Thumbs Up Racing’s Sleep Eyes Todd burst from the starting gate in the $54,000 Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes April 29 and was never threatened by his eight rivals. He drew off to win by 6 1/2 lengths under jockey Quincy Hamilton.

Off as the 7-5 favorite in the 1 1/16-mile feature for 3-year-olds and up, Sleepy Eyes Todd took command in the three-turn race and set fractions of :23.60, :47, and 1:12.20 through six furlongs. The leading margin continued to grow as the 4-year-old Paddy O’Prado colt rounded the final turn and burst down the home stretch. He hit the wire in 1:44.40 on a fast track.

“I only had one set of instructions, and that was to let the speed go and sit behind it—that’s what I was told to do—but the horse was pretty keen early, and I guess maybe I didn’t outsmart myself that time,” Hamilton said.

Sleepy Eyes Todd was bred in Kentucky by Two Hearts Farm and Kristen Goncharoff out of the Wild Rush mare Pledge Mom. The gray or roan colt was consigned by Legacy Bloodstock as a weanling at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, where Jonathan Wong purchased him for $9,000. With five wins and a second in 10 starts, he has earned $240,765 for Cobb. Sleepy Eyes Todd also has a runner-up finish to Owendale in last year’s Oklahoma Derby (G3) on his resume.

– edited from www.bloodhorse.com