Prospective, conditioned by Woodbine’s leading trainer Mark Casse and ridden to victory by Woodbine’s leading rider Luis Contreras, all but stamped his ticket for the Kentucky Derby with a strong stretch run in Saturday’s Grade 2, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby.
The dark bay son of Malibu Moon-Spirited Away, owned by John C. Oxley, wore blinkers for the first time in a three-quarter length score over Golden Ticket improving upon his second-place effort in last month’s Sam F. Davis Stakes.
It was the second graded score, and fourth win overall, for Prospective who captured the Grade 3 Grey Stakes at Woodbine in October.
Contreras, who won his first jockey title at Woodbine in 2011 with 221 wins, waited patiently in sixth position with Prospective, about 7 1/2 lengths off the pace, as Cajun Charlie notched a swift opening quarter in :22.69 in the mile and a sixteenth main track event. Contreras urged Prospective to within four lengths of the leader, with favoured Spring Hill Farm to his outside, as Cajun Charlie marked a half-mile in :47.08.
Prospective commanded the lead midway around the far turn, but instead of edging away from the field, he waited for Golden Ticket to challenge along the rail before battling back under strong encouragement from Contreras, crossing the wire first in a time of 1:43.35, just .52 of a second off the track record of 1:42.83 established by Bold Start in the 2012 Challenger Stakes.
Casse, who won his fifth straight training title (sixth overall) at Woodbine in 2011 with 119 wins, shattering the mark established by the late Frank Passero in 1995 (89 wins), was surprised with Prospective’s early move.
“I was shocked he made the lead so early today, but with the blinkers he was much more aggressive,” Casse said. “He’s a character—he just does what he has to do.”
Last time out, when leaving from post 11 in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, Prospective covered 40ft more than the victorious Battle Hardened. Buoyed by an inside post in the Tampa Bay Derby, and a ground-saving effort engineered by Contreras, Prospective turned the the tables on Battle Hardened who finished sixth, travelling 45ft more than Prospective according to Trakus stats.
“We put blinkers on to get him to focus a little more,” said Casse. “When we watched him in the Sam F. Davis, he was running down the backside the entire way with his head cocked and he was kind of looking at things. Luis said about the 3/8-mile pole of the Davis he thought he was finished, but then when the horse came outside him he started running again. I said to Mr. Oxley, this (the blinkers) will get him a little closer in the early running and it worked.”
Contreras, who will partner Northern Passion for Casse and Oxley in Sunday’s Grade 3 Herecomesthebride Stakes at Gulfstream Park – – an event that also includes stablemate and Queen’s Plate Winterbook favourite Dixie Strike, was impressed with Prospective’s will to run.
“The pace was much faster than in the Sam F. Davis and the blinkers seemed to make him more aggressive. Man, did he want to run today,” said Contreras. “But he let me keep him in hand when there was an opening between horses making the far turn. I asked him again entering the stretch and I thought we had it won, but then (Golden Ticket) came up inside us and he had to respond again. I kept hitting him with the left hand and he just kept going. He never quit.”
Casse noted that Prospective would make one more start before the May 5 Kentucky Derby, with the $1-million Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 7 a distinct possibility.
Prospective returned $8.20 as the third choice.
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