Candy Man Rocket to Beat in Tampa Bay Derby

After recording a stalk-and-pounce victory in the GIII Sam F. Davis S. Feb. 6, Candy Man Rocket (Candy Ride {Arg}) will have 11 rivals standing in his way to double up in Saturday's GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby. The Tampa Bay Derby carries 50-20-10-5 qualifying points on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby.

The Frank Fletcher colorbearer previously romped by 9 1/4 lengths at second asking going six furlongs at Gulfstream Park Jan. 9. He received 85 Beyer Speed Figures in both efforts.

The Sam Davis was Candy Man Rocket's first start around two turns. The fifth-place finisher that day Known Agenda (Curlin) returned with a daylight optional claiming tally at Gulfstream Feb. 26.

Candy Man Rocket, the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the Tampa Bay Derby, worked a bullet four furlongs in :48 3/5 (1/36) at Payson Park Feb. 28. He is drawn in post three with Junior Alvarado aboard.

“The [Tampa Bay Derby] has been on our minds since he won the Sam F. Davis,” Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said. “Any time you get a horse that runs well over that racetrack, you have to give it consideration.”

He continued, “It seems like he is doing equally as well now as he was before the Davis. He's got good natural speed away from the gate, which can always be an advantage for any horse, position-wise. The chances of getting a good trip might be better than they would for a deep closer, especially in a big field.”

After completing his juvenile campaign with two straight route wins in Kentucky, Hidden Stash (Constitution) rallied smartly from eighth after a ground-saving trip to finish third–beaten just 1 1/4 lengths–while making his stakes debut in the Sam Davis. The addition of more speed types in this full field should certainly play in his favor.

Helium (Ironicus) tries dirt for the first time in his sophomore debut. He was perfect from two tries for Mark Casse going seven furlongs over the Woodbine synthetic last term, most recently dominating six rivals in the Display S. Oct. 18.

Promise Keeper (Constitution), a well-beaten fourth behind Candy Man Rocket sprinting on debut, stretched to a mile with a sharp, front-running maiden victory for Todd Pletcher in the Gulfstream slop Feb. 6. He will have to work out a trip in his two-turn debut from post 11. Pletcher has won the Tampa Bay Derby a record five times and will also tighten the girth on Unbridled Honor (Honor Code), who took a big step forward to annex a local two-turn maiden special weight at third asking Feb. 6.

After saddling King Guillermo (Uncle Mo) to a shocking 49-1 victory in last year's Tampa Bay Derby following a third-place finish in the grassy Pulpit S., trainer Juan C. Avila will go turf-to-dirt once again with Jan. 30 wire-to-wire Gulfstream maiden winner King of Dreams (Air Force Blue).

Super Strong (Super Saver), winner of the Classico Agustin Mercado Revron S. first out in Puerto Rico Dec. 19, shows up in this ambitious spot for his U.S. debut. He worked a bullet five furlongs for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. in :59 3/5 (1/30) at Palm Meadows Feb. 13.

“He has trained well enough to give it a shot,” said Joseph, who will also saddle longshots Awesome Gerry (Liam's Map) and Moonlite Strike (Liam's Map). “It's hard to judge his form in Puerto Rico, but he acts like the distance will be no problem. We aren't giving up much experience to most of the other horses in the race. We definitely would like him to have another race in him, but we have to play the hand we're dealt.”

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Candy Man Rocket ‘Deserving Favorite’ Of Full Field In Tampa Bay Derby

With the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve eight weeks away, time is running short for trainers entertaining visions of red roses and mint juleps. Saturday's Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby will bring together 12 3-year-olds, most with much to prove if they are to continue to advance toward a date with destiny on May 1.

“Except for Bill Mott's horse (Candy Man Rocket, who won the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes here on Feb. 6), everyone is searching to see if they belong as a contender or are just a pretender,” said Saffie Joseph, Jr., who will send out three horses in the 41st annual Tampa Bay Downs showcase: Moonlite Strike, Super Strong and Awesome Gerry.

“Candy Man Rocket is a deserving favorite. A lot of the others have shown glimpses of ability, but I think they would have to run their best race ever to win,” Joseph said. “It seems like there are a lot of horses in there with two or three starts, so it looks like it is wide-open.”

The mile-and-a-sixteenth Lambbholm South Tampa Bay Derby, scheduled on the main dirt track as the 11th race on a 12-race card, is one of five Festival Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South stakes worth a combined $1-million in purse money. The race is also a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points affair, with 50, 20, 10 and 5 points awarded to the first four finishers toward securing a spot in the starting gate at Churchill Downs.

The other stakes on the card include the Grade 2, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes for older fillies and mares at a mile-and-an-eighth on the turf, scheduled as the ninth race; the Grade 3, $200,000 Florida Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the grass, scheduled as the 10th race; the Grade 3, $100,000 Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes for horses 4-years-old-and-upward at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the dirt, slated as the fifth race; and the $75,000 Columbia Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on the turf, scheduled as the seventh.

Post time for the first of Saturday's 12 races is 12:17 p.m.

Here is the full field for the Grade II, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby in post position order, with trainer, jockey and morning-line odds:

1. My Liberty, Maria Ines Mejia, Tomas Mejia, 30-1; 2. Super Strong, Saffie Joseph, Jr., Antonio Gallardo, 8-1; 3. Candy Man Rocket, Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado, 2-1; 4. King of Dreams, Juan Carlos Avila, Samy Camacho, 20-1; 5. Boca Boy, Cheryl Winebaugh, Angel Arroyo, 15-1; 6. Awesome Gerry, Saffie Joseph, Jr., Hector Diaz, Jr., 15-1; 7. Moonlite Strike, Saffie Joseph, Jr., Daniel Centeno, 20-1; 8. Hidden Stash, Victoria Oliver, Rafael Bejarano, 4-1; 9. Unbridled Honor, Todd Pletcher, Julien Leparoux, 20-1; 10. Helium, Mark Casse, Jose Ferrer, 6-1; 11. Promise Keeper, Todd Pletcher, Luis Saez, 8-1; 12. Sittin On Go, Dale Romans, Roberto Alvarado, Jr., 20-1.

On Sunday, Mott said Candy Man Rocket “looked as smooth as silk” while breezing 4 furlongs at Payson Park Training Center in Indiantown in preparation for the race. Neither that assessment nor his 2-for-3 record, which includes a 9 ¼-length maiden victory on Jan. 9 at Gulfstream, deterred the connections of 11 others from competing.

Candy Man Rocket will break from the No. 3 post while again being ridden by Junior Alvarado.

Joseph has secured the services of three of the top four jockeys in the Tampa Bay Downs standings for his entrants. Daniel Centeno, who has won the Tampa Bay Derby twice, will ride Moonlite Strike from the No. 7 post, while Super Strong will break from the No. 2 post under Antonio Gallardo. Hector Diaz, Jr., will ride Awesome Gerry from the No. 6 post.

Super Strong, in some ways, is the most intriguing of the three. He is a son of Super Saver, who finished third in the 2010 Tampa Bay Derby, then went on to win the Kentucky Derby. Super Strong's only career start, on Dec. 19, resulted in an impressive come-from-behind victory in the Grade 1, 7-furlong Classico Agustin Mercado Revron Stakes on a sloppy track at Camarero in Puerto Rico.

Both Super Strong and Moonlite Strike are owned by Marc Tacher's Sonata Stable. Tacher transferred Super Strong to Joseph's Palm Meadows Training Center Beach in Boynton Beach in mid-January.

“He has trained well enough to give it a shot,” Joseph said. “It's hard to judge his form in Puerto Rico, but he acts like the distance will be no problem. We aren't giving up much experience to most of the other horses in the race. We definitely would like him to have another race in him, but we have to play the hand we're dealt.”

Joining Candy Man Rocket and Super Strong as a graded-stakes winner in the race is trainer Dale Romans's Sittin On Go, who will break from the outside No. 12 post with Roberto Alvarado, Jr., in the irons. Sittin On Go won the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes Presented by Ford on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs, then was a non-threatening ninth in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on Nov. 6 at Keeneland.

A pair of subsequent off-the-board finishes against top-level competition finds Sittin On Go with more questions than answers as Saturday nears.

Todd Pletcher, who has sent out a record five winners of the Tampa Bay Derby, has two colts in this year's renewal. Promise Keeper, who will break from the No. 11 post under Luis Saez, broke his maiden in his second start on Feb. 6 at Gulfstream, drawing away to a 5-length victory in a 1-mile maiden special weight contest on a sloppy track.

Pletcher's other entrant is Unbridled Honor, who will break from the No. 9 post under Julien Leparoux. Unbridled Honor is 1-for-3, breaking his maiden at Tampa Bay Downs in a mile-and-40-yard maiden special weight race on Feb. 6.

The conditioner knows about winning the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby with lightly raced colts. His 2013 winner, Verrazano, was making his third career start; 2015 winner Carpe Diem was making his fourth start; and Pletcher's 2016 and 2017 winners, Destin and Tapwrit, their fifth starts.

Two horses that seem certain to take a fair share of wagering dollars are the third and fourth-place finishers in the Sam F. Davis, Hidden Stash and Boca Boy. Hidden Stash, who is trained by Victoria Oliver, will be reunited with jockey Rafael Bejarano, who rode him to his two career victories last fall at Keeneland and Churchill Downs. They break from the No. 8 post.

Boca Boy, the Sam F. Davis pace-setter, is the only Florida-bred and the only gelding in the race. The son of Prospective is trained by Cheryl Winebaugh and will be ridden by Angel Arroyo.

Ken Winebaugh, the assistant to wife Cheryl, said today that Boca Boy rebounded in fine fettle from his Sam F. Davis effort and that he expects another good performance. Arroyo, who rode Boca Boy in his first three starts, last rode him when he finished second in August in the Proud Man Stakes on the turf at Gulfstream.

“I think he got a little tired in the Sam F. Davis, but he didn't quit. This horse has plenty of heart,” Ken Winebaugh said. “I don't think he has to be in front. He laid off the pace in the Proud Man and went to the lead (before getting caught by Hot Blooded).”

While agreeing with the consensus that Candy Man Rocket is the horse to beat, Winebaugh thinks the Sam F. Davis form could hold up. “I think those three horses from the Sam F. Davis will be the toughest. I don't see any newcomers who scare me too much,” he said.

Like any Florida-bred worth his salt, Boca Boy could benefit from rain that is forecast for Saturday. He has won twice on a sloppy track at Gulfstream, including a victory on Sept. 26 in the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association Florida Sire In Reality Stakes.

As a state-bred, Boca Boy is eligible for the race's $50,000 FTBOA money for registered Florida-breds. The last Florida-bred to win the Tampa Bay Derby was Watch Me Go in 2011.

Saturday's race appears similar to last year's Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby from the standpoint of the favorite being the Sam F. Davis winner – in 2020, Sole Volante. While the gelding ran well for a second-place finish, he could not catch 49-1 shot King Guillermo and Samy Camacho, who turned it on through the stretch for a 4 ¾-length victory.

King Guillermo's connections – Camacho, owner Victor Martinez's Victoria's Ranch and trainer Juan Carlos Avila – are back for another try with King of Dreams, who broke his maiden in his second start on Jan. 30 in a mile-and-a-sixteenth turf race at Gulfstream. King Guillermo had finished third in the Pulpit Stakes on the grass at Gulfstream in his previous start.

King of Dreams and Camacho will break from the No. 4 post. King Guillermo, who finished second in a division of last year's Grade I Arkansas Derby but has not won since the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, is entered in Saturday's Grade I Santa Anita Handicap.

Did you know that the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby field contains two unbeaten horses? Beside Super Strong, there is Helium, who won both of his starts last fall racing 7 furlongs on the synthetic Tapeta surface at Woodbine. Mark Casse, who won the 2012 Tampa Bay Derby with Prospective, is the trainer.

Off since his Display Stakes victory in October, Helium will break from the No. 10 post under Jose Ferrer.

In a Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby that seems as wide-open as any in the race's history, one shouldn't overlook My Liberty, assigned 30-1 morning-line odds. He is trained by Maria Ines Mejia and will break from the No. 1 post under jockey Tomas Mejia (no relation).

My Liberty broke his maiden sprinting 7 furlongs here on Feb. 12 and has the potential to set all his backers free by pulling the upset.

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Candy Man Rocket ‘Smooth As Silk’ In Final Prep For Tampa Bay Derby

Candy Man Rocket, who burst onto the scene as a legitimate Triple Crown candidate by winning the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes here on Feb. 6, and Grade 3 2-year-old winner Sittin On Go are expected to head a large field in Saturday's Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby.

The 41st annual Tampa Bay Downs showcase is one of five stakes races scheduled on the Festival Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South card. The mile-and-a-sixteenth race for 3-year-olds on the main dirt track is a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points race, with the top four finishers earning 50, 20, 10 and 5 points toward qualifying for a spot in the Run for the Roses starting gate at Churchill Downs on May 1.

As is always the case this time of year, the majority of attention will shift to the 3-year-old Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve hopefuls.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott – who won the 2019 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby with Tacitus and that year's Kentucky Derby with Country House, with Tacitus finishing third – sent Candy Man Rocket out for a 4-furlong breeze Sunday at his Payson Park Training Center base in Indiantown, Fla., where the Frank Fletcher Racing Operations-owned colt turned in a time of 48 3/5 seconds, the best of 36 workouts at the half-mile distance.

“He was on his own, he went well and I'm very pleased with him. He looked as smooth as silk,” Mott said via telephone. “He is a good work horse anyway, but I liked the way he did it. The (Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby) has been on our minds since he won the Sam F. Davis. Any time you get a horse that runs well over that racetrack, you have to give it consideration.”

While Kentucky Derby qualifying points can be very crucial, Mott knows the important thing at this stage is to continue to build on the colt's foundation for a possible try at a mile-and-a-quarter at Churchill Downs.

“It seems like he is doing equally as well now as he was before the Davis,” Mott said. “He's got good natural speed away from the gate, which can always be an advantage for any horse, position-wise. The chances of getting a good trip might be better than they would for a deep closer, especially in a big field.”

Junior Alvarado will again come up from Gulfstream Park to ride Candy Man Rocket.

Mott said the owner, Frank Fletcher, is excited about Candy Man Rocket's chances to be the first horse to complete the Sam F. Davis-Tampa Bay Derby double since Destin in 2016.

“He is someone who is enthusiastic about his horses, loves the game and is happy just to have a horse in a race like this,” Mott said.

The trainer said he is still debating the next start for his Sam F. Davis runner-up, breeder-owner Michael Shanley's Nova Rags, who won the Pasco Stakes here on Jan. 16. Mott said the March 13 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn, the March 20 TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds and the March 27 Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa are all under consideration.

Sittin On Go, who won the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes last September at Churchill Downs, is expected to make his first start since a sixth-place finish on Jan. 30 in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The Albaugh Family Stables-owned colt is trained by Dale Romans.

Also expected to compete in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby are the third and fourth-place finishers in the Sam F. Davis, Hidden Stash and the gelding Boca Boy. Hidden Stash is owned by BBN Racing and trained by Victoria Oliver and Boca Boy is owned by Kenneth E. Fishbein and trained by Cheryl Winebaugh.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, who has won the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby a record five times, including three in a row from 2015-2017, is expected to return with Woodford Thoroughbreds and WinStar Farm's Promise Keeper. The colt broke his maiden on Feb. 6 at Gulfstream in his second start, winning a mile maiden special weight race by 5 lengths on a sloppy track.

Pletcher is also expected to enter Whisper Hill Farm's Unbridled Honor, who broke his maiden here on the Sam F. Davis undercard going a mile-and-40 yards.

King of Dreams, who broke his maiden at Gulfstream on Jan. 30, is expected to start for owner Victoria's Ranch and trainer Juan Carlos Avila, the same connections who won last year's Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby with 49-1 shot King Guillermo. Victoria's Ranch is the stable name for retired major league slugger Victor Martinez.

Mark Casse, who sent out Prospective to win the 2012 Tampa Bay Derby, is expected to enter D. J. Stable's Helium. The colt was 2-for-2 as a 2-year-old, winning the 7-furlong Display Stakes on Oct. 18 on the all-weather synthetic Tapeta track at Woodbine in Toronto.

Other likely Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby entrants include trainer Shawn H. Davis's Hello Hot Rod, a winner of three of four lifetime starts, including the Jimmy Winkfield Stakes on Jan. 31 at Aqueduct; Moonlite Strike, trainer Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.'s colt who is 2-for-4; Joseph's Super Strong, whose lone start on Dec. 19 at Camarero resulted in a victory in the Grade 1 Classico Agustin Mercado Revron Stakes; and My Liberty, a maiden winner from the barn of Maria Ines Mejia.

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Candy Man Rocket Headlines 43 Nominees To March 6 Tampa Bay Derby

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

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