tampa bay downs | Horse Racing Free Tips

Maiden Winner With ‘Un’-Tapped Potential

The GI Kentucky Derby-bound Helium (Ironicus) wasn't the only 3-year-old colt to impress on the GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby card Mar. 6.

Untreated (Nyquist) put on a show earlier that day as well, graduating by a pole for Todd Pletcher at second asking with a flashy, come-from-behind maiden tally in his two-turn debut (video). He earned a very solid 86 Beyer Speed Figure.

A well-beaten sixth as the 4-5 favorite behind next out GIII Sam F. Davis S. winner Candy Man Rocket (Candy Ride {Arg}) going six furlongs in his unveiling for the late Paul Pompa, Jr. and trainer Chad Brown at Gulfstream Jan. 9, Untreated brought $300,000 from bloodstock agent Steve Young on behalf of Team Valor just five days later at the Keeneland January Sale. He was previously a $550,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase, the most expensive of 44 yearlings from the first crop of promising young sire Nyquist to switch hands.

“The bottom line is, we got lucky,” Team Valor head Barry Irwin said. “Everybody knew about the horse before he ran. I was prepared to go to what he cost as a yearling, $550,000, and we got him for $300,000. Steve Young, who I've known pretty well for years, is the one who pushed me to buy the horse.”

That must have been one heck of a push considering Irwin's recent words regarding the current state of affairs for racing in this country and his plans for his longtime partnership to compete predominantly abroad going forward.

“I do not like racing in America anymore at this time,” Irwin said. “I am sick of it. The only horse I bought the previous year to stay here was [GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and GI Arkansas Derby second and 'TDN Rising Star'] Gouverneur Morris [by Constitution]. I can't stand this crap that's going on. But this horse was very intriguing.”

Untreated came out firing once joining Pletcher's Palm Beach Downs string, highlighted by a trio of bullet workouts. He did, however, have a gap between his Jan. 30 and Feb. 20 breezes.

“His first work was a bullet work, but the guy had to tap him on the shoulder to get him to gallop out,” Irwin said. “The next work, another bullet work, but he can't even gallop out a furlong this time. He gets back [to the barn] and he's got an entrapped epiglottis. Now, I would be willing to bet, based on my experience with that, that this horse was already starting to do this when Chad him, but didn't show enough evidence of it yet. So, we got lucky. We had Dr. Yarborough do the procedure in his stall.”

Irwin continued, “It worked and his next two works were just unbelievable. Especially the last one. We knew we had something.”

Drawn wide in post eight in his first try for Team Valor and Pletcher, Untreated was about three deep while rounding the clubhouse turn and raced near the rear heading into the backstretch. The bay traveled nicely from there and launched an eye-catching, four-wide move leaving the four-furlong marker into third. He took over with ease approaching the top of the stretch and increased his margin to the wire, scoring by 8 3/4 lengths. The final time of 1:39.17 was just a few ticks off the Tampa track record of 1:38 3/5 for a mile and 40 yards.

“We were thrilled to see how he did it,” Irwin said.

Untreated is out of the graded-stakes placed Unbridled's Song mare Fully Living and is from the same family of champion Halfbridled (Unbridled). He was co-bred in Kentucky by Ashview Farm and Old Oak Farm.

Untreated is scheduled to return to the worktab Saturday, per Irwin.

Will we see him in a Derby prep next time out?

“I'll quote Mr. Todd Pletcher, 'We're gonna let the horse lead us to that decision,'” Irwin responded. “If we do the conservative thing, we'll look to run him in a small race somewhere. If we want to go crazy, we'll look at either the [GII Toyota] Blue Grass [at Keeneland Apr. 3] or [GII] Wood [Memorial at Aqueduct Apr. 3].”

Irwin concluded, “The problem is, he was ready to run in a prep race for the Tampa Bay Derby. If we had gotten that prep race in, then we'd be in a nice spot. Now, we have to be Big Brown in order to pull off something like that [make the Kentucky Derby]. My clients, by in large, are all dreamers and the Derby is the ultimate lure.”

The post Maiden Winner With ‘Un’-Tapped Potential appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘Shortcuts Won’t Get You Anywhere’: Tampa Bay Derby Winner Jose Ferrer Voted Jockey Of The Month

While the track's old guard of riders has, to date, swept this season's Salt Rock Tavern Jockey of the Month Awards at Tampa Bay Downs (imagine how ancient this correspondent feels including Antonio Gallardo and Samy Camacho in an “old guard”), the influence of several new faces seems likely to be felt for years to come.

Many of those younger riders are likely to have successful careers by following the example of the current Jockey of the Month, 56-year-old Jose Ferrer. A full 28 years after he last rode in the race, Ferrer won Saturday's Grade 2 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on 15-1 shot Helium, then came back Wednesday to ride three winners.

Ferrer rode 10 winners from 39 mounts during the judging period, and that was just enough to wrest the award from Hector Diaz, Jr., who posted a streak of eight consecutive racing days with a victory in his bid for the honor.

You can't be a jockey without dedication, but Ferrer's devotion to his craft is exemplary. He lifts weights in a makeshift gym in his garage before and after the races and on off-days, and he rides bikes with his wife Steffi, logging 3-to-6 miles on “dark days.”

“He's the fittest guy in the world. You've never seen a guy as strong as he is,” said trainer Dennis Ward, who uses Ferrer on many of his horses.

Ferrer thrives on competition.

“You have to want it more than anyone else,” said the Santurce, Puerto Rico product, who is ninth in the Tampa Bay Downs standings with 22 victories and has ridden 4,543 career winners. “You have to be willing to sacrifice and go over the limit.

“Taking shortcuts won't get you anywhere. People who are willing to dedicate themselves the most are going to be successful, whether it's in sports or business or any field.”

Ferrer derives tremendous inspiration from Steffi and their sons Derek, 6, and Joseph, 5. Watching his boys run into the winner's circle after a victory is an awesome sight to the jockey and a treat for Tampa Bay Downs fans. “They are such a big part of my life. I'm so blessed,” Ferrer said.

To last in any profession for almost 40 years, you had better be grounded, because the road isn't always smooth. In September of 2017 at Delaware Park, Ferrer suffered a collapsed lung, eight broken ribs and three fractured vertebrae in a multi-horse spill at Delaware Park.

Someone else might have considered that a sign to retire and be thankful to have dodged disaster one final time. Yet after being told by doctors it would be at least 4-to-6 months before he could get back on a horse, Ferrer started working horses again at Tampa Bay Downs that November, and he won his fourth race back on Dec. 6 aboard Jermyn Street for trainer Keith Nations.

Ferrer finished sixth in the Oldsmar standings that season with 37 winners, but that was merely a warm-up for the following summer. On July 8 at Monmouth Park, he rode a personal-best six winners, and he ran away with the 2018 Monmouth track title with 95 victories.

Ferrer also was the recipient of the 2018 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, which honors a jockey whose career and personal character bring credit not only to themselves, but the sport of Thoroughbred racing. The cherished award is determined by a vote of jockeys, who select from five finalists.

Those achievements, and his 27 graded-stakes victories, place Ferrer in rarefied air. But unlike legendary 85-year-old trainer D. Wayne Lukas (who, after winning the 1999 Kentucky Derby with Charismatic, told a reporter suggesting he might consider retirement that he would be harrowed into the racetrack), Ferrer can't compete forever.

And the new wave at Tampa Bay Downs, full of competitive vim and vigor, is ready to take up the mantle.

The 31-year-old Diaz, whose career got off to a relatively late start, has been making up for lost time in his debut meeting at Tampa Bay Downs. Displaying an ability to win both on the front end and coming from behind, as well as superb timing on the turf course, Diaz has climbed to fourth in the standings with 45 victories while earning the trust of such outstanding trainers as Kathleen O'Connell, Michael Stidham and Arnaud Delacour.

Jose Batista, 24, is fifth in the standings with 26 victories, with 25-year-old Tomas Mejia tied for sixth with 25 winners and 22-year-old Isaac Castillo eighth with 24. All three are from Panama and at this stage, relatively quiet guys who let their on-track accomplishments do their talking.

Mejia and Batista finished in the top-15 in last year's Tampa Bay Downs standings, while Castillo gained valuable experience last year at Monmouth, finishing eighth in the standings with 21 winners. The youngster looks polished beyond his years.

Wilmer Garcia, 29, and Raul Mena, 28, have been around a little longer, and the majority of Tampa Bay Downs bettors have no qualms supporting either when the horse and the price look right. They also handle their business the right way in the morning, with positive attitudes and an eagerness to share insights about horses with their trainers after workouts and races.

The racetrack is a classroom, and the only way a jockey gets ahead is by being willing to learn.

“Jose Ferrer is a really good rider, and he's very good from the gate,” Mena said. “I'm always trying to pay attention to how he breaks a horse from the gate, because he knows how to get to the lead and make the rest of the field fall asleep behind him. We can take a lot of good things from all those (veteran) riders.”

The “kids” might be soft-spoken, but they aren't afraid to approach an older jockey for insights. “I have a lot of questions for (Ferrer). He's a really nice guy and a classy person who tries to teach you a lot,” Mena said. “But I also pay attention by watching him in the races, because I know he's not going to tell me all his secrets.”

Sigh. None of us will be around forever, and replacements seem always at the ready. But it's heartening to know so many members of the next generation of Tampa Bay Downs standouts have the respect, and the intelligence, to keep the tradition of safe, competitive race-riding alive through their own determination and eagerness to make the most of each opportunity.

The post ‘Shortcuts Won’t Get You Anywhere’: Tampa Bay Derby Winner Jose Ferrer Voted Jockey Of The Month appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Unbeaten Helium Lifts Casse’s Kentucky Derby Hopes With Sparkling Return At Tampa Bay

Almost half a century before he saddled Helium to win the 41st running of the Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on Saturday, Mark Casse fell in love with the picturesque, rustic charm of Tampa Bay Downs.

The track set an all-sources handle record of $15,229,267 on the 12-race Festival Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South card, bettering the previous track mark of $14,859,633 on Tampa Bay Derby Day three years ago. Saturday's total was also 15.77 percent above the 2010 Festival Day figure of $13,155,350.

With all those greenbacks circulating, both in purse money and wagering dollars, it might be hard for fans under 40 to understand Casse's emotions watching Helium race to victory. But racing's lure extends far beyond the possibility of big paydays.

“Tampa Bay Downs has been part of my life since I was a boy,” said Casse, who was elected last year to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. “My dad (late horseman Norman E. Casse, the long-time chairman of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company) took me there when I was about 12 and kids weren't allowed into the racetrack, back in the early 1970s.

“He would park outside of the 3/16-pole and I'd put a chair in the back of his truck and watch the races. He'd buy me hot dogs and a program, and I'd tell him my selections so he could make a few bets for me.”

Saturday marked five years to the day since the elder Casse died at 79.

Thoroughbred racing, it seems, has always transcended the generation gap. There was jockey Jose Ferrer, 56, summoning all his experience and guile to outduel Hidden Stash and Rafael Bejarano in a thrilling stretch duel as his wife Steffi and their sons, 6-year-old Derek and 5-year-old Joseph, shouted their encouragement.

“I heard their voices. I always hear them screaming for me when I'm coming down the lane,” Ferrer said. “I was up all night Saturday thinking about it, just enjoying it and embracing it and thanking God for the opportunity, especially with my wife and children there.

“I think it was the best win I ever had. It was a winning combination all the way around.”

All thanks to a 3-year-old colt who hadn't raced in four-and-a-half months, had never competed on dirt and had never raced around two turns.

Now, Helium is 3-for-3 and virtually assured of qualifying for the May 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve with the 50 “Road to the Kentucky Derby” qualifying points he picked up Saturday. Hidden Stash earned 20 points to move into eighth place with 22 points, and the third-place finisher, Moonlite Strike, earned 10 points to settle in 16^th place with 11 points.

Helium's standing will become official when owner D. J. Stable pays a supplemental Triple Crown nomination fee of $6,000, which Casse believed Leonard Green and his family will take care of soon. They had missed the deadline of Jan. 23 for early nominations.

Helium earned $210,000 for Saturday's victory, which wasn't foreseen by most of the experts and bettors who sent him off at 15-1 odds. Casse said Helium may go straight to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve off his Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby victory, although a final decision will be made later.

Casse and the Greens probably need a little longer to digest what transpired.

“I'm not easily worried, but I was kind of worried because he had so much adversity to overcome,” Casse said. After winning the seven-furlong Display Stakes on Woodbine's synthetic Tapeta surface on Oct. 18, “we planned to run him in the (Grade 3) Grey Stakes (on Nov. 22), but it snowed and they cancelled the race.”

That happened after Woodbine officials had announced the last three weeks of the meeting would be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, meaning the Grey would not be rescheduled.

“We took him to New Orleans next and were going to run him in the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds (on Jan. 16), but he wrenched an ankle one morning. Nothing serious, but we brought him home to Ocala and gave him about 10 days off before we put him back in training,” Casse said.

After working out twice at the Casse Training Center in Ocala, the conditioner sent Helium to his Palm Meadows Training Center base in Boynton Beach to continue preparations under assistant Nick Tomlinson. “When we get horses ready to run on a deeper surface (such as Tampa Bay Downs), that's where we take them,” Casse said. “I have to give so much credit to Nick.”

Casse didn't say much before the race, except to state his belief the son of Ironicus–Thundering Emilia, by Thunder Gulch, belonged against other relatively untested 3-year-olds.

For his part, Ferrer had never been aboard Helium before getting on in the paddock, and it had been so long since he rode in the Tampa Bay Derby (1993) that he didn't recall that race.

Not that he hadn't won a whole bunch of races in a lot of different places. Ferrer entered Saturday with more than 4,500 victories and 26 graded-stakes triumphs.

“He tried to buck twice when we went to the track and the pony went to grab him,” Ferrer said. “I don't know if he was trying to make a statement to me, but I petted him and talked to him and he settled down. Sometimes they want to act like little kids, and you just have to let them know you're on the same team. After that, he was perfect.”

Helium broke slowly and was wide going into the first turn, but Ferrer knew it was too early to despair. “I just told myself to keep going, and he did fine,” the jockey said. Meanwhile, Florida-bred Boca Boy was leading Moonlite Strike and King of Dreams, but a 6-furlong split of 1:11.38 didn't do them any favors.

Ferrer was forced to come wide on the far turn, but this was the moment Helium had been anticipating since the fall. He had won those two seven-furlong races at Woodbine by open daylight, and muscle memory kicked in, with encouragement from his rider.

Anxiety kicked in when Hidden Stash came to Helium in mid-stretch. Bejarano had a lot of horse, too, but like a modern-day Felix the Cat, Ferrer's bag of tricks wasn't exhausted.

“I threw the reins in the air to let him know we weren't done yet, and he picked up the bit again and took off,” Ferrer said, describing a technique he honed years ago under the tutelage of Angel Cordero, Jr., and Jorge Velasquez. Helium surged in front to win by three-quarters of a length.

It was an amazing scene for Ferrer, who didn't know a little more than three years ago when he might return to action after incurring a collapsed lung, eight broken ribs and three fractured vertebrae in a multi-horse spill at Delaware in September of 2017. He was ready to return at the start of the 2017-'18 Tampa Bay Downs season and finished in sixth place that meeting with 37 victories.

“If you have faith and don't give up, anything is possible, no matter how old you are,” Ferrer said. “Experience and fitness are what let me keep riding against these 25 and 30-year-old jockeys.”

Casse has two other 3-year-olds who might be Kentucky Derby candidates in Soup and Sandwich, who is being pointed to the March 27 Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa off an impressive allowance/optional claiming score here on Feb. 24, and Grade 1 Summer Stakes winner Gretzky the Great, who may run next in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park on March 27.

But on a day that started off cloudy and ended with a sunburst of joyfulness for all that racing can offer, there seemed to be no harm reliving a Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby for the ages a little longer.

The post Unbeaten Helium Lifts Casse’s Kentucky Derby Hopes With Sparkling Return At Tampa Bay appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

$63,716 Payout In Cross Country Pick 5 From Aqueduct, Tampa Bay Downs

Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5 featuring a slate of all stakes from Aqueduct Racetrack and Tampa Bay Downs paid $63,716.50 for selecting all five winners for the 50-cent wager. The sequence's total pool was $149,923.

Wall-to-wall stakes competition started with the Grade 2 Hillsborough for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up going nine furlongs in Race 9 at Tampa. Micheline rallied from third in the stretch to defeat Morning Molly by three-quarters of a length. The Michael Stidham trainee returned $11.20 on a $2 win wager, with Luis Saez calming his charge after she was reluctant to load but responded to firm handling to complete the course in 1:47.19.

Aqueduct got in on the action when Lake Avenue drew away to an impressive 6 3/4-length score in the Heavenly Prize for older fillies and mares going a one-turn mile in Race 8. The 4-5 favorite, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, bested an eight-horse field, kicking away from runner-up Portal Creek to hit the wire in 1:39.25 under jockey Manny Franco. Lake Avenue paid $3.90.

Back at Tampa, Domain Expertise completed a thrilling run to best Jouster by a nose in the Grade 3, $200,000 Florida Oaks for sophomore fillies going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Piloted by Antonio Gallardo, Domain Expertise ran down the favorite Jouster in the final jumps. Conditioned by Chad Brown, Domain Expertise [$12.80], registered a final time of 1:41.12.

Aqueduct closed its stakes action with the first of two “Road to the Kentucky Derby” prep races on the Cross Country Pick 5 docket, with Weyburn earning a big-price win at 46-1 for Jimmy Jerkens in the Grade 3 Gotham in Race 9 that had 50-20-10-5 points to the top-four finishers. Weyburn, ridden by Trevor McCarthy, captured 50 qualifying points when besting the Brown-trained Crowded Trade and Highly Motivated. Weyburn, who paid $95.50, edged Crowded Trade, off at 5-1, by a nose with 4-5 favorite Highly Motivated back in third. Freedom Fighter, a California shipper for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, ran fourth.

Alternating back to Tampa, Helium soared in the Grade 2, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby in Race 11. With 50-20-10-5 qualifying points also on the line, the son of Ironicus became his sire's first graded stakes-winner, outkicking Hidden Stash by three-quarters of a length under Jose Ferrer. Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Helium rallied from 10th at the opening quarter-mile to pick up points for the “Run for the Roses,” returning $32.80 in the process. Moonlite Strike ran third and Unbridled Honor was fourth to also earn points.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

The post $63,716 Payout In Cross Country Pick 5 From Aqueduct, Tampa Bay Downs appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post