Dream Central gives Eddie Fazzone his first Saratoga win in a race that recognized the late Suzie O’Cain, an ambassador of New York racing, who also had connections with trainer Gary Sciacca and breeder John Jayko.
It is a dream for anyone to win a race Saratoga Race Course. It is more special when there is a local connection to that victory, especially when those people are within a couple of miles of each other.
That’s what happened on July 20 when local restaurant owner and Schenectady native Eddie Fazzone won his first Saratoga race with Dream Central in Suzie O’Cain Stakes, which was named in honor for one of the ambassadors of New York racing.
Along with being the first Saratoga win for Fazzone, the victory was also special for him, trainer Gary Sciacca, and Fedwell Farms breeder John Jayko since each one had a connection with O’Cain, who lost her battle to breast cancer on Jan. 4.
O’Cain, who lived with her husband Dr. C. Lynwood “Doc” O’Cain of 40 years in the Birch Run development while they helped manage the late Carl Lizza’s Highcliff Farm and Flying Zee Stables, was a long-time board member for both the New York Thoroughbred Breeders and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. She was also a frequently visitor of Fazzone’s Eddie F’s New England Seafood Restaurant on Clinton Street.
“I got to know them over the last six years,” Fazzone said. “I had a good relationship with her and Doc. She often came to the restaurant with Doc. I would go outside to sit with her and she would tell me stories about their time with Flying Zee. I was just getting into the game and she was always wishing me a lot of luck. She was great.”
Sciacca, who has been Fazzone’s friend for more than three decades, also knew O’Cain through the racing community. Before the race, Sciacca was asking for a little bit of racing luck.
“When I walked out of my car, I said, ‘Suzie, I need you now,’” Sciacca said. “It was nice to have the race named for her. Running the race was great; to win it was even better.”
For Jayko, this was also a special win for his farm, which is located on Denton Rd. – about two miles from Birch Run and Fazzone’s restaurant – where he bred Dream Central. Just like with Fazzone and Sciaccia, Jayko knew O’Cain through the New York Thoroughbred Breeders community.
“I knew Doc and Suzie as much as everyone else did. We lived right around the corner of Birch Run,” Jayko said. “We’ve always bumped into them at some place. Suzie was at all of the functions. She did all of the committees and boards. She left us too soon. It’s a special win. It’s very nice and rewarding to win a race in her honor.”
This hasn’t been the first time that Fazzone, Sciacca, and Jayko have been part of winning a stakes race.
As part of Eddie F’s Racing Stable, Fazzone privately purchased Chowda and Lobsta. Both horses were bred at Fedwell Farm by 2012 Forego Stakes winner Emcee and Salty Little Sis, who won her debut at Saratoga in 2010.
Two years ago, Chowda took the 2020 Gander Stakes. That followed with Lobsta winning the Thunder Rumble Division of the New York Sires Stakes in December and the Say Florida Sandy Stakes just over a month later at Aqueduct.
Both horses are currently taking a summer break from racing on equine veterinarian Patty Hogan’s farm in Cream Ridge, NJ before possibly returning to Belmont for the fall. Oysta, a 2-year-old gelding by Micromanage and half-brother to Lobsta and Chowda, is currently training at Saratoga.
Dream Central comes out the mare Dreamed to Dream, who Jayko purchased for $7,500 at the 2018 Ocala Winter Sale. At the time, she in foal to multiple Grade 1 winner Point of Entry, and that foal became Dream Point. While Dream Point, who is owned by Fazzone and trained by Sciacca, is still looking for his first career win, Dream Central development hasn’t been a surprise for all of the connections.
After struggling on dirt in her first two starts, Dream Central showed a lot more promise by finishing fifth in a 12-horse field as the New York turf season came to an end in December.
This year, the 3-year-old filly continued to show improvement by winning her first career race in the Cupecoy’s Joy Division of the New York Sire Stakes on June 19. That followed her making a six-wide move at the top of the stretch before winning by a head in a four-horse battle at the finish of the Suzie O’Cain Stakes.
“It’s kind of confusing. She runs six races and doesn’t break her maiden. Now she wins two stakes races,” Sciacca said. “She got steadied in a couple of her races. Perhaps she was not mature enough. When I worked her on the turf before the first stakes race [Cupejoy’s Joy], she worked like a monster. Maybe that set her up.”
Even before Dream Central went into training, Jayko, who started the farm in 1984, began training horses at Saratoga, Belmont, Aqueduct, and Finger Lakes from 1992-2000, then starting his landscaping business for the next 22 years, saw potential in the filly.
“We’ve always thought she was a pretty nice filly,” Jayko said. “We put her in the sale a couple of times when she was a yearling. She didn’t bring what we thought she was worth. We ended up keeping her and put her in training. Obviously, it’s exciting. It validates everything that we are doing. Over the years, we’ve have done pretty well with the small amount of horses. We’ve been lucky.”
Even Sciacca knows they have been lucky, but he also believes there has been a little bit of magic and possibly divine intervention.
“Sometimes, you do a lot of things that don’t turn out,” he said. “I don’t know what happened. Eddie [Fazzone] hit the magic touch. There is no explanation. The man upstairs blesses you and gives you a little luck. You have to go with that. You can’t question it.”
If everything remains in good order for Dream Central, Fazzone and Sciacca indicated the filly will likely race in the Statue of Liberty Division of the New York Sire Stakes on Aug. 18 on the Saratoga turf course.
