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Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 Features Racing From Aqueduct, Tampa

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring racing action from Aqueduct Racetrack and Tampa Bay Downs.

Live coverage will be available with America's Day at the Races on FOX Sports. Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Kicking off the sequence in Race 7 [3:55 p.m.] at Aqueduct, Pristine Racing's Shamrocked will seek to make his first start for trainer Michael Miceli a winning one in a six-furlong $10,000 claiming event. The son of Trappe Shot was previously fifth for a $40,000 tag at the Big A and seeks his first triumph since July 2019. Shamrocked was made the 5-2 morning line favorite by NYRA oddsmaker David Aragona.

Action shifts to Tampa Bay Downs for the following leg, where a field of eight assemble for the $100,000 Pelican going six furlongs. Headlining the accomplished group is consistent sprinter Edgemont Road, who has won four of his last six starts, including a last out allowance victory over the Oldsmar oval. In his lone start against stakes company, the son of Speightstown was third to Sleepy Eyes Todd and next-out Grade 1-winner True Timber in the Lafayette on November 7 at Keeneland. Trainer Terri Pompay sends out graded stakes winner Cool Arrow, who seeks his first victory since winning the Grade 3 Smile Sprint on September 5 at Gulfstream Park two starts back. Carded as Race 9, the Pelican has a scheduled post time of 4:19 p.m.

Aqueduct hosts the middle leg [Race 8, 4:25 p.m.], which is a six-furlong allowance optional claiming tilt featuring graded stakes winner Happy Farm for trainer Linda Rice. The veteran son of Ghostzapper will spin back off a week's rest after winning on February 6 going six furlongs. LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stables' Secret Rules has never finished off the board in seven lifetime starts and will attempt to keep his consistent record intact for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

For the penultimate leg, a field of 10 fillies and mares, plus four also-eligible entrants, will go into line racing for a $16,000 tag over the Tampa Bay Downs turf in pursuit of their first career win. Breaking from the rail is owner-trainer Michael Laurato's C'Est Parti, who has shown improvement in her last pair of starts finishing a respective second and third for the same conditions and over the same course as Saturday's event. Carded as the finale of Tampa Bay Downs' 10-race program, the second to last leg will go off at 4:32 p.m.

The curtain closes on the sequence in the final race on Aqueduct's Saturday card [Race 9, 4:55 p.m.], where New York-breds seek a first career triumph for a $25,000 tag going six furlongs. The 7-2 morning line favorite for the event is Lord Camden for trainer Chris Englehart, who saw his best finish in eight lifetime starts last out when finishing second as the post time favorite on January 22 at Aqueduct.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available 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.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, February 13:
Leg A: Aqueduct-Race 7 (3:55 p.m.)
Leg B: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 9 $100K Pelican (4:19 p.m.)
Leg C: Aqueduct-Race 8 (4:25 p.m.)
Leg D: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 10 (4:32 p.m.)
Leg E: Aqueduct -Race 9 (4:55 p.m.)

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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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Equibase Analysis: Mott Holding A Pair Of Aces In Sam F. Davis

This Saturday's Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes is the local prep race for the Tampa Bay Derby four weeks from today and brings together a field of 12 (plus one also-eligible) attempting to become one of the betting favorites going into that race as well as to earn points on the “Road to the Kentucky Derby.”

Only five of the 13 have ever run in stakes races. Of those, Nova Rags is one of two which are stakes winners, having won the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs last month around one turn, not the two-turn trip like the Sam F. Davis. Boca Boy is another with a stakes win, that coming last September in the In Reality Stakes. He is returning from a four and one-half month layoff since that race.

Smiley Sobotka finished second in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes last fall around two-turns but is returning to the races following more than two months off and facing many who have run more recently. Known Agenda finished third in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes last December and is yet another coming into the race off a layoff. Runway Magic finished third in the Limehouse Stakes last month at Gulfstream Park, a one-turn race and rounds out those which have competed in stakes before today.

Then there is a trio of recent winners on dirt who could step up to the task. This trio includes local winner Ricochet, impressive nine length winner Candy Man Rocket and Hidden Stash, who is another coming back from more than three months off. Millean won his most recent race last month but in a maiden claiming race so appears a bit overmatched. Joe Man Joe and Lucky Law finished second and first, respectively, in their most recent starts. Both were around two-turns but were on turf so it remains to be seen if they can transfer that form to dirt and improve to be competitive in a stakes as well. Last Investment and also-eligible Tiz Tact Toe round out the field as horses who have yet to break their maidens in seven combined starts.

Candy Man Rocket gets slight preference among three main win contenders in this year's Sam F. Davis Stakes, although he has never raced around two turns and has only a maiden win to his credit. I think this colt has tremendous upside based on earning a field high 98 Equibase Speed Figure in his nine length maiden win last month sprinting at Gulfstream Park. Considering this will be only his third career start, Candy Man Rocket has every right to continue to improve and that means his opponents would have to improve doubly in order to beat him even if he simply repeats the effort. There is little doubt Candy Man Rocket can do just that around two-turns as a son of Candy Ride, whose has had 12 of his 34 foals win stakes races for three year olds over the last five years. Some of those are big names such as Vekoma and Gun Runner. Then there's the prowess his Hall-of-Fame trainer has in recognizing talent. Over the last five years, when trainer Bill Mott raises a horse off a maiden win to a stakes race, his charges have finished first or second in 10 of 20 tries. All those factors lead me to believe Candy Man Rocket can pull off the upset in this race.

Mott also saddles Nova Rags, one of just two stakes winners in the field. Nova Rags returned from two months off last month and won the Pasco Stakes at seven furlongs. Although the 85 is well behind the 98 figure his stablemate earned one week earlier, Nova Rags has every right to improve second off the layoff and around two turns. Sired by 2012 Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags, Nova Rags is out of the Smart Strike mare Wishful Splendor, whose sons and daughters have won 17 of 73 dirt route races, including 2011 Indiana Oaks winner Juanita. To be ridden by Tampa Bay Downs leading jockey Sammy Camacho, Nova Rags can take a big step forward in the Sam F. Davis Stakes and toss his name into the ring as a top three year old on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Ricochet is a two-turn winner at Tampa, a claim none of the other 12 horses in this race can make. Stretched out to two-turns for the first time at the end of November, Ricochet opened up by two and one-half lengths in the stretch only to be nailed right on the wire by a head. Improving to a career-best 94 figure which is the second best in the field by far, Ricochet made short work of the field in December when winning by eight lengths. On a pattern for another step forward, if Candy Man Rocket does not improve as expected, Ricochet would be no surprise winning this race.

After that group of three, there are four more which deserve honorable mention – Hidden Stash, Known Agenda, Lucky Law and Smiley Sobotka, each having good reasons to consider them as contenders but each also with slight question marks. Hidden Stash improved to a career best 89 figure when last seen at the end of November, bringing his record around two-turns to a perfect two-for-two. However, coming back from two months off he would need to be in tip-top shape to pick up where he left off. Known Agenda won a nine furlong race in November, the second start of his career, earning an 86 figure in the process. He improved to 88 although a well-beaten third in the Remsen Stakes in December and if this was his second start off a layoff, not his first, I think he would be a top contender. Similarly, Smiley Sobotka improved nicely in his first route and second career start in October to win then finished second of nine in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (with a 90 figure) after opening up by a couple of lengths with an eighth of a mile to go. He's been working fast but there is always the concern about needing a race before running well enough to win around two turns off a layoff. Lucky Law stretched out to two turns off a runner-up effort and won nicely last month. Both races were on turf so he would need to transfer that form to dirt and improve off the 83 figure earned in that last start. However, trainer Patrick Biancone successfully transitioned horses to dirt on the Road to the Derby last year with both Ete Indien and Sole Volante.

The rest of the field, all who have the ability to compete effectively in this race, with their best Equibase Speed Figures, is Boca Boy (78), Joe Man Joe (89), Millean (84), Last Investment (81), Tiz Tact Toe (78) and Runway Magic (92).

Win Contenders, in probability order:
Candy Man Rocket
Nova Rags
Ricochet

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Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 Features Pair Of Derby Preps, Free PPs

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring Kentucky Derby qualifiers from Aqueduct Racetrack and Tampa Bay Downs.

Saturday's sequence kicks off with a field of eight New York-bred fillies and mares going seven furlongs in a first level allowance event. Trainer Carlos Soto sends last out winner Mabel Island from Parx Racing in pursuit of victory after defeating four others in a starter allowance at Parx by 7 ¼ lengths. Also attempting a second straight win is Fair Lassie, who won for a $25,000 tag on January 31 at the Big A for trainer Karl Broberg. Carded as Race 7 on the nine-race program, the first leg of the Cross Country Pick 5 has a post time of 3:55 p.m.

Action shifts to Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Florida for the $150,000 Suncoast for sophomore fillies going a mile and 40 yards over the main track. The race is a 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Oaks qualifier, and features previous Tampa stakes winners in J D Farms' Special Princess, who dead-heated for victory in the last out Gasparilla for trainer Walter Woodard, as well as Feeling Mischief from the barn of Michael Campbell, who took the Sandpiper on December 5. The Suncoast is scheduled as Race 9 with a 4:22 p.m. post time.

Aqueduct takes the reins for the middle race in the sequence when a field of nine 3-year-old colts pursue Kentucky Derby points in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers going nine furlongs. The second local prep on the calendar year for the 'Run for the Roses' features two maiden special weight winners for trainer Todd Pletcher including royally-bred Overtook, a product of multiple champion-producing sire Curlin and Grade 1-winner Got Lucky.

Owned by Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable, Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith, Overtook came from 10 lengths off the pace in his last out maiden victory going a one-turn mile at the Big A. Donegal Bay ships from South Florida after a gate-to-wire maiden score also at a one-turn mile at Gulfstream Park. Scheduled as Race 8, the Withers will go off at 4:25 p.m.

The final two legs of the sequence will be hosted by Tampa Bay Downs. In the penultimate leg, eight fillies and mares travel the 1 1/16-mile distance in the Grade 3, $175,000 Endeavour [Race 10; 4:32 p.m.] on the turf. Never short on talent in the turf category, trainer Chad Brown will send Klaravich Stables' Counterparty Risk off a close second in her stakes debut, which took place in the December 26 Lady Shamrock at Santa Anita. R Unicorn Stable's New York Girl will seek to go 2-for-2 in North America for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott after a New Year's Eve allowance score over the turf at Gulfstream Park.

The Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis (Race 11; 5:02 p.m.) closes the curtain on the sequence when a field of 12 sophomore colts, plus one also eligible entrant, go into line in pursuit of Derby qualifying points. The 1 1/16-mile event awards points to the top-four finishers according to a 10-4-2-1 scale and features graded stakes-placed Known Agenda.

The Pletcher-trained St. Elias Stables homebred was third in the Grade 2 Remsen at Aqueduct last out after breaking his maiden going nine furlongs at the Big A. Pletcher also sends out Donegal Racing's Millean, who broke his maiden going a one-turn mile at Gulfstream Park last out. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott will be represented by stakes winner Nova Rags, who arrives off a score in the seven-furlong Pasco at Tampa Bay Downs, as well as highly impressive maiden winner Candy Man Rocket. Trainer Dale Romans will send out Smiley Sobotka after a close runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs in November.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is available 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.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, February 6:
Leg A: Aqueduct-Race 7 (3:55 p.m.)
Leg B: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 9 $150K Suncoast (4:02 p.m.)
Leg C: Aqueduct-Race 8 G3 $250K Withers (4:25 p.m.)
Leg D: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 10 G3 $175K Endeavour (4:32 p.m.)
Leg E: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 11 G3 $250K Sam F. Davis (5:02 p.m.)

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