The Tampa Bay Derby takes center stage on the east coast Saturday afternoon, as the road to the May 2nd Kentucky Derby continues.
The $400,000-dollar, Grade 3 Stakes offers a total of 105 qualifying points toward a spot in the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs, distributed to the top five finishers on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale.
Here is a brief look at the field of 9 runners:
1. REDLAND REBELS [ML 10-1] Jockey: Junior Alvarado. Trainer: Patrick Biancone. This Florida-bred gelding ships in from Gulfstream and will attempt to transfer fine turf form to dirt in the Tampa Bay Derby. He will certainly be a part of the pace factor. From his inside Post Position, he’ll be hustled out of the gate and attempt to secure the early lead.
2. TALKIN [ML 15-1] Jockey: Joel Rosario. Trainer: Danny Gargan. Withdrew from the Fountain of Youth last week to target this one for his 3-year-old debut. He’ll need to revert back to the form he showed in late summer and early fall of last year to have a shot at an upset. He hasn’t raced in three months, but his bloodline indicates he can easily handle two turns. A career-best effort might land him in the money.
3. ROGER THAT DANA [ML 15-1] Jockey: Renzo Rojas. Trainer: Luis Ramirez. Another Florida-bred shipping north from Gulfstream Park. He posted an impressive first-out win back in October, taking a six-furlong sprint restricted to state-breds. In his 3-year-old debut, he raced against open company for the first time and finished 2nd in the one-turn mile- Mucho Macho Man Stakes January 3rd at Gulfstream.
4. HULKAMANIA [ML 20-1] Jockey: Jareth Loveberry. Trainer: Whit Beckman. One of three here with only one career start, along with POWERSHIFT and CANALETTO. That lone race was a victory on this track. His Speed Figure in that contest was modest but could be improved upon in his second career start. Though he would need at least a 20-point jump to be competitive Saturday.
5. POWERSHIFT [ML 7-2] Jockey: John Velazquez. Trainer: Todd Pletcher. Pletcher has the most wins in the history of the Tampa Bay Derby with six. POWERSHIFT will have to improve substantially off of a solid career debut on this track to do so. This precocious 3-year-old is taking a big jump in class on Saturday, and he’ll need to boost his debut Speed Figure by about 20 points to pull off an upset.
6. FURTHER ADO [ML 9-5] Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. Trainer: Brad Cox. He’s been positioned among the upper echelon of Derby prospects since last fall, with victories at Keeneland and then the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill. This son of GUNRUNNER is a worthy morning-line favorite and will be tough to beat if he’s able to take another step forward after a three-month break.
7. THUNDER BUCK [ML 20-1] Jockey: Samuel Martin. Trainer: Brendan Walsh. Showed little talent in the Lecomte Stakes at Fairgrounds in mid-January, finishing last of ten. With GUNRUNNER as his daddy, he is bred to easily handle route distances, and he gets the services of Jockey Marin, the current runaway leading rider at Tampa Bay. Hmmm.
8. THE PUMA [ML 8-1] Jockey: Javier Castellano. Trainer: Gustavo Delgado. Still seeking his first career victory after two starts. The second of those starts was the Sam F. Davis Stakes in February at Tampa Bay Downs. In that he ran a decent though nonthreatening 3rd place. He needs to improve to win, but that’s not out of the question.
9. CANALETTO [ML 5-2] Jockey: Flavien Prat. Trainer: Chad Brown. He comes into this race off of only one start yet will likely have the second lowest post-time odds in the race. This is an aggressive jump in class after his dominant eight-length debut win in January at Gulfstream. He earned a 94 Speed Figure for that effort and, seemingly, could improve on that number in his second start. Would have preferred a better Post Position.
The Tampa Bay Derby is listed as race 11 on a card of 12 with a scheduled Post Time of 5:35.
Best of luck however you play it.
