GULFSTREAM PARK SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP S. (gr. III ), Gulfstream Park , February 09, 2013 , $150,000 Guaranteed , value of race $150,000 , 4 yo's & up , 7 furlongs , 1:21.84 Dirt FT .

Fort Loudon, Florida’s champion 2-year-old male of 2011, proved plenty swift in the Gulfstream Park Sprint Championship Stakes (gr. III) Feb. 9. The son of Awesome of Course completed the seven furlongs in 1:21.84 in a close finish over Swagger Jack and Bahamian Squall.

The victory was the second graded stakes win for Fort Loudon, who races as a homebred for Fred Brei’s Jacks Or Better Farm. Fort Loudon won last summer’s Carry Back Stakes (gr. III) at six furlongs at Calder Race Course.

Fort Loudon’s sire stands at Brent and Crystal Fernung’s Journeyman Stud near Ocala, Fla. Awesome of Course was a three-time stakes winner for Jacks Or Better.

Brei bought Fort Loudon’s dam, multiple grade II winner Lottsa Talc (by Talc), for $575,000 at the 1997 Keeneland November breeding stock sale while the mare was carrying her first foal. Lottsa Talc was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent.

Fort Loudon is Lottsa Talc’s eighth foal.

“Awesome of Course and Lottsa Talc physically fit, and I knew Awesome Again was a good stallion,” said Brei, whose farm is located near Reddick, Fla. “If you look at his record by percentages, he’s one of the top sires in the country. Plus, I had raised a number of his babies, and I knew what they were like.”

“As for Lottsa Talc, she’s old and ornery, just like me,” Brei said with a laugh. “She’s showing her age but is good and healthy.”

Fort Loudon went through a typical Jacks Or Better regime.

“We break them in September, and we work on them all winter,” Brei said. “I don’t send a 2-year-old to the track without them being extremely fit. Fort Loudon’s 2-year-old half sister Concord Park (by Consolidator) has been galloping and just started breezing.”

Lottsa Talc produced a full brother to Fort Loudon Feb. 8.

Fort Loudon isn’t the sole graded stakes winner descending from Lottsa Talc. The mare’s daughter, Sexy Stockings (by Tabasco Cat), is the dam of two-time grade I winner Jackson Bend. Sexy Stockings produced a full brother to Jackson Bend (by Hear No Evil) this year.

Awesome of Course has sired five stakes winners including 2010 Eclipse Award winner Awesome Feather. Awesome of Course’s 2013 fee at Journeyman is $7,500.—D.S

GULFSTREAM PARK H. (gr. II ), Gulfstream Park , March 09, 2013 , $300,000 Guaranteed , value of race $300,000 , 4 yo's & up , 1 mile , 1:35.17 Dirt FT .

E. Paul Robsham Stables’ 4-year-old homebred Discreet Dancer represented his family well when he won the March 9 Gulfstream Park Handicap (gr. II), becoming the second stakes winner for his dam West Side Dancer. The 51/4–length score marked the fourth victory in five starts for the son of Discreet Cat. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the chestnut colt has now earned $313,150.

The Massachusetts-based racing outfit E. Paul Robsham Stables, which Joyce Robsham named in honor of her late husband, is now hoping to experience a banner year as in 2012 when it campaigned other graded stakes winners Awesome Maria, Broadway’s Alibi, and R Holiday Mood.

Robsham bought Discreet Dancer’s winning dam by Gone West for $250,000 out of Book One of the 2004 Keeneland September yearling sale from Lane’s End, agent.

The mare’s second dam, stakes-placed Lassie’s Lady (by Alydar), is a half sister to European champion Wolfhound. She is also a half sister to grade III winner Weekend Surprise, the dam of classic winners Summer Squall and two-time leading sire A.P. Indy.

West Side Dancer’s first foal is 2011 Swale Stakes (gr. II) winner Travelin Man (by Trippi), an earner of more than $250,000 who also races for Robsham and is trained by Pletcher.

The decision behind the mating of the Gulfstream Park Handicap winner, was a simple one.

“Since Mrs. Robsham also bred and raced (gr. I winner) Discreet Cat, she always sends at least two mares to him (each season) and the Gone West mare was a great match,” explained Robsham Stables racing manager Anna Ford.

The resulting foal, Discreet Dancer, was foaled, raised, and broken at Ocala Stud.

“He was always a straightforward, nice individual,” said Ocala Stud assistant farm manager David O’Farrell. “He seemed athletic; we were high on him from day one. We’re thrilled, but not surprised he turned out to be a nice horse.”

“His transformation from 3 to 4 has been huge—he’s really grown into himself,” added Ford. “He’s always shown ability and has been a first-class horse.”

Robsham Stables sold West Side Dancer privately to Ocala Stud after she had a full sister to Discreet Dancer (Sweet N Discreet) in 2010. The 10-year-old mare delivered a Bernardini filly Feb. 15. She is booked to High Cotton for 2014.

Discreet Cat, the sire of seven stakes winners, stands for $12,500 at Darley near Lexington.—E.M.