Seranitsa follows winning pattern

Trainer Brendan Walsh’s lone winner from three starts at the Tampa Bay Downs meet came with a horse returning from a long layoff and making her first start for him and with jockey Antonio Gallardo aboard.

Saturday, Walsh will hope to duplicate what Mintd ($19) did last month when he sends out Seranitsa in a first-level allowance going 1 1/16 miles on turf that serves as the feature on an eight-race card that begins at 12:30 p.m.

Seranitsa, a 4-year-old daughter of Dialed In owned by Bradley Thoroughbreds, has not run since last Sept. 2 when, trained by Neil Drydale, she finished eighth in this same condition at Del Mar. Prior to that, Seranitsa ran competitively in a pair of graded turf stakes at Del Mar

and Santa Anita.

“Everything’s been pretty straight forward with her,” Walsh said Thursday. “She looks like a nice-enough filly on her form. It looks like a good spot for her Saturday. Hopefully, she can run well and try and win us a race.”

In bringing Seranitsa back from a 215-day layoff, Walsh believes he “got enough done with her, she should be good to go.”

Hungry Kitten, trained by Shug McGaughey, is making her first start since she finished 10th off 11 in the Grade 3 Regret Stakes on June 15 at Churchill Downs. McGaughey said Hungry Kitten came out of the race with “bone-bruising and we turned her out for a good while.”

Hungry Kitten has worked 10 times since the beginning of the year, including a three-furlong blowout from the gate Wednesday.

“She’s been ready to run,” McGaughey said. “I’ve been sort of waiting on her. She’s trained well this winter.”

Samy Camacho, who won four races on Wednesday at Tampa, has the call on Hungry Kitten.

Pallas Athene makes her fourth start of the meet and is trained by John Terranova. After finishing second in a maiden race on Dec. 6, she cleared the maiden ranks by 2 1/4 lengths on Jan. 17. In her first start against winners, Pallas Athene got away slowly and rallied from 11th to finish fourth, beaten two lengths.

“She seems to be on the improve,” Terranova said. “She was hemmed in, she had a little trouble getting out and in the clear, and came running late. Any little hiccup in a race could cost the filly because she’s huge – she’s all of 17 hands – so she can’t lose any type of momentum.”

Daniel Centeno rides Pallas Athene from post 6.

War Rose has run well in all three of her starts for trainer Jordan Blair, including a nose loss in this condition on Feb. 8. Jesus Castanon, aboard for her maiden victory in an off-theturf maiden race here Dec. 29, is back aboard Saturday.

Publicist, an 8-year-old daughter of Cowtown Cat, has 12 wins, one more than the entire field combined. She is facing much tougher opponents than she’s been facing as she makes her first start off the claim for Gary Johnson.