By Steve Sherack
Carlo Vaccarezza is making an addition to the menu.
The owner/breeder/trainer and managing partner of the popular Italian restaurant Frank & Dino's will be bringing several high-profile pinhooks to market this spring, beginning at next week's two-day OBS March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.
“I have five in OBS March and Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream, half a dozen plus in OBS April, and four or five going to Maryland,” Vaccarezza said. “I was really active at the yearling sales at Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland. I was into American Pharoah, Into Mischief, etc., and got lucky and bought some of the right horses.”
Vaccarezza's OBS March 2-year-olds, all consigned by Top Line Sales LLC, Agent II, include:
Day One, Mar. 12:
• Hip 147, f, Candy Ride (Arg)–Eltimaas. *$300,000 KEESEP yearling. **Half-sister to champion sprinter Drefong (Gio Ponti).
• Hip 243, c, Street Sense-Isla. *$175,000 FTSAUG yearling. **Produced by a stakes-placed half-sister to MGSW Juanita (Mineshaft).
Day Two, Mar. 13:
• Hip 346, f, Uncle Mo-My Fast One. *$410,000 KEESEP yearling. **Extended female family of MGISW Wekiva Springs.
• Hip 440, f, Into Mischief-Rosemonde. *$375,000 FTSAUG yearling. **Full to MGISP juvenile Rowayton.
• Hip 464, c, Cairo Prince-She Hung the Moon. *$105,000 KEESEP yearling. **Produced by a daughter of Canadian champion Bear Now.
The first of three OBS March breeze shows begins in Ocala Thursday.
Highlights from Vaccarezza's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream offerings, also from the Top Line draft, include colts by American Pharoah (Hip 60) ($235,000 FTSAUG), Into Mischief (Hip 91) ($265,000 FTSAUG), Street Sense (Hip 37) ($280,000 KEESEP) and Will Take Charge (Hip 9) ($225,000 FTSAUG) and a filly by Liam's Map (Hip 87) ($200,000 FTSAUG). The Gulfstream Sale is slated for Mar. 27.
“Jim Gladwell and his wife Tori at Top Line do an absolutely phenomenal job,” Vaccarezza said. “I tried to go to Ocala almost on a weekly basis and the horses all look magnificent. We breezed them once already at the training center and they were extremely impressive.”
The native of Genoa, Italy, has teamed up with an undisclosed partner on the pinhooking venture. The duo have also recently raced horses together in partnership.
“I got a friend of mine from Canada that went in with me,” Vaccarezza said. “Some people want their own privacy. He's a great guy–loves the Pittsburgh Steelers–and he goes to every game. He does a lot of charity work, too. We are really happy and we expect to have a very good sale.”
Vaccarezza signed for 11 head for a total of $1.88 million ($170,909 average), led by the aforementioned Uncle Mo–My Fast One filly, at last year's Keeneland September Sale, and seven youngsters for a total of $1.675 million ($239,286), topped by the Into Mischief–Rosemonde filly, at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga.
Owner and breeder of 2012 GI Breeders' Cup Turf winner Little Mike, Vaccarezza saddled his first winner as a trainer in 2014. Why take on pinhooking?
“I was pretty successful breeding Little Mike and [multiple stakes winner] Little Nick and so forth, then I started to train and I hit the 100-win mark pretty fast,” Vaccarezza said. “But, I have different ventures. We're expanding Frank and Dino's to Lexington and I already have the restaurant here in Boca Raton. Plus, I have another couple of businesses–one in California and another in Norfolk, Virginia.”
Looking ahead to OBS March, Vaccarezza concluded, “The market is so hot right now… I think we have the right combination of sires and some of the flavors of the month. Listen, it all comes down to if they look good and breeze fast. I always have the option that if they don't sell for the right price, I'll take them back with me and race myself.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
