Tapit Trice makes bid to join the elite ranks

OLDSMAR, Fla. – One week after Forte further entrenched himself as the Kentucky Derby favorite, trainer Todd Pletcher will be looking for at least one more of his talented 3-year-olds to emerge as a contender for the May 6 Run for the Roses.

In the process, Pletcher stands an excellent chance to extend his own record for victories by a trainer in the annual showcase at Tampa Bay Downs when represented Saturday by Tapit Trice and Shesterkin in the Grade 3, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby.

Tapit Trice and Shesterkin were the one-two finishers in a Feb. 4 allowance going a oneturn mile at Gulfstream Park, with Tapit Trice winning off by eight lengths to earn a 92 Beyer Speed Figure and place himself on most everyone’s short list of Derby hopefuls. The 1 1/16mile Tampa Derby will be the first race for the gray Tapit colt around two turns.

“He acts like the type of horse that wants more ground,” said Pletcher, a five-time winner of the Tampa Derby. “We’re excited about him.”

Tapit Trice, with Luis Saez riding from post 6, figures in the even-money range in the 43rd Tampa Derby, a 100-point qualifier (50-20-15-10-5) for the Kentucky Derby. It will be run at 5:15 p.m. Eastern as the 11th of 12 races on a terrific card that starts at 11:55 a.m.

Tapit Trice, owned by Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable, figures to assume a stalking position in the always crucial opening furlongs of the Tampa Derby. In the local prep, the Feb. 11 Sam F. Davis Stakes at this same distance, a crush of traffic into the first turn eliminated several runners.

The early pace probably will be forced by a few longshots drawn in outer posts, those being Dreaming of Kona (post 8, Scott Spieth), Shesterkin (post 9, Edgard Zayas), and Zydeceaux (post 11, Samuel Marin). From just behind them, Saez will try to work out a trip, just as the standout jockey did in winning the Sam Davis on Litigate for Pletcher and Centennial Farms. Litigate is slated to make his next start in the March 25 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds.

Several horses facing Tapit Trice appear capable of a mild upset by putting forth a careerbest effort.

Classic Legacy (post 3, Irad Ortiz Jr.), a decent fourth in the Sam Davis in his stakes debut, is one of those. Aside from the presence of Ortiz, the champion rider who won the Tampa Derby last year aboard Classic Causeway and continues to win races at a Hall of Fame pace, the colt also has a pedigree to suggest a bright future. He’s by uber-sire Into Mischief out of Distorted Legacy, making him a halfbrother to Art Collector, the 2023 Pegasus World Cup winner for the same owner-trainer tandem, Bruce Lunsford and Bill Mott.

“We’ve always had high hopes for this colt,” said Lunsford, a longtime Louisville resident. “Having a legitimate Derby horse really would be something.”

Groveland (post 4, Daniel Centeno), the Sam Davis runner-up, also enters in good shape for the Godolphin powerhouse and trainer Eoin Harty. The Street Sense colt has been here all winter with Harty assistant Janelle Campbell, putting in solid performances in all four races over the local surface.

“Whether he’s Derby caliber, that’s for him to tell us,” said Harty.

Mark Casse will be here from his Ocala base to saddle Classic Car Wash (post 2, Emisael Jaramillo) and Champions Dream (post 10, Antonio Gallardo).

Both ran in the Sam Davis, with Classic Car Wash a good third and Champions Dream eased in the upper stretch after “pulling a shoe and getting jumped on pretty good,” said Casse.

“He could barely walk after the race,” Casse said. “He had an abscess that blew out of his foot a few days afterward, and he’s been fine ever since. He’s actually been training really well.”

Saffie Joseph Jr., currently in a battle with Pletcher for leading trainer at Gulfstream, bookends the field with the twosome of Lord Miles (post 1, Paco Lopez) and Prairie Hawk (post 12, Samy Camacho).

Longshots Mikey Bananas and Freedom Road round out the cast.

The $350,000 purse does not include another $50,000 in bonus money available to Florida-breds, with Classic Car Wash and Zydeceaux being the only ones eligible.

The Tampa Derby is the only Kentucky Derby qualifier to be run in North America this week or next. It’s the last of five straight stakes on a Festival Day program that also includes the Columbia (race 7), the Grade 3 Challenger (race 8), the Grade 2 Hillsborough (race 9), and the Grade 3 Florida Oaks (race 10).

All five stakes are linked together in a pick-five wager (races 7-11). There also are backto-back late pick-four wagers, with the first spanning races 8-11 and the second from races 9-12. The 12th and last race is a maiden-special turf mile with an oversubscribed field of 3-year-old fillies.

Sunshine and highs in the mid-70s highs are in the Saturday forecast. FoxSports and FanDuel TV both will provide live coverage.

The Tampa Bay Derby dates to 1981, when Paristo won for George Handy. Pletcher’s five wins range from Limehouse in 2004 to Tapwrit in 2017.