Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Prospect of rain complicates an already difficult undercard
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Tampa Bay Downs has gotten fairly lucky this winter in regard to its turf course. Weather-related cancellations have been infrequent – a washed-out Feb. 19-21 weekend being a notable exception – as horsemen both here and across the Florida peninsula continue to praise the Tampa turf for its composition and consistency.
The subject is germane in light of weather predictions for a 12-race Festival Day card, the biggest of the five-month 202021 meet. Rain is in the forecast, but you’d have to think it would take a substantial soaking to force the Grade 3 Florida Oaks and Grade 2 Hillsborough to the main track. Those fixtures for female turf specialists both drew terrific lineups and are foremost among the Saturday attractions leading into the featured Tampa Bay Derby.
Here’s a quick look at the supporting events:
Florida Oaks (race 10)
Jouster ships across the state from her winter quarters at Delray Beach as the filly to catch in the $150,000 Florida Oaks, which goes at 1 1/16 miles out of the infield chute. Trained by Todd Pletcher for Starlight Racing, the Noble Mission filly has suddenly found a home on turf, dominating back-to-back grass races at Gulfstream Park in gate-to-wire fashion.
Now comes the stakes debut of the $360,000 yearling purchase, who will have Luis Saez aboard when she breaks along the hedge, assuming Big Bad Diva will be declared from post 1 as the lone main track-only designate. In all, 12 3-year-old fillies are entered, with three of them – Mia Martina, Alex’s First, and Big Band Luzziann – being Florida-breds eligible for an additional $50,000 win-only bonus.
Trained by Graham Motion, Mia Martina seems a legitimate threat, as does Oyster Box, a second filly being sent here by Motion from Palm Meadows for the 38th Florida Oaks. Both are unbeaten in two starts and will be making their initial foray into the stakes ranks.
Domain Expertise, another Palm Meadows shipper, surely will be among the core of wagering favorites, if in no small part because she is trained by Chad Brown. The daughter of Kitten’s Joy will be treated with Lasix for the first time in five starts and exits a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant at Gulfstream.
The Florida Oaks, run on dirt from 1984-2010, was moved to the turf in 2011 and has been graded since 2013.
Hillsborough (race 9)
Brown has one of the top contenders in Counterparty Risk, one of 11 fillies and mares (including one main track-only entrant) in the $200,000 Hillsborough, which goes at 1 1/8 miles. It was four weeks ago, on the Sam Davis undercard, that Counterparty Risk made her graded debut, taking the Grade 3 Endeavour as an oddson choice, and there will be plenty of tote support for her to further build on that effort. Antonio Gallardo gets the call from Brown on the Irish-bred 4-year-old.
The competition is much deeper, however, than in the Endeavour. Making their first start since finishing second and third, respectively, in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup last fall are Micheline and Magic Attitude, while the Endeavour runner-up, New York Girl, also returns from Payson Park for Bill Mott.
Micheline, a Godolphin homebred, won two stakes last year, including the Dueling Grounds Oaks.
“We gave her a short freshening after the QE II, and she’s been training nicely since coming back to us at Tampa,” said her trainer, Mike Stidham. “This is the first step in what hopefully will be a highly successful 4-year-old campaign.”
Magic Attitude, trained locally by Arnaud Delacour, has an eye-catching set of past performances. In her first start following a private purchase by the Lael Stables, she won the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks in her stateside debut, then was third when favored in the QE II. The British-bred filly shows a steady work slate in recent weeks.
Outside possibilities in this 23rd Hillsborough include the standout New York-bred Myhartblongstodady, and a late-running Brendan Walsh trainee, La Signare.
Columbia (race 7)
This $75,000, one-mile turf race for 3-year-olds is one of the most competitive of the entire card. Mira Mission, a last-out winner for Tom Bush, is the only starter in an oversubscribed field ineligible for a first-level allowance, which illustrates how well matched this one shapes up.
Last-out maiden winners at Gulfstream such as Winfromwithin, Crew Dragon, and Boreas figure in the mix, as do Whatmakessammyrun and The Right Stuff off sharp efforts.
Challenger (race 5)
Tax was supposed to rule a heavy favorite in this Grade 3, $100,000 race going 1 1/16 miles on the main track, but he’ll run instead next Saturday in the $500,000 Essex at Oaklawn Park. That leaves Last Judgment, a two-back winner of the Sunshine Classic at Gulfstream, as the one to beat in a field of just five older horses.