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Aqueduct, Tampa Derby Preps Feature In Saturday’s All-Stakes Cross Country Pick 5

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host an all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday, featuring Kentucky Derby qualifiers 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.

The sequence begins at 4:25 p.m. Eastern at Tampa Bay with the Grade 2 Hillsborough, a nine-furlong turf test for older fillies and mares headlined by last year's Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational-winner Magic Attitude. The 4-year-old Galileo bay, trained by Arnaud Delacour for Lael Stables, will face steep opposition from Grade 1-placed opponents Micheline and Court Return.

Action then switches to the Big A for the Heavenly Prize Invitational [Race 8, 4:36 p.m.], a one-turn mile for older fillies and mares featuring a well-balanced field of eight. Godolphin homebred Lake Avenue, a 4-year-old Tapit chestnut trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, has won 2-of-3 starts at Aqueduct, including a score in the 2019 Grade 2 Demoiselle. Trainer Juan Carlos Guerrero sends pace threat Portal Creek, who just missed in the Grade 3 Go for Wand two starts back when second to Sharp Starr over a sloppy and sealed Aqueduct main track at the Heavenly Prize distance.

The middle leg will see sophomore fillies contest 1 1/16-miles on the Tampa Bay turf in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks [Race 10, 4:55 p.m.]. Delacour and Lael Stables team up once more with the multiple stakes placed Be Sneaky, who makes her turf debut following a runner-up effort in the Suncoast on Feb. 6. Be Sneaky, an Into Mischief bay, is out of the Big Brown mare Bella Castani who won the 2013 Tweedside on the Belmont turf.

Four-time Eclipse Award winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle Domain Expertise, fresh off a third in the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant at Gulfstream Park; while Graham Motion will send out a pair of undefeated contenders in Mia Martina and Oyster Box, a royally-bred daughter of Tapit out of the multiple graded stakes-winning Dynaformer mare Starformer.

Kentucky Derby points will be on the line in the penultimate leg, the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham [Race 9, 5:07 p.m.] at a one-turn mile offering 50-20-10-5 points to the top-four finishers. Brown will send out a strong duo for Klaravich Stables in last-out Nyquist champ Highly Motivated and impressive maiden winner Crowded Trade. West Coast-based shippers include Freedom Fighter, runner-up last out in the Grade 2 San Vicente at Santa Anita for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert; and Wipe the Slate, a maiden winner who will remove blinkers and cut back in distance while looking to make amends for an off-the-board effort last out in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita for trainer Doug O'Neill.

Closing out the sequence is the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby [Race 11, 5:25 p.m.], which drew a field of 12 to contest 1 1/16-miles with 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points on the line.

The Mott-trained Candy Man Rocket will look to build on an impressive one-length score last out in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis on Feb. 6 at Tampa Bay Downs against returning rivals Hidden Stash [third] and Boca Boy [fourth]. Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse will saddle undefeated Helium, last out winner of the Display in October at Woodbine for his two-turn and dirt debut.

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, March 6:
Leg A: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 9, G3 Hillsborough (4:25 pm)
Leg B: Aqueduct-Race 8, Heavenly Prize Invitational (4:36 pm)
Leg C: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 10, G3 Florida Oaks (4:55 pm)
Leg D: Aqueduct-Race 9, G3 Gotham (5:07 pm)
Leg E: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 11, G2 Tampa Bay Derby (5:25 pm)

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Delacour Hoping Magic Attitude Displays Her ‘Explosive Turn Of Foot’ In Hillsborough

Early last year, Tampa Bay Downs trainer Arnaud Delacour received rave reviews about Magic Attitude, a regally-bred filly who at the time was preparing to make her first 3-year-old start in the Group 3 Prix Vanteaux at Longchamp in Paris.

The daughter of renowned sire Galileo, out of Group 1-winning Margot Did, did not disappoint, notching her first stakes score by 2 lengths. Soon after, owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson purchased Magic Attitude privately on Delacour's recommendation, with the intention of sending her to the conditioner's stable in the United States to compete under their Lael Stables banner.

What transpired was indeed magical: a Grade 1 victory in her first North American start on Sept. 19 in the Belmont Oaks Invitational on the grass.

On Saturday, a freshened, more mature filly will try to launch an even better 4-year-old campaign in the Grade 2, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes at a mile-and-an-eighth on the Oldsmar turf course at Tampa Bay Downs.

The Hillsborough is one of five stakes on Saturday's $1-million Festival Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South card, headed by the Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby for 3-year-old Triple Crown hopefuls.

Magic Attitude is one of two Lael Stables-owned and Delacour-trained fillies set to compete on Festival Day 41. The other, 3-year-old filly Be Sneaky, will make her turf debut in the Grade 3, $200,000 Florida Oaks at a mile-and-a-sixteenth.

Entries were taken and post positions drawn today for all five of Saturday's stakes races.

Delacour says Magic Attitude, who will be ridden for the first time by Julien Leparoux, is approaching the Hillsborough in top condition.

“She breezed a half-mile Tuesday (in 49 3/5 seconds), and I'm very happy how she came out of the work,” Delacour said. “We're excited about running her Saturday, but we still have to play it by ear because she is better on firmer turf (there is a possibility of rain Saturday).”

After racing twice against Group 1 competition under the Jackson colors in France while trained by Fabrice Chappet, with a second-place finish in the Prix Saint-Alary, Magic Attitude arrived in Delacour's barn in late July. The timing couldn't have been better: the Belmont Oaks Invitational, normally run in July, had been pushed back to Sept. 19 because of COVID-19, giving the conditioner time to sharpen Magic Attitude's edge.

After trailing early, the Great Britain-bred Magic Attitude took off in the stretch, sweeping to victory against her four rivals under Javier Castellano to earn the coveted Grade 1 victory – the third of Delacour's career, and his first for the Jacksons. Magic Attitude followed that up with a strong third-place performance in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Presented by Dixiana, also for 3-year-old fillies, on Oct. 10 on good turf at Keeneland.

Magic Attitude received a well-deserved rest before Delacour returned her to training in mid-December at Classic Mile Park in Ocala, where she got in a couple of breezes on Classic Mile's turf before shipping to Tampa Bay Downs in mid-February.

Delacour can't be sure how Magic Attitude will respond to running against older horses for the first time, but he is optimistic.

“She needs to step up, but I think she'll be ready,” he said. “She has an explosive turn of foot and great acceleration for about a sixteenth of a mile, which you like to see from a turf filly.”

Florida Oaks entrant Be Sneaky is a homebred for the Jacksons, by top U.S. sire Into Mischief out of their turf stakes-winning mare Bella Castani. Yet to race on grass, Be Sneaky is 1-for-3, with a second-place finish here in the Suncoast Stakes on Feb. 6 in her most recent start.

Hector Diaz, Jr., will ride Be Sneaky.

“We've always had it in the back of our minds to run this filly on the turf, but at this stage, it's a guessing game,” Delacour said. “She was a little aggressive (in the Suncoast), and we hope she can settle better on the grass and track the speed rather than setting the pace.”

The 45-year-old Delacour was successful switching surfaces at Tampa Bay Downs last year with another Lael Stables homebred, (then)-5-year-old mare Jehozacat. After winning the Wayward Lass Stakes on dirt, she returned three weeks later to win the Grade 3 Lambholm South Endeavour on the grass.

Delacour is seeking his first triumphs in both the Hillsborough and Florida Oaks, but his record of achievement with Lael Stables horses is enviable. He has trained such homebred standouts for the Jacksons as Jehozacat and Grade 3 winners Divining Rod and No Dozing, as well as Grade 2 winner Hawksmoor, also the 2019 Lambholm South Endeavour winner; 2018 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint runner-up Chalon; and multiple-Grade 3 winner Ageless.

“I'm very privileged to train for the Jacksons because of the quality of their stock and their confidence in our training program,” said Delacour, who has been with the couple almost 10 years. “They are great ambassadors for our sport, and they have put together a wonderful team of people that works together for one common goal.

“They take a progressive, step-by-step approach and never rush their horses. It doesn't matter what kind of race you're shooting for – you're trying to get them fit enough to compete, move on and use the race as a stepping stone for the rest of the season.”

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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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Trainer Jose Delgado Feels ‘Very Blessed’ By ‘Real Honest’ Stakes Winner The Critical Way

Since he began training The Critical Way in June, Jose H. Delgado has been impressed by how the now-7-year-old gelding brings his 'A' game to the races.

“He doesn't need to prove anything in the morning. My job is just to keep him happy – that's it,” Delgado said Thursday, a day after The Critical Way won Tampa Bay Downs' $100,000, five-furlong Turf Dash Stakes by a half-length from Grade 2 winner Imprimis.

The victory clinched the Salt Rock Tavern Trainer of the Month Award for Delgado.

Throughout June and the first week of July, Delgado worked out The Critical Way four times on a weekly basis. But after he returned to competition on Aug. 9 at Monmouth Park for his first start in almost 6 months, Delgado began spacing his workouts at least three weeks apart, with no official workouts between July 25 and Sept. 26.

It seems no coincidence a freshened The Critical Way won the $80,000 Marshall Jenney Handicap for Pennsylvania-breds going 5 furlongs on the turf on Sept. 7 at Parx Racing in gate-to-wire fashion, giving Delgado his first career stakes victory. Then, it was back to a relative life of leisure for the son of Tizway: one official workout before a game second-place finish on Oct. 3 in the Virgil Buddy Raines Stakes at Monmouth.

“I slowed down his training because most of the time, he's only racing 5 furlongs,” said Delgado, who trains The Critical Way for Randal Gindi's Monster Racing Stables. “He has a big heart, and he's been real honest with me and given me everything he has when he's running. He sprints from the gate like a Quarter Horse, and when he gets the lead he keeps going. He was under pressure the whole time and still had that little kick at the end.”

About a half-hour later, Delgado won the next race, a $6,250 claiming contest, with 6-year-old gelding War Giant, who is owned by the Carole Star Stables concern of his father-in-law, Bob Apicelli. That gave Delgado nine winners during the Trainer of the Month judging period, the most of any candidate.

Delgado has been making a big impression at Tampa Bay Downs, where he trails only Gerald Bennett, 37-27, in the trainer standings. Depriving Bennett of a sixth consecutive title seems like a long shot, but Delgado is happy to be mentioned in the conversation.

Delgado plans to return to Monmouth in May. His wife Robyn and their three children – son Sebastian, 8, and twin 4-year-old daughters Carole and Isabella – live minutes from the racetrack in Oceanport, N.J., where Robyn teaches second-graders.

Although he misses his family dearly, Delgado doesn't want to trade places with Robyn.

“I give my wife a lot of respect. I think it's a lot more difficult to raise kids than train horses,” Delgado said, laughing. “Horses don't talk back, and they do what you ask.”

The ex-jockey, who rode more than 300 winners before hanging up his tack, enjoys trying to discover the keys to turning around claiming horses, attempting to help them regain their previous form.

“They get to the point where they may be going downhill, and you have to help them get their confidence back so they can do the job again,” Delgado said.

When the subject of the Tampa Bay Downs owners title comes up in a telephone conversation (Carole Star Stables leads the standings with 14 victories), you can sense Delgado's eyes light up.

“I would be really happy and excited if that happened. We're having a heck of a meet, and everything is working the right way,” said Delgado. “My crew does a great job taking care of the horses. Hopefully, we will keep getting lucky.

“Whatever happens, I feel very blessed.”

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