Published:
Monday, May 27, 2019
The Memorial Day weekend took on an extra special meaning for everybody at Double Diamond Farm yesterday when Bahamian Girl broke the ice for her sire in the second race at Gulfstream Park. The 2-year-old filly had raced a little greenly when finishing third in her recent debut, but she left little doubt about her ability in her second try, giving Bahamian Squall his long-awaited first winner.
With Luca Panici aboard, Bahamian Girl broke third out of the gate but quickly shot to the lead and opened up by three lengths heading down the backstretch in the 4 1/2-furlong maiden special. The filly owned by All Together Stable and Gary A. Grant retained the safe margin all the way to the wire, with Panici giving her one light right-handed tap midway down the lane just to keep her mind on her business.
Bahamian Girl was clocked in :52.57 with a final margin of 2 1/4 lengths, earning a check for $43,000 from the purse of $66,050 and paying $3.40. That boosted her total to $49,000 and propelled Bahamian Squall up by 27 places into the seventh spot on the nation's freshman sire money list.