It certainly looked grim for heavily-favoured TAPIT TRICE through more than half of the Grade 3, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby. Breaking sluggishly from the gate at the outset of the 1 1/16 mile race, the highlight event on a big day of stakes races at Tampa Bay Downs, the grey son of Tapit – Danzatrice by Dunkirk was niggled along by jockey Luis Saez from the first turn and down the backstretch, moving up from last place into eighth as the field went to the far turn.

A three horse battle up front seemed to set things up for the rallying Classic Car Wash, owned by Gary Barber and trained by Mark Casse, as Tapit Trice went wide off the turn with Saez still scrubbing the big colt.

And then in a blink, Tapit Trice gobbled up the ground and drew off to a two-length win. Bruce Lunsford’s Classic Legacy was up for second with Classic Car Wash third.

The winner’s time for the mile-and-a-sixteenth on a fast track was 1:43.37, good for an 88 Beyer Speed Figure.

“It took him a while to get on track but I was very impressed down the lane,” winning trainer Todd Pletcher said from his south Florida base. “He finished up the way we expected him to. He certainly seems like the farther he goes, the stronger he gets.

“He’s got a big, long stride, and once he got clear down the lane he really extended himself and I loved the way he finished up. Luis fits him well. He understands the way he needs to be ridden and he knows he’s not going to come out of the gate quickly. He gave him plenty of time to get going.”

Tapit Trice was a $1.3 million yearling purse in 2021 at the Keeneland September Sale by Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm. Breeder Gainesway Stud stayed in for a share in the colt, who won his maiden at Aqueduct on Dec. 17 and an allowance race at Gulfstream on Feb. 4.

On a Mission

Ontario-bred MISSION OF JOY was very impressive winning the Grade 3 Florida Oaks for owners RyZan Sun Racing and Madaket Stable. Bred by Sam-Son Farms and bought for $32,000 from the Fasig-Tipton October yearling sale by Ryan Zabrowski, Mission of Joy was making her stakes debut after two straight turf wins at Tampa Bay for trainer Graham Motion. Ridden by Antonio Gallardo and racing on Lasix for the first time, Mission of Joy (Kitten’s Joy – Smart Mission by Smart Strike) was close up in a crowded field early in the 1 1/16 mile turf event before finishing fast to win by a neck in 1:41.12, an 81 Beyer Figure according to Daily Racing Form.

“I thought she was super impressive and I thought Tony gave her a very cool ride,” Motion said via telephone. “He was very patient and she really did it impressively. She fought for it and she showed a lot of heart.

“Since we got her down to [Tampa Bay Downs], I can’t say enough about what a good job Annie [assistant Anne Sinchak] has done with her,” Motion said. “They’ve done a great job with this filly. To be honest, I did not know she was this kind of filly – she really stepped up today.”

Gallardo had a strong belief, and that may have made the difference.

“She felt really good today. She’s a little bit complicated, her motion, but the exercise riders, the assistant, everyone in the barn does a good job with her,” he said. “She can be a little difficult in the gate, and they do a really good job with her. When you have so many people who put so much work in a horse and now you win that race that you want to win, it feels really good. When this filly sees the front, she is really hard to beat.”

Mission of Joy is the third foal to race of Smart Mission who was undefeated in 2 races for trainer Malcolm Pierce and Sam-Son Farms. Smart Mission is a daughter of Wonder Where Stakes winner Misty Mission, dam of graded stakes winners Irish Mission and French Beret.

The first two foals of Smart Mission include winner Twice as Smart and the placed Stealth Mission.

Total wagering handle on the 12-race card was $17,457,354, second only to last year’s Festival Day card in track history.

Tags: Florida Oaks, Mission of Joy, Tammpa Bay Downs, Tampa Bay Derby, Tapit Trice,

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