A field of 10 three-year-olds will vie for “Road to the Kentucky Derby” qualifying points in Saturday’s Grade III, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, the main event on a 12-race Festival Day 44 card at Tampa Bay Downs.
No More Time, the winner of the Oldsmar oval’s Grade III Sam F. Davis Stakes on Feb. 10, drew the No. 7 post position for the mile-and-a-sixteenth race on the main dirt track. Owned by Morplay Racing and trained by Jose Francisco D’Angelo, the Iowa-bred colt will be ridden for the first time by Javier Castellano.
Trainers Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown are loaded for the Tampa Bay Derby and other races in the afternoon.
Pletcher, who has won a record seven Tampa Bay Derbys, will send out Heartened this year. The modestly-bred son of Street Boss comes off his maiden win at Tampa Bay Downs for St. Elias, Steven Duncker, Kevin Langone and Vicarage Stable (they also own Gotham winner Deterministic) with a 74 Beyer Figure.
Pletcher is gunning for his seventh victory in the Grade III, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby for three-year-olds with Heartened, who broke his maiden here in his fourth career start on the Sam F. Davis Stakes undercard on Feb. 10. Heartened’s 94 speed figure for the mile-and-40-yard distance matched the number earned later that day in the mile-and-a-sixteenth Sam F. Davis by winner No More Time, the 7-5 morning-line favorite Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby favourite.
Both of the Brown-trainees in the Derby – Good Money, who will break from the No. 4 post under Irad Ortiz, Jr., and Domestic Product, who will start from the No. 5 post under Tyler Gaffalione – appear to be heading in the right direction with even bigger three-year-old races on the near horizon.
Good Money broke his maiden here on Jan. 26 going 7 furlongs in his lone career start. Domestic Product, who is the 8-5 second choice on the morning line, is the more highly regarded of the Brown runners, having finished a solid second with blinkers off in the Grade III, mile-and-a-sixteenth Holy Bull Stakes on Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park to unbeaten Hades.
Domestic Product broke his maiden as a two-year-old on Oct. 27 at the Belmont At Aqueduct meet going a mile-and-an-eighth.
An impressive card of racing at Tampa Bay on Saturday also includes the Grade 3 Florida Oaks at 1 1/16 miles on turf and in the 12-horse field of three-year-old fillies is Ontario-bred WASKESIU, owned and bred by Chiefswood Stable. The bay filly by American Pharoah – Finn’s Girl by Bernardini won her maiden at Aqueduct for trainer Bill Mott in November with a 79 Beyer Figure. She was recently third in the Ginger Brew Stakes behind hotshot fillies Ozara and Life’s an Audible.
Woodbine’s leading trainer Mark Casse has three fillies entered in the Florida Oaks including Woodbine stakes winner Witwatersrand.
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