Ron the Greek Overpowers the Field to Win Sunshine Millions Classic

Ron the Greek tracked the leaders, made a decisive move at the three-eights pole and poured on his opposition on his way to an overwhelming win in the Sunshine Millions Classic at Gulfstream Park.

I'm Steppin' It Up and Fort Loudon battled for the lead under swift fractions of 23.19 and 46.59 through the first half-mile with race favorite Mucho Macho Man stalking them in third place to their outside.

Cash Rules and Ron the Greek followed in fourth and fifth, but they were less than five lengths behind the leaders.

Positions remained unchanged until they started to round the far turn, and right at the three-quarter pole, Fort Loudon started receiving pressure from Mucho Macho Man, who was second just a half-length behind.

Cash Rules and Ron the Greek started to be called for their runs, but it was Ron the Greek that took total command of the race with an incredible move at the three-eights pole and was ahead by seven lengths as he entered the home stretch.

He just kept overpowering his opponents, drawing off to a 11.25-lengths margin of victory, and with jockey Jose Lezcano easing him up in the final meters.

Cash Rules, who ran wide on both turns, settled for second over Fort Loudon. Atoned and Decaf Again just passed the tiring I'm Steppin' It Up and Mucho Macho Man to finish fourth and fifth.

The favorite, Mucho Macho Man, never fired today and was pulled up by his jockey Mike Smith as they were reaching the three-eights pole.

As Mucho Macho Man crossed the finish line, distanced from the group, nothing appeared physically wrong with him, meaning we will have to wait until the post-race tests from trainer Kathy Ritvo tells us if there is anything wrong with him.

But the star of the race and the Sunshine Millions race card was Ron the Greek.

Mucho Macho Man was near the swift pace, but so was Ron the Greek, who was much closer to the leaders than he usually is.

Maybe Ron the Greek's connections learned their lesson from the Breeders' Cup Classic, where the trailers expected the leaders to come to them and make a deep stretch run ton win.

He was fifth just 4.5 lengths behind the pace setter, and when Lezcano asked him for his run, he gave it to him in dominating fashion.

Ron the Greek, a six-year-old son of Full Mandate out of the Fortunate Prospect mare Flambe, now has a lifetime record of 23-8-5-1 with earnings of $1,806,597.

He runs for the colors of the partnership of Brous Stable, Wachtel Stable and Jack T. Hammer. He is trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Jose Lezcano.

He now could be pointed towards a title defense at the Grade I, $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap at Santa Anita Park on March 2.

Sunshine Millions Races Quick Results

Florida Sunshine Millions Classic S.
Purse: $400,000
Distance: One And One Eighth Miles On The Dirt
Track Condition: Sloppy
Winning Time: 1:49.19     Fractions:  23.19, 46.59, 1:11.03, 1:36.06
No	Horse	Jockey	Win	Place	Show
5	Ron the Greek	Jose Lezcano	8.40	4.20	4.40
7	Cash Rules	Luis Saez		5.60	7.40
3	Fort Loudon	John R. Velazquez			9.00
Also ran: 4 - Atoned , 6 - Decaf Again , 1 - I'm Steppin' It Up , 2 - Mucho Macho Man

Winning Breeder: Jack T. Hammer

Winning Owner: Brous Stable, Wachtel Stable and Hammer, Jack, T.

Winning Trainer: William I. Mott

Sunshine Millions Distaff S.
Purse: $300,000
Distance: One And One Eighth Miles On The Dirt
Track Condition: Sloppy
Winning Time: 1:52.28     Fractions: 23.75, 48.16, 1:12.57, 1:38.37
No	Horse	Jockey	Win	Place	Show
4	Successful Song	Joel Rosario	4.40	2.80	2.20
5	Speak Easy Gal	Luis Saez		4.60	3.20
1	My Pal Chrisy	Luca Panici			2.60
Also ran: 2 - Delray Lady , 6 - Tale of Peace , 3 - Score Boyera , 7 - Mud Honey

Winning Breeder: Live Oak Stud

Winning Owner: Live Oak Plantation

Winning Trainer: Edward Plesa, Jr.

Sunshine Millions Turf S.
Purse: $150,000
Distance: One And One Eighth Miles On The Turf
Track Condition: Yielding
Winning Time: 1:52.89     Fractions: 25.68 52.09 1:16.76 1:40.83
No	Horse	Jockey	Win	Place	Show
6	Teaks North	John R. Velazquez	19.80	6.20	4.60
2	Doubles Partner	Javier Castellano		2.40	2.20
1	Shkspeare Shaliyah	Paco Lopez			8.20
Also ran: 4 - Bad Debt , 3 - Slews Answer , 5 - Picou , 7 - Roman Tiger , 8 - Duke of Mischief

Winning Breeder: Brylynn Farm, Inc.

Winning Owner: Resolute Group Stables

Winning Trainer: Michelle Nevin

Sunshine Millions Sprint S.
Purse: $150,000
Distance: Six Furlongs On The Dirt
Track Condition: Sloppy
Winning Time: 1:10.27     Fractions: 22.15, 45.32, 57.37
No	Horse	Jockey	Win	Place	Show
9	Off the Jak	Jose L. Alvarez	28.20	9.80	5.40
8	Bahamian Squall	Luis Saez		4.40	3.00
6	Little Drama	Javier Castellano			3.60
Also ran: 5 - Close It Out , 2 - Star Harbour , 10 - Black Diamond Cat , 11 - Cajun Breeze , 1 - County Gun , 4 - Hello Prince , 12 - Bernie the Maestro , 7 - Shock'emagain
Scratched horses: Quiz Whiz  (Trainer)

Winning Breeder: Big C Farm

Winning Owner: Sherry Parbhoo

Winning Trainer: Shivananda Parbhoo

Florida Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf S.
Purse: $150,000
Distance: One And One Eighth Miles On The Turf
Track Condition: Yielding
Winning Time: 1:52.39     Fractions: 25.64, 51.01, 1:15.34, 1:39.81
No	Horse	Jockey	Win	Place	Show
5	Regalo Mia	Javier Castellano	7.20	3.80	2.40
1	Hooh Why	Ronald Dale Allen, Jr.		5.00	2.60
2	Romacaca	Francisco C. Torres			2.10
Also ran: 4 - Millennia , 7 - Callmethesqueeze , 6 - Refining
Scratched horses: Speak Easy Gal  (Trainer)

Winning Breeder: Juvenal Diaz

Winning Owner: Steven W. Ciccarone

Winning Trainer: Michelle Nihei

Florida Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Sprint S.
Purse: $150,000
Distance: Six Furlongs On The Dirt
Track Condition: Sloppy
Winning Time: 1:11.07     Fractions: 21.99, 45.63, 58.06
No	Horse	Jockey	Win	Place	Show
2	Golden Mystery	Luis Saez	6.00	3.00	2.20
5	Emma's Encore	Junior Alvarado		3.20	2.40
3	R Holiday Mood	John R. Velazquez			2.20
Also ran: 4 - Wild Bout Tiffany , 1 - Isn't She Grand , 6 - Becausei'mworthit
Scratched horses: Honey Chile  (Trainer)

Winning Breeder: Adena Springs

Winning Owner: Farnsworth Stables LLC

Winning Trainer: Martin D. Wolfson

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