La Tache makes quick return after win

Trainer Ricky Sillaman tried Tampa Bay Downs and liked it. A longtime base-sticker on his home Maryland circuit, Sillaman ventured outside the proverbial box last winter and was pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed the change of scenery.

Sillaman said “timing was everything” in regard to splitting his stable between Tampa and Laurel Park in the final months of 2021. His daughter Brooke has an 18-month-old daughter with her husband, Daniel Centeno, a longtime standout in the Tampa jockey colony.

“If it wasn’t for family, I wouldn’t have done it,” said Sillaman, who won his first race in April 1983 at Charles Town. “It’s worked out great, really.”

Sillaman, 61, went 4 for 25 at his first Tampa meet in 202122 and entered this week with a 3-for-15 mark at the 2022-23 meet that began Nov. 23. He has been commuting back and forth, with Katie Hindt overseeing his seven-horse string at Tampa in Oldsmar, Fla., when he’s back with his 18 head in Laurel. He’s back at Tampa this week and will saddle La Tache for what passes as the Friday feature, a starter-optional claimer (race 5) with a base purse of $26,000. The balance of a nine-race card that starts at 12:46 p.m. Eastern is comprised entirely of maiden and/or claiming events.

La Tache, by Good Samaritan, was claimed by Sillaman for $25,000 last summer at Colonial Downs.

“She’s been a really nice claim for us,” he said. “I didn’t claim her for the grass, but she’s come around and shown she wants to go long on it.”

La Tache wheels back 16 days after earning a career-best 66 Beyer Speed Figure in winning a Feb. 8 maiden-claiming race on the Tampa turf.

“She’s a high-strung filly with a lot of energy and came out of her last race really well,” said Sillaman, who in 2022 enjoyed career highs with 33 wins and $922,591 in stable earnings.

La Tache, with Angel Suarez riding from post 2, will face six other 3-year-old fillies in the 1 1/16-mile turf race. Bode’s Heritage (post 7, Samy Camacho), in off a sharp runner-up finish, looks like the horse to beat for trainer Arnaud Delacour, who also uses Tampa and Maryland as primary bases on his annual circuit. Saweetie Girl (post 3, Mattie Martin) and Calisue (post 5, Pablo Morales) also figure as prime contenders.

More warm and dry weather is in the local forecast, meaning the nominal feature and three other turf races most likely will be run as scheduled.

◗ Veteran jockey Vernon Bush, based at Tampa again this winter, has been named the 2022 winner of the Randy Romero “Pure Courage Award” in a poll conducted among hundreds of voters on Facebook. Bush, 61, has ridden more than 3,200 winners in a career dating to 1978. He will be presented with the award March 26 in a between-races tribute at Fair Grounds. Bush follows Miguel Mena (2020) and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. (2021) as prior winners.

◗ Nominations for the five stakes to be run on the annual showcase date at Tampa are due Saturday. The Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby is among those races set for March 11.