Blustery winds and heavy morning rain were the theme for racing at Tampa Bay Downs on March 12, the biggest day of its season. But the rain faded and the tracks were left rated as ‘good’.
At Gulfstream, there was not any rain until later in the card but it too was very windy. A selection of Canadian owned and bred horses acquitted themselves well in tough races.
MRS. BARBARA (Bodemeister), the top contender for the Sovereign Award for Champion 2-year-old filly in Canada for 2021, made her 3-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks on the turf. Owned by Jim Lawson’s Spruce Stable and trained by Mark Casse, Mrs. Barbara and jockey Rafael Hernandez broke smoothly from her rail post but were shuffled back into the first turn. Riding the rail towards the back of the field behind a slow pace of 49.55 for half a mile, the filly angled out three wide for a good rally to finish fourth, 2 3/4 behind winner Dolce Zel.
Charles Fipke’s LADY SPEIGHTSPEARE landed fourth in the Grade 2 Hillsborough Stakes under Emma-Jayne Wilson after tracking a stronger pace in the 1 1/8 mile turf event. It was the third straight stakes placing from three starts in Florida for the 4-year-old filly who is trained by Roger Attfield.
Chiefswood Stables’ first-time starter CAUSIN MAYHEM had a solid debut outing on the grass at Gulfstream Park for trainer Todd Pletcher. The handsome 3-year-old colt, a Queen’s Plate eligible, stalked the pace in the 7 1/2 furlong turf race, was three lengths off the leaders around the last turn and rallied up the rail while racing a bit greenly. He missed by a neck to Riot House in 1:29.10 for a 74 Beyer Figure.
Earlier on the Gulfstream card, Woodbine trainer WILLIAM THARRENOS and Canadian-born apprentice jockey AILSA MORRISON pulled off an upset with 26-to-1 shot SUMMER SHANDEE in a maiden $12,500 claiming race. Summer Shandee and Morrison stalked the pace and zipped up the rail to win by a length for Apple of Her Eye LLC. The Summer Front filly had been claimed in December and she was making her fourth start for Tharrenos, who has had a strong winter season.
It was the first win at Gulfstream Park for Morrison, who has won four races in 2022 including her first win at Aqueduct racetrack in New York. The Moncton, New Brunswick native won her first race as a jockey in 2019 at Fort Erie but took 2020 off. She recently returned to riding in New York after getting plenty of experience exercising horses for trainer Bill Mott.
For more on Ailsa Morrison, see this feature from her win at Aqueduct earlier this winter.
More from Canadian Thoroughbred:
