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Dubai World Cup Florida Derby Day Santa Anita Hcp Tampa Bay Derby Saudi Cup Day |
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 Javier Castellano aboard The Puma after winning the Tampa Bay Derby |
The highlight of the Tampa Bay Downs racing season is the $400,000 Esmark Tampa Bay Derby (G3) at 1 1/16 miles on the main track. It is the major local prep for the Triple Crown series and worth 50 points to the winner as part of the Kentucky Derby Championship Series. Conditions were excellent at the Oldsmar oval for the 9,070 fans in attendance, with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80's, main track rated fast and the turf course good.
 The Puma takes the lead on the outside in the stretch |
Jockey Junior Alvarado sent 39-1 Redland Rebels to the lead first time by through fractions of 23.07, 46.68, and 1:11.27 while pressed by 19-1 Talkin and stalked by Further Ado and 18-1 Hulkamania. Into the stretch Redland Rebels tired badly as 7-1 fourth choice The Puma, last early, came out 5 wide and swept to the lead through 1 mile in 1:43.23. Kept to task by Javier Castellano, The Puma outfinished Further Ado to win by 3/4 length in 1:43.23. It was a head back to late-running favorite Canaletto third.
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 8 The Puma Castellano 16.80 5.80 3.40 6 Further Ado Ortiz Jr. 4.00 2.60 9 Canaletto Prat 2.60 Winning Time: 1:43.23 $1 Exacta 8-6 28.10 $1 Trifecta 8-6-9 66.90 $1 Superfecta 8-6-9-1 1,326.90 |
Left: The Puma in the winner's circle. Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant to his father, winning trainer Gustavo Sr. said, "We're a small barn. We have to scout, we have to buy the horses. It's more gratifying when you only get one or two horses at the sale, and they end up like this. It's very satisfying. I'm very pleased. It's not an easy thing when you enter a maiden in a stakes race. People think what are they doing? It's a good thing when they respond on the track. "From the first time he ran, I said that this is a very good horse, and I kept telling everyone."
Right: The Puma heads back to the barn after the race.
Left: The Puma in the post parade. Winning jockey Javier Castellano said, "Everybody was trying to save ground and there was a lot of traffic to get there from the outside post (No. 8). From there it's really hard to go all the way to the inside. Nobody spilt up. I was tracking Canaletto with Prat all the way. I really like my horse and what he did and the way he did it. He ran really good. With three-year-olds, you have to give them a chance to develop. In his first race he got beat by a really good horse. In the second race (the Sam Davis) it was his first time around turn turns. He started to figure it out today. When he got rolling, he did what he was supposed to do. I like the way he finished."
Right: The trophy presentation for the Tampa Bay Derby.
Left: Second place finisher Further Ado in the paddock. Trainer Brad Cox said "He got a good trip. When you're running off a layoff and you're sitting that close to an honest enough pace, I wouldn't use the word tired, I'd say they jumped on him a little bit, he never really got a shot to let his guard down, he was running the whole way. Positive effort. As long as he comes out of it in good order, he should get a lot out of if it."
Right: Third place finisher and beaten favorite Canaletto in the post parade. Jockey Flavien Prat said, "He was looking around. He never really traveled. They went fast and I was in deep water from the gate. Then he made a run, surprisingly, and I thought he was going to make a run at the three-eighths pole. He was brave enough to make a run, but I never really felt that I was traveling well."
Immediately before the Tampa Bay Derby, a field of 11 three-year-old fillies went to post in the $200,000 Florida Oaks (G3) at 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Debut winner Kokomotion was sent off as the 9-5 favorite over 2-1 second choice Time to Dream, 10th in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), and 11-2 third choice Dandona off a 3rd place finish in allowance company.
Jockey Jareth Loveberry sent 102-1 Bramble Blast to the lead first time by through fractions of 23.40 and 48.05 while pressed by 9-1 Laigina and stalked by Kokomotion. Around the far turn Bramble Blast tired allowing Kokomotion to gain the lead through 3/4 in 1:13.15. In midstretch Laigina led through 1 mile in 1:38.32 before Dandona, 10th early under Flavien Prat, rallied 4 wide to win by 1 1/4 lengths over Time to Dream in 1:44.71. It was another 2 1/4 lengths back to favorite Kokomotion third.
Left: Dandona heads to the winner's circle. Winning jockey Flavien Prat said, "She broke well and it felt like the pace was too hot for her so I gave her a chance. It didn't feel like she wanted to be up in the race. She was traveling good considering the soft ground and I was able to get her outside and get her going and she showed up. I felt the pace was fair enough. I gave her a chance and she was grinding away."
Right: The trophy presentation for the Florida Oaks.
Left: Dandona in the post parade. The Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee improved her record to 2 wins and 1 third in 3 starts, earning $121,000 for owner Tagermeen Racing.
Right: Dandona returns after the race.
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Left: Second place finisher Time to Dream in the post parade. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., "I wish at the three-eighths pole I could pick it up to hit that spot, but she bobbled a bit, track is a little soft and it cost me a little bit. The winner got the position, now I had to look for something else. I went inside and I had all the chance to get there, the rail opened for me, but it wasn't enough."
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The $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes (G2) featured 7 older fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles on the turf. Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G2) fourth place finisher Whiskey Decision was sent off as the 3-2 favorite over 3-1 second choice Destino d'Oro, winner of the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf, and 4-1 third choice And One More Time, 7th in the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
Jockey Javier Castellano sent And One More Time to the lead first time by through fractions of 23.98, 49.90, and 1:15.48 while pressed by 86-1 longest shot Aunt Mo and stalked by Whiskey Decision. Turning for home ANd one More Time tired as 7-1 Proctor Street gained the lead through 1 mile in 1:40.11. Destino d'Oro, 5th early under Junior Alvarado, came out 4 wide for room and rallied to win by a nose over Whiskey Decision in 1:52.18. It was a neck back to Proctor Street third.
Left: Destino d'Oro in the winner's circle. Winning jockey Junior Alvarado said, "I had a great trip all the way through to the half-mile pole. The horse that was in front I couldn't even see. I'm thinking he's (Whiskey Decision) and he's going to close the door. He came out right in the position where I was and made me lose three, four spots right there. Then I thought I was okay, but this is over. But she just kept coming and coming. She's a very good horse. She's a very good filly. I'm very excited for her because today was the trip for her to get beat, 100 percent. She came out with a run, and she put herself and myself in the winner's circle,"
Right: Destino d'Oro returns after the race. Winning trainer Brad Cox said, "I loved her last spring and summer, and last fall, she wasn't doing bad, she just wasn't doing quite as good as she is now. No reason to stop on her, we kept her ticking over and she got on a roll in December at Gulfstream and she's been rolling. I wasn't sure about running here, but her last two works at Payson have been very good and I thought, you know, we'll just fill the calendar with this race and then maybe look at the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland."
Kicking off the stakes action was the $125,000 Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes (G3) featuring a field of 7 older horses (after 4 scratches) going 1 1/16 miles on the main track. Pegasus World Cup (G1) 8th place finisher Disco Time was sent off as the 2-5 favorite over 11-4 second choice Disruptor off an allowance win, and 4-1 third choice Solo Venturi also coming off an allowance win.
Jockey Kleiner Mejias sent 109-1 longest shot Paynter's Prodigy to the lead first time by through fractions of 23.34 and 46.75 while pressed by Disruptor and stalked by Disco Time. On the far turn Paynter's Prodigy tired allowing Disruptor to gain the lead through 3/4 in 1:10.64 and 1 mile in 1:35.02. Kept to task by Irad Ortiz Jr., Disruptor held off favorite Disco Time to win by 1 length in 1:41.40, just 0.20 second slower than the track record set by Skippylongstocking in the 2025 running. It was a long 7 1/2 lengths back to Solo Venturi third.
Left: Disruptor poses with his connections after the race. Winning owner Mike Repole said, "When the [109-1] shot sat second, it gave us the target we wanted but you didn't want the 1-5 as a target. I think this horse has Grade 1 races in the future."
Right: Disruptor in the winner's circle. Winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. said, "I feel like if [Disco Time] breaks in front of me and opens up three lengths, he's going to be hard to catch. So, I just tried to make the [front] the first 100 yards out of there and it worked out beautiful. He broke good today, he helped me out of there after that I ended up in a great position into the first turn. He settled down nice for me, he was better in the gate, he broke better, he relaxed better. I made a good move turning for home, but [a mile] was as far as he wanted to go."
Left: Second place finisher and beaten favorite Disco Time returns after the race. The Brad Cox trainee improved his record to 5 wins, 1 seconds, and 0 thirds in 7 starts, earning $596,960 for owner-breeder Juddmonte.
Right: Third place finisher Solo Venturi returns after the race. The William Walden trainee improved his record to 3 wins, 0 seconds, and 3 thirds in 8 starts, earning $121,348 for owner OXO Equine.
The $125,000 Columbia Stakes featured a field of 8 three-year-olds going 1 mile on the turf. Jockey David Delgado sent 86-1 longest shot Knick's Honor to lead first time by through fractions of 23.23 and 48.20 while pressed by 5-2 third choice Proton and stalked by 9-5 favorite Alpyland. On the far turn Knick's Honor tired as Proton gained the lead through 3/4 in 1:12.74. Alpyland came out 3 wide to sweep to the front through 7f in 1:25.02. Kept to task by Javier Castellano, Alpyland drew off to win by 2 lengths over Proton in 1:37.61. It was a nose back to late-running 13-2 Knoty Knicks.
Left: Alpyland in the winner's circle. Winning trainer Mark Casse said, "That was a very nice effort from him. He did that pretty nicely. He's a horse that we liked a lot early on and he's turned out to be nice. It's just taken him a while to get his act together, but he's a pretty good turf horse now. We're probably going to go next with him to Churchill Downs for the American Turf Classic, it's for a million dollars and a Grade 1 on (Kentucky) Derby Day. We hope this horse has a bright future and we're keeping our fingers crossed."
Right: Alpyland in the post parade. Winning jockey Javier Castellano said, "I really liked the distance. We pointed to this race. A mile, I think, is perfect for the horse. He's got plenty of speed, but he sat beautiful behind the two pace-making horse. I like the way he relaxed on the backside and the way he developed within himself. Every time I asked him, he was there. Turning for home, he exploded. I think he's a really nice horse."
Photos courtesy of Amber Chalfin of Downthestretchphotos.com.
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