Grade 1 Breeders' Cup winner Fire At Will, Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes winner Candy Man Rocket and highly regarded Greatest Honour are among a stellar collection of 43 3-year-old colts and geldings nominated for the Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on March 6 at Tampa Bay Downs.
The 41st running of the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is the centerpiece of an outstanding Festival Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South card offering $1-million in stakes purse money, with four graded stakes and one listed stakes on tap.
Run on the main track at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth, the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points race, with the first four finishers earning 50, 20, 10 and 5 points toward qualifying for the May 1 Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs.
The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby has produced two Kentucky Derby winners: 2007 Tampa Bay Derby winner Street Sense and 2010 Tampa Bay Derby third-place finisher Super Saver.
Fire at Will, owned by Three Diamonds Farm and trained by Michael Maker, hasn't raced since his victory on Nov. 6 in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf presented by Coolmore America at Keeneland. He is ranked among the top 2021 Triple Crown candidates, along with Essential Quality, Life Is Good and Greatest Honour.
Candy Man Rocket vaulted up the contender list with his impressive victory in the Sam F. Davis here on Feb. 6. He is owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations and trained by Bill Mott, who has won the Tampa Bay Derby twice.
Mott has also nominated breeder-owner Michael Shanley's colt Nova Rags, who won the Pasco Stakes here on Jan. 16 before finishing second to Candy Man Rocket in the Sam F. Davis.
Greatest Honour, who is trained by Claude “Shug” McGaughey, III, received excellent reviews for his dominant victory on Jan. 30 in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream. The colt is owned by Courtlandt Farms.
Among other Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby nominations of note are trainer Doug O'Neill's colt Hot Rod Charlie, second in November in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance; trainer Victoria Oliver's Hidden Stash, third in the Sam F. Davis; Grade 2 winner Brooklyn Strong, a gelding trained by Daniel Velazquez; multiple graded-stakes placed colt Proxy, trained by Michael Stidham; and trainer Mark Casse's colt Gretzky the Great, who won the Grade 1 Summer Stakes in September at Woodbine.
Here are the links to the nominations and their past performances for the Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby:
https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaDownloadAction.cfm?sn=SN-TAM-20210306-559609
https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaDownloadAction.cfm?sn=SNPP-TAM-20210306-559609
The post Candy Man Rocket Headlines 43 Nominees To March 6 Tampa Bay Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
