555:, a thoroughbred retirement home. "He came out of his race fine, but the last few days he just didn't seem to have the same energy level he has had when training these past weeks and months. He came back blowing yesterday after a routine gallop. He wasn't his usual rambunctious self, and kind of looked at me and told me it was over. The one thing I can say is that he retired 100 percent sound," said Vaccarezza. "He was everything to me and my family. To have a horse that won all those Grade 1's, who took me and my family around the world to meet so many people, it's like a dream come true."
523:, in which he wrenched an ankle. Returning to the United States, he finished fourth in the United Nations in July, then sixth in the Secretariat Stakes in August. "His races this year haven’t been that bad, if you really analyze them," said Romans. "They were very bad set-ups, and he ran about as well as he could. Compare the difference between the Arlington Million between 2013 and '12. We went almost two seconds faster this year. They started respecting his speed a little more and went after him earlier."
29:
340:, Little Mike again went to the early lead and set solid opening fractions. He opened up a large lead turning into the stretch and this time was able to hold off some late challenges to win in an excellent time of 1:32.37. "As long as he's happy and flipping his ears around, how fast he's going doesn't really matter," said jockey
365:
lengths, despite carrying the high-weight of 123 pounds. "I've never seen him get tired," Romans said. "Even though he didn't win the , he only got beat two lengths and that was a grade I. He has been just super. He came to me in great condition. It's pretty special for him to win three graded stakes
481:
rated the gelding off the pace, moved to the lead entering the stretch, and then withstood a stretch drive from the favorite Point of Entry. Romans said, "He's an overachiever and he's proven us all wrong. I don't think anybody up here thought he could be more than a miler last year and now we don't
542:
In 2014, Vaccarezza took over the training of Little Mike, and conditioned him to a win in the Flying
Pidgeon Stakes at Gulfstream Park on May 17. Little Mike then was given a long layoff to deal with tendonitis, undergoing hyperbaric treatments and a swimming regimen. He finally returned to racing
434:
on August 18 with another front-running performance. Vaccarezza credited the win to Little Mike's tactical speed and stamina. "If you try to go with him on the lead, you can't stay with him and you're going to lose. And if you let him go like they did , you're going to lose." Vaccarezza said. "Can
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271:. In the mid 2000s, he obtained the mare Hay Jude from a friend, Pat Greco. Hay Jude's first foal, Little Nick by Tiger Ridge, became a multiple stakes winner for Vaccarezza. Hay Jude's second foal was Little Mike, sired by Spanish Steps, an unraced son of
534:
by a nose. Romans said, "He just proved how versatile he is. I knew we needed to try something different to get him back to the level where he was last year." Little Mike ended the year by finishing seventh in the
Breeders' Cup Turf and ninth in the
495:
Little Mike was named the 2012 Florida-bred Horse of the Year by the
Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association. His dam Hay Jude was also named the Florida broodmare of the year. Little Mike was a runner-up to
278:
Little Mike was named after
Vaccarezza's youngest son and owned by Carlo's wife Priscilla Vaccarezza. He was originally trained by William White, then Allen Iwinski in 2010, before being transferred to the barn of
435:
you believe this? I'm just a backyard kind of guy and we took a
Florida-bred horse that was out of an Illinois-bred mare and we took on the Europeans in one of the biggest races in the world and we beat them"
731:, meaning Raise A Native appears in the fifth generation of the sire's side of the pedigree and in the fifth generation of the dam's side of the pedigree. Little Mike is also inbred 5S x 4D to
303:, leading the field from start to finish. He then won three allowance races and finished second in the Monarch's Maze Stakes, ending the year with a record of four wins from seven starts.
299:, then lost his next three races, all sprint races on the dirt. Now trained by Allen Iwinski, Little Mike won for the first time after being switched to the turf in a one-mile race at
336:
on
February 5, his first attempt at the Grade 1 level. After leading throughout most of the race, he gave way near the finish line and finished sixth. Three weeks later in the 1-mile
558:"It's so thrilling to have him here," said Michael Blowen, the president of Old Friends. "I'm star-struck around all these horses and he fits right in with the best we have here."
373:
fracture and missed the next eight months, returning on
December 22 to win an allowance race. He finished 2011 with a record of four wins from five starts, all at Gulfstream Park.
477:
on
November 3, run that year at Santa Anita Park. He was a 17-1 longshot, largely because he had never won at the distance. Instead of his usual front-running tactics, jockey
482:
know where his limit is." Little Mike's time was an exceptional 2:22.83, the fastest
Breeders' Cup Turf ever and almost equal with the Santa Anita track record of 2:22
332:. At odds of 12-1, he went to the early lead then battled down the stretch with Blues Street to win by a nose. He was then transferred to the stable of Dale Romans for the
456:
miles on a yielding turf course at
Belmont Park. Little Mike went to the early lead but tired, eventually finishing well behind the winner Point of Entry in fifth.
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on May 5, where he went off as a 12-1 longshot. He again set the early pace, then opened up a large lead turning into the stretch and won comfortably by
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on July 10, 2016, but finished fifth. It would be his last race after accumulating 14 wins from 30 starts, with earnings of $ 3,543,392.
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miles. He then tried to repeat his earlier win in the Canadian Stakes but faded late in the stretch to finish fourth.
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to prepare for Dubai World Cup Day. In his first start on March 9, he competed on an artificial dirt surface at
492:. He became the first American horse to win both the Arlington Million and Breeders' Cup Turf in the same year.
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at Belmont Park. He rated early, then moved to the lead around the far turn and withstood a late run to beat
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267:. He subsequently became involved in the restaurant industry and became the owner of two restaurants near
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Little Mike began 2012 with another wire to wire win at Gulfstream Park, this time in the Florida
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On July 11, 2009, Little Mike finished second in his racing debut in a 5-furlong
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On April 3, Little Mike repeated his front-running tactics in the
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1294:"Four-time Grade 1 winner Little Mike retired to Old Friends"
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On January 9, 2011 at the age of four, Little Mike made his
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Little Mike next traveled to Chicago to win the 10-furlong
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Little Mike's sole victory of 2013 came in the Grade 1
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Little Mike's next start was on September 29 in the
551:Little Mike was retired at the end of July 2016 to
1191:"Little Mike named Florida-bred horse of the year"
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236:(foaled May 24, 2007 in Florida) is an American
1265:"Little Mike Finds Form in Hirsch Turf Classic"
1059:"Doubles Partner Nets Comeback Win in Canadian"
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876:"Little Mike, 12-1, Hangs on in Ft. Lauderdale"
1111:"Joe Hirsch: Point of Entry Solidifies Status"
1085:"Little Mike Takes Turf Classic in Big Effort"
902:"Pace May Favor Battle of Hastings in GP Turf"
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847:"Chart for Monmouth Race 6 - August 28, 2010"
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459:Little Mike's final race of the year was the
1136:"Little Mike Runs Big in Breeders' Cup Turf"
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979:"Little Mike Runs Big Again to Win Appleton"
1007:"Little Mike scorches the Turf in 2:22 4/5"
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567:Pedigree of Little Mike, bay gelding, 2007
369:Unfortunately, Little Mike then suffered a
953:"Little Mike Sneaks Away in Canadian Turf"
240:racehorse best known for winning the 2012
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822:"Vaccarezza savors Little Mike's Million"
816:
814:
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1319:"Little Mike Fifth After Lengthy Layoff"
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927:"Chart for the Gulfstream Park Handicap"
1420:Racehorses trained in the United States
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511:Little Mike began 2013 by shipping to
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222:Florida-bred Horse of the Year (2012)
1345:"Little Mike Retired to Old Friends"
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16:American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse
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1033:"Awesome Feather Basks In Sunshine"
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295:special weight race on the dirt at
275:with a modest stud fee of $ 5,000.
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1162:"Outstanding Trainer: Dale Romans"
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1242:"Breeders' Cup Turf: Little Mike"
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727:Little Mike is inbred 5S x 5D to
33:Little Mike at Old Friends (2024)
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140:4) Carlo Vaccarezza (2014-2016)
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227:Last updated on August 3, 2016
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1435:Old Friends Equine Retirement
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427:on June 30, finishing third.
397:Little Mike then traveled to
334:Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap
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182:Sunshine Millions Turf Stakes
419:lengths. He then shipped to
132:2) Allen Iwinski (2010–2011)
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768:"Horse Profile Little Mike"
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269:Fort Lauderdale, Florida
1425:Thoroughbred family 8-f
528:Joe Hirsch Turf Classic
440:Joe Hirsch Turf Classic
197:Joe Hirsch Turf Classic
130:1) William White (2009)
86:May 24, 2007 in Florida
1370:"Little Mike pedigree"
521:Dubai Duty Free Stakes
378:Sunshine Millions Turf
312:Fort Lauderdale Stakes
167:Fort Lauderdale Stakes
1410:2007 racehorse births
328:miles on the turf at
338:Canadian Turf Stakes
172:Canadian Turf Stakes
122:Priscilla Vaccarezza
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506:Champion Turf Horse
187:Turf Classic Stakes
114:Carlo E. Vaccarezza
1189:Medina, Carlos E.
826:www.twinspires.com
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475:Breeders' Cup Turf
297:Calder Race Course
265:Aqueduct racetrack
242:Breeders' Cup Turf
209:Breeders' Cup Turf
1244:. Courier-Journal
900:Shandler, Jason.
874:Shandler, Jason.
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517:Meydan Racecourse
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1292:Welsch, Mike.
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1374:. Retrieved
1372:. Equineline
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644:Incantation
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708:Foggy Note
676:Uncomitted
603:Gana Facil
504:voting for
351:and won by
281:Dale Romans
234:Little Mike
156:$ 3,543,392
138:(2011–2013)
136:Dale Romans
22:Little Mike
1404:Categories
1396:on YouTube
1376:2016-08-05
739:References
733:In Reality
716:Explodent
713:T.V. Spot
702:In Reality
680:Buckpasser
671:Irradiate
639:Lucky Mel
547:Retirement
248:Background
161:Major wins
148:30: 14-2-1
651:Hay Jude
631:Chambord
598:Killaloe
580:Unbridled
342:Joe Bravo
273:Unbridled
51:Unbridled
47:Grandsire
1354:3 August
1328:3 August
1303:3 August
1274:4 August
1248:4 August
1226:4 August
1200:4 August
1171:4 August
1145:4 August
1120:4 August
1094:4 August
1068:4 August
1042:4 August
1016:4 August
988:4 August
962:4 August
936:4 August
911:4 August
885:4 August
856:3 August
831:3 August
803:3 August
777:3 August
697:Relaunch
626:Fortino
611:Charedi
587:Fappiano
562:Pedigree
498:Wise Dan
423:for the
371:condylar
259:bred by
153:Earnings
60:Hay Jude
1298:drf.com
1221:drf.com
500:in the
487:⁄
468:⁄
451:⁄
414:⁄
389:⁄
360:⁄
323:⁄
257:gelding
127:Trainer
111:Breeder
91:Country
77:Gelding
65:Damsire
473:-mile
293:maiden
217:Awards
211:(2012)
199:(2013)
194:(2012)
189:(2012)
184:(2012)
179:(2011)
174:(2011)
169:(2011)
145:Record
101:Colour
83:Foaled
693:1986
658:1979
653:1995
618:1983
583:1987
576:2001
513:Dubai
205:wins:
119:Owner
1356:2016
1330:2016
1305:2016
1276:2016
1250:2016
1228:2016
1202:2016
1173:2016
1147:2016
1122:2016
1096:2016
1070:2016
1044:2016
1018:2016
990:2016
964:2016
938:2016
913:2016
887:2016
858:2016
833:2016
805:2016
779:2016
622:Caro
572:Sire
39:Sire
649:Dam
314:at
254:bay
134:3)
105:Bay
73:Sex
57:Dam
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