wire, but Sell It had his head in front at the line for a maiden-breaking win.
Trained by Jose Francisco D’Angelo for Longball Stables and John Fanelli, Sell It has finished in the top three in four of his six starts. The colt was bred by Dixiana Farms.
In New York, MCKINZIE son Cyclone State was searching for his second consecutive victory in a one-mile Allowance Optional Claiming race.
The Chad Summers trainee was the first out of the gate and kept that momentum around the track. Asked for effort with just over a quarter mile left to go, he was happy to stretch out his margin into the stretch. It was cut down near the line, but he showed why he was the favorite with a 2 ¾ length win in the end.
The H. Allen Poindexter-bred has finished in the top three in three of his six starts and represents Gold Square, George Messina, and Michael Lee.
MCKINZIE has sired 20 winners from his first crop with his four juvenile Grade 1 performers the best of any North American sires this year.