Competitive Turf Features on Weekend Tampa Bay Program

Both turf stakes on the Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 3 program look competitive and both are run at 1 1/16 miles out of the infield chute. But in another way, they look a lot different.

The Endeavour Stakes (G3T) for fillies and mares has seven entries, most of them boasting recent graded stakes success, but the Tampa Bay Stakes (G3T) has a field looking pretty hard for a breakthrough.

While most of the 10 entered for the Tampa Bay have done well in graded events, victories have been elusive. In fact, the field collectively has two wins from 38 starts in such races.

Olympic Runner , an 8-year-old Gio Ponti  gelding from Mark Casse’s barn, won the King Edward Stakes (G2T) at Woodbine in August 2021. Never Explain , a 6-year-old son of Street Sense  , captured the Dinner Party Stakes (G3T) at Pimlico Race Course last May.

Never Explain, trained by Shug McGaughey, also is 2-for-2 on the Tampa Bay greensward.

Others certainly show promise.

Winfromwithin , trainer William E. Morey’s 6-year-old, finished second in last year’s Tampa Bay Stakes and holds the Tampa Bay turf course record for a mile of 1:33.23, set as a 3-year-old in the 2021 Columbia Stakes.

Irish Aces , a lightly raced 4-year-old Mshawish  gelding, wound up 2023 with a second-place finish in the Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream Park. That followed an allowance win at Keeneland.

Candidate  started off well enough in 2022 and early 2023, winning three of his first four starts. The Exaggerator  gelding then was second in the Kitten’s Joy Stakes (G3T) but hit the wall against tougher competition in his next two races. Given seven months off, he returned with an allowance win at Tampa Bay on Christmas Eve.

Siege of Boston , a 5-year-old War Front   entire, has been a cash machine at lower rungs of the class ladder for owner and co-breeder Joseph Allen, posting a 3-4-4 record from 13 starts. He hinted at better in his last outing, finishing a late-running third in the River City Stakes (G3T) at Churchill Downs Nov. 11, his first graded stakes try.

The Endeavour Stakes

The companion Endeavour Stakes (G3T) for fillies and mares at the same 1 1/16 miles is a horse of a different color. Five of the seven fillies and mares in the field have triumphed in graded stakes, most of them recently.

Full Count Felicia , a 5-year-old mare by War Front, enters off a win in the Suwannee River Stakes (G3T) Dec. 30 at Gulfstream Park and has won four of her last five starts.

Sparkle Blue , Walkathon , Implicated  and Consumer Spending  all have graded stakes wins on their past performances and Be My Sunshine  looks to join that party after winning the Tropical Park Oaks at Gulfstream in her last start Dec. 23.

Chad Brown, who has won the Endeavour a record four times, saddles both Consumer Spending and Implicated. Graham Motion has sent out two winners in past editions and has two chances in this year’s running—Sparkle Blue and Willakia .