Bsharpsonata plays a winning tune

By JoAnn Guidry

Florida-bred multiple-graded stakes winner Bsharpsonata wasn’t supposed to be a keeper. Twice the Cloverleaf Farms II homebred was entered into a juvenile sale, only to be withdrawn both times for very different reasons. And now the 3-year-old Pulpit filly is turning out to be the one that didn’t get away.

Need proof? In nine career starts, Bsharpsonata has posted six wins, including five stakes victories. Of that latter number, two have come in graded stakes company. Her latest score was the Davona Dale Stakes (G2) on March 2 at Gulfstream Park, her second consecutive graded stakes win and third stakes victory overall this season.

“Bsharpsonata was entered in the 2007 OBS March two-year-old sale,” recalled Brent Fernung, who served as president and general manager of John Sykes’ CloverLeaf Farms II from 2000-’07. “But she was a small filly and she was still very immature leading up to the sale, so it was decided to give her some time to grow. We entered her in the OBS June sale and thought by then she would’ve developed more.”

Indeed, Bsharpsonata did improve in the ensuing three months. But the change came in an unanticipated manner.

“When we started breezing her, she just got better and better,” said Fernung. “The horse that I worked her with was a Repent colt that I liked a lot and she kept beating him. That’s when I knew she was a special filly. That’s when I told Mr. Sykes that he should keep her after all and race her himself.”

As it turned out, the colt that Bsharpsonata kept outworking was eventual Florida-bred stakes winner Check It Twice. Also a CloverLeaf Farms II homebred, Check It Twice won the What a Pleasure Stakes at Calder on December 1.

Taking Fernung’s advice to heart, Sykes agreed to withdraw the filly from the OBS June sale and told Fernung to name her.

“I remembered when she first surprised me when she beat Check It Twice during a work and I said, ‘my, my,’ so she was originally named My My,” said Fernung, who with wife, Crystal, currently own and operate Ocala-based Journeyman Stud. “Then Mr. Sykes called me up one day and said he had a good name for her and that was Bsharpsonata, so we paid the fee and had her name changed.”

The musically-inspired name is a perfect fit since Bsharpsonata is out of the Affirmed mare Apasionata Sonata. The latter won the Kentucky Cup Ladies Turf Stakes and earned $155,535. With Fernung acting as agent, CloverLeaf Farms purchased Apasionata Sonata for $325,000 at the 2004 Keeneland November mixed sale. She was in foal to Pulpit at the time and therefore carrying the eventual graded-stakes winning Bsharpsonata.

Apasionata Sonata is currently part of Sykes’ broodmare band at the Versailles, Kentucky-based Woodford Thoroughbreds. In June, 2007, Sykes closed CloverLeaf Farms in Reddick and relocated his Thoroughbred operation to the Versailles farm. Apasionata Sonata’s 2-year-old Giant’s Causeway colt was sold privately last year after he was withdrawn from the Keeneland September yearling sale. She had a 2007 Smarty Jones colt and was expecting a 2008 First Samurai foal.

Bsharpsonata broke her maiden at first asking on June 15 at Delaware Park, winning a five-furlong maiden special weight in :58.16. Two months later, she scored her initial stakes win. She romped to a seven-length victory in the Irish Sonnett Stakes on September 22 at Delaware Park. Next Bsharpsonata proved her versatility with a turf win in the Selima Stakes on November 24 at Laurel Park.

She got the New Year off to a winning start with another turf tally, this one coming in the Tropical Park Oaks on January 1. That was followed by a hard-earned nose victory in the Forward Gal Stakes (G2) on February 9 at Gulfstream Park. Over a soupy sloppy track, she won in 1:23.09 for the seven furlongs.

On March 2, Bsharpsonata captured the Davona Dale Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park to post her second consecutive graded stakes win. In the Davona Dale Stakes, she was much the best as she rolled to a two-length win in 1:37.97 for the mile. Trained by Timothy E. Salzman, Bsharpsonata has career earnings to date of $373,410.

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