Tampa Bay Downs’ Festival Day has drawn 74 nominations for the track’s four-stakes card on March 15. The highlight of the day will be the $300,000 Tampa Bay
Derby (G3) for three-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the main track, while the
$200,000 Florida Oaks (G3) for three-year-old fillies competing 1 1/16 miles
will enjoy graded status for the first time. Also on the card will be the
$175,000 Hillsborough S. (G3) for distaffers running about 1 1/8 miles on the
lawn, and the $75,000 Turf Dash for older horses traveling about five furlongs
on the turf.
In last year’s Tampa Bay Derby, eventual Kentucky Derby (G1) victor Street
Sense narrowly prevailed by a nose over future Haskell Invitational S. (G1)
victor Any Given Saturday. Also using Festival Day as a stepping stone to bigger
and better things was Cotton Blossom, who captured the Florida Oaks before going
on to take the Acorn S. (G1). Among the nominees this year are 35 stakes
winners, 18 Graded or Group stakes winners and two champions.
Headlining Festival Day 2008 is the Tampa Bay Derby, which is expected to
feature the undefeated WAR PASS (Cherokee
Run), last year’s champion two-year-old. War Pass, under the care of
Hall of Famer Nick Zito for owner Robert LaPenta, won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) last
year and has never had a horse in front of him in his five career starts.
Also probable for the Tampa Bay Derby is ATONED (Repent). Conditioned by Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher,
he will make his first start since the November 24 Remsen S. (G2), where
he just missed the win by a neck after a troubled trip.
Among the fillies nominated to the Florida Oaks is the undefeated VAULCLUSE (A.P. Indy), who comes off a win in the Suncoast S. at Tampa Bay
Downs for trainer Tom Albertrani.
The Hillsborough could be a rematch between DREAMING OF ANNA (Rahy) and LEAR’S PRINCESS (Lear Fan). The Grade 1-winning pair met up in the Endeavour S. (G3) last
out at Tampa Bay Downs, with Dreaming of Anna just nosing out her rival on the
line. Other nominees include Endeavour third-placer MERIBEL
(Peaks and Valleys), who comes from the stable of top turf conditioner
Christophe Clement.
The Turf Dash has attracted the notice of LOOKINFORTHESECRET (Cimarron
Secret), who has shown a great affinity for the Oldsmar, Florida, oval’s turf
course. The six-year-old has competed at Tampa Bay Downs 17 times, winning in 10
of those attempts and finishing in the money in all but four starts. Undefeated
from three starts so far this season, Lookinforthesecret captured the 2007 Turf
Dash by 1 1/4 lengths. JAZZY (Arg) (Mutakddim) may try to take on the boys in
the Turf Dash while making her 2008 bow. The six-year-old mare was last seen
running off-the-board in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, which followed a
win in the Gallant Bloom H. (G2). Another possible entrant in the Turf Dash is
multiple Grade 3 veteran FORT PRADO (El Prado [Ire]), whose only start at Tampa
Bay Downs resulted in a stakes victory.
Post time for Festival Day is noon, and entries for the stakes will close on
March 13.