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Candy Man Rocket Passes Two-Turn Test, Leads Mott Exacta In Sam F. Davis

For a few fleeting seconds nearing the turn for home in the Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla., it appeared pace-setter Boca Boy was about to pull away from his closest pursuer, Candy Man Rocket.

But Junior Alvarado, the jockey on Candy Man Rocket, wanted to wait a little longer to launch his move.

“I didn't really want to engage the horse up front (Boca Boy) or make any quick move too early. I just had to move a little bit, keep holding my position and wait as long as I could,” Alvarado said. “He doesn't have a real quick turn of foot, but he started grinding it out so I started picking it up and I was really pleased by the quarter pole turning for home.”

Then, when he requested more, Candy Man Rocket delivered.

“At the sixteenth pole when I switched my stick to the right hand and showed it to him to see what I had left, he put his head low and kept grinding his way there,” Alvarado said after posting a one-length victory over stablemate Nova Rags, ridden by Samy Camacho.

The Sam F. Davis was the centerpiece of a Festival Preview Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South card that set a Sam F. Davis Day handle record of $13,200,523, an increase of more than $2.1-million from last year. The total handle is the third-largest in track history. Three other stakes were contested, including two graded races on the turf, with total stakes purse money of $750,000.

Riley Mott, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and his father's assistant, had a good feeling Candy Man Rocket was going to earn the $120,000 Sam F. Davis winner's share when Alvarado turned him loose.

“He got into a real nice comfort zone down the backside and Junior let him out a notch going to the three-eighths-mile pole and at that point there wasn't a whole lot coming from behind,” the younger Mott said. “He hit the front a little bit early, which was concerning – he's still inexperienced and sometimes when they get to the front too early, they tend to wander – but Junior kept him to the task and he really ran on well and passed the two-turn test.”

Mott also saddled Nova Rags, who won the Pasco Stakes here on Jan. 16.

“He is a quality horse, and he sat a good trip too,” Mott said. “We weren't sure about the two turns, so to see him come back and pass the two-turn test and run so well to a good horse and his stablemate was pretty encouraging.”

Candy Man Rocket paid $8.20 to win as the second betting choice in the 12-horse field. His time for the mile-and-a-sixteenth on a fast dirt track was 1:44.30. He won by a length, with Nova Rags and Camacho holding on for second by a neck from Hidden Stash. Boca Boy finished fourth.

The top two were both racing around two turns for the first time.

Candy Man Rocket, a son of Candy Ride–Kenny Lane, by Forestry, is owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations. He is 2-for-3 in his career. The Sam F. Davis is a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points race, with Candy Man Rocket taking away the top award of 10 points.

The 1-2 finish by the Mott charges puts the Grade 2 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby squarely in their sights, although Riley Mott said the March 6 race might come up a little quick for Nova Rags. Regardless, having options is what it's all about for 3-year-olds at this stage of the year.

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Brown Eyes Wood Memorial After Withers Triumph By Risk Taking

Klaravich Stables' Risk Taking proved in his maiden score he could win going 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct Racetrack, and that success at two turns proved beneficial on Saturday when he overtook pacesetter Capo Kane in the final furlong and powered home a 3 3/4-length winner of the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers for 3-year-olds at the Big A in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Risk Taking, who finished off the board in splitting his first two starts between the main track and turf, again found a comfort zone going longer, capturing the 145th running of the Withers, a Grade 1 Kentucky Derby prep race awarding 10-4-2-1 points to the top-four finishers.

Jerome-winner Capo Kane broke well from post 3 and led the nine-horse field though the opening quarter-mile in 24.02 seconds, the half in 48.71 and three-quarters in 1:13.17 on the fast main track.

Risk Taking also broke alertly from post 5 under jockey Eric Cancel, settling in sixth position and content to let others do the heavy lifting. Out of the turn, Capo Kane, under jockey Dylan Davis, maintained the advantage with Eagle Orb putting in a bid from the rail. Capo Kane fended off that challenge, but Risk Taking showed the deep-closing skills that led to his win last out on December 14, easily taking command in the stretch with an outside charge, completing the course in 1:51.91.

Overtook rallied for second, with the Todd Pletcher trainee besting Capo Kane by 1 1/4 lengths for runner-up status and the four qualifying points.

Trainer Chad Brown added blinkers before Risk Taking's previous start, and the son of Medaglia d'Oro has improved to 2-for-2 with the equipment change.

“It really made a difference. He's a horse that always showed a lot in his morning drills as a 2-year-old and I was quite surprised that he didn't run better in his first two starts,” said Brown, who saw Counterparty Risk win the Grade 3 Endeavour at Tampa Bay Downs just minutes later for Klaravich Stables.

Risk Taking, the 9-5 favorite, returned $5.80 on a $2 win wager. Brown said the $240,000 purchase at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale could target the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 3 at Aqueduct. That 1 1/8-mile contest is a 100-40-20-10 Derby qualifier.

“We'll nominate him to everything but my first reaction would be not to take him out of New York,” Brown said. “He's thriving there right now, so leave it be. I would not cut the horse back in distance from here to the Derby under any circumstances. The most logical spot would be to train him up to the Wood, but I won't make that decision until we observe the horse and I have a chance to over it with the owner, Seth Klarman.”

Cancel, aboard Risk Taking for the first time, netted his third career graded stakes victory and first at a NYRA track since piloting Smooth Daddy in the 2017 Grade 3 Fort Marcy.

“I thought they'd go a little quicker [up front] but the instructions were to sit patient on him and just give him a really confident ride,” Cancel said. “It worked out very well. Turning for home I knew I had a lot of horse it was just matter of having to ask him and once I did and he started going, I was very confident. I never had any doubt he was going to win the race as soon as we turned for home.”

Risk Taking ran seventh in his debut going six furlongs on October 10 over Belmont Park's Big Sandy. Following a sixth-place effort going 1 1/16 miles on the Aqueduct turf on November 14, Brown returned the Kentucky bred to the main track going two turns.

“In his debut, although the running line looks ugly, he did gallop out big,” Brown said. “It was my error to rush him onto the turf, I was looking for a distance race that didn't have much kick back, but it just didn't work out. So, we blinkered him up and he got his confidence under him and he really broke through in that maiden victory.”

The conditioner said his horse's maturity, along with Cancel's ride, was a key factor on Saturday.

“Eric Cancel really stepped up today and I'm really proud of him,” Brown said. “He's a rider who continues to improve and he's ridden some nice races for us in the past. Eric hasn't ridden many for us, but he's made them count. I couldn't be prouder of him for the trip he gave this horse from every pole. He used him a little for position early and staying out of trouble off the fence and showing some patience.”

Overtook, ridden by Manny Franco, earned black type in his first stakes start, moving to 1-1-1 in four career starts.

“I know he wants to be at the back, but I didn't want to be too far back and leave him with too much to do,” Franco said. “I thought the horse ran a good race. He's improving race by race, so he's done well. He's got a nice future. The distance is no problem for him. I think that more distance will be better for him.”

Capo Kane now has 12 Derby points following his New Year's Day victory in the Jerome.

Updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard

“I hustled him out of there. I had to because there was that sprinter [Mr. Doda] outside of me, but then I was able to gain some control,” Davis said. “My horse got his nice stride going. He was breathing great for me and I really thought I was tough turning for home. He gave his heart out. He gave a hundred percent and he was very tired coming back. Eric engaged me and he had so much momentum turning for home, I didn't have a chance to keep up with him. He ran great. I thought he ran a great race going a mile and an eighth.”

Royal Number earned a single point for his fourth-place effort, with Eagle Orb, Civil War, Donegal Bay, Shackqueenking and Mr. Doda completing the order of finish.

Live racing at Aqueduct will continue on Monday, as the entirety of Sunday's live racing program was pushed back one day due a winter storm slated to impact the New York metropolitan area throughout the day on Sunday.Monday's card will be highlighted by the $100,000 Ruthless, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies. First post is 1:20 p.m. Eastern.

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Favorite Smiley Sobotka Likes The Distance, But Sam Davis Foes Carry High Hopes On Derby Trail

An all-star cast of jockeys and trainers will take a backseat to 12 talented but inexperienced 3-year-olds Saturday in the 41st running of the Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes, the first of two “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points races at Tampa Bay Downs.

The Sam F. Davis is one of four stakes on a 12-race Festival Preview Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South card set to begin at 11:50 a.m. Scheduled as the 11th race, it will be preceded (in order) by the Grade 3, $175,000 Tampa Bay Stakes, for horses 4-years-old-and-upward at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf course; the $150,000 Suncoast Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, at a mile-and-40-yards on the main track; and the Grade 3, $175,000 Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes, for older fillies and mares at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf.

Approximate post time for the Sam F. Davis is 5:02 p.m. There is a carryover pool of $9,057.70 into the Super High-5 wager in the first race.

The Albaugh Family Stables, LLC-owned colt Smiley Sobotka has been established as the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the Sam F. Davis, run at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the main track. Trained by Dale Romans, Smiley Sobotka will be ridden by Daniel Centeno while breaking from the No. 5 post position.

Smiley Sobotka won at the Sam F. Davis distance when he broke his maiden in October at Keeneland. He finished second at the same distance in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes on Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs.

The Sam F. Davis awards points on a 10-4-2-1 scale to the first four finishers toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and future Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher each have two horses entered in the Sam F. Davis. Mott's runners are breeder-owner Michael Shanley's colt Nova Rags, who won the 7-furlong Pasco Stakes here on Jan. 16, and Frank Fletcher Racing Operations' colt Candy Man Rocket, an eye-popping maiden special weight winner on Jan. 9 at Gulfstream Park.

Nova Rags will again be ridden by Samy Camacho. Junior Alvarado is the pilot on Candy Man Rocket.

Pletcher, who has won the Sam F. Davis a record six times (no other trainer has won it more than twice), will counter with Known Agenda, a St. Elias Stables-owned homebred who finished third on Dec. 5 in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct in his most recent start, and Millean, a Jan. 10 maiden claiming winner at Gulfstream Park owned by Donegal Racing.

Velazquez will ride Known Agenda. Roberto Alvarado, Jr., has been named on Millean.

Smiley Sobotka and seven others will vie to keep the Mott and Pletcher-trained sophomores from the winner's circle, but Mott suggested Friday the biggest surprise in the Sam F. Davis would be a result that winds up surprising hardly anyone.

The race appears that wide-open.

“Both of our horses have been training well, and we're anxiously awaiting the outcome to see if we have horses good enough to go on and come back for the (Grade 2 Lambholm South) Tampa Bay Derby (on March 6),” Mott said today from his south Florida base. “It's a big test for both horses, and we have no great expectations. Candy Man Rocket hasn't been beyond 6 ½ furlongs and Nova Rags hasn't raced around two turns yet, so they need to be tested to find out how far they want to go.”

At this early stage, there are no true standouts entering the race. The only stakes winner in the field other than Nova Rags is Florida-bred gelding Boca Boy, who captured the restricted Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association Florida Sire In Reality Stakes on Sept. 26 at Gulfstream. Antonio Gallardo rides Boca Boy.

Mott, who has also entered 4-year-old filly New York Girl in the Lambholm South Endeavour and Florida-bred Jade Empress in the Suncoast, hopes having won the Pasco here will be an extra advantage for Nova Rags.

“It's a safe racetrack and it's a very challenging racetrack,” Mott said. “It's deep and tiring, and you see some horses that don't run well on it. So with Nova Rags, it's a good thing he has that race (the Pasco) over the surface.”

Hidden Stash, who won his last two races as a 2-year-old, both around two turns, will break from the No. 1 post under jockey Hector Diaz, Jr. Among the others, trainer Patrick Biancone, who won last year's Sam F. Davis with Sole Volante, will attempt a repeat with Lucky Law, and George “Rusty” Arnold, II takes a shot with Runway Magic, to be ridden by Leparoux.

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Impressive Smarty Jones Winner Caddo River Back On The Work Tab At Oaklawn

Caddo River returned to the work tab Friday morning at Oaklawn, breezing an easy half-mile in :50.60 in preparation for an anticipated start in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds March 13 at Oaklawn.

The work was Caddo River's first since a record-setting 10 ¼-length victory in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 22, Oaklawn's first of four Kentucky Derby points races.

Caddo River breezed before the first surface renovation break under exercise rider Gustavo Abrego and recorded splits of :12.80 for his opening eighth of a mile, :26 for a quarter-mile and :38 for 3 furlongs, according to clockers, before galloping out 5 furlongs in 1:03.

Brad Cox trains Caddo River, a son of Hard Spun, for breeder/owner John Ed Anthony of Hot Springs. Anthony has won the Rebel a record five times.

Cox is scheduled to send out champion Essential Quality in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) Feb. 15 at Oaklawn. The 1 1/16-mile Southwest is Oaklawn's second of four of Kentucky Derby points races. The series concludes with the Rebel and $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) April 10.

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