By J. Keeler Johnson (“Keelerman”) Twitter: @J_Keelerman
lime house. Verrazano. Carpe Diem. destiny. Learning to write. What do these five ponies have in common? A lot, really. They were all tuned by Hall of Fame coach Todd Pletcher. They all competed in the Kentucky Derby (G1). And they all won the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) at the Tampa Bay Downs.
No coach has won the Tampa Bay Derby more times than Pletcher, whose five winners in 2004, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 include future Belmont S. (G1) winner (Tapwrit) , runner-up Belmont (Destin), and several two-time Grade 1 winners (Carpe Diem and Verrazano). The point is, Pletcher saddles good horses at the Tampa Bay Derby and often wins first place.
All of this is a prelude to Pletcher’s abilities #6 Tapit Trice
is emerging as a star in the 2023 Tampa Bay Derby, which takes place this Saturday over 1 1/16 miles. Sold for $1.3 million as a year of aspiration, the Tapit Trice showed a lot of potential and ranked among the early favorites for the Kentucky Derby.
A stout cross of the three-time winner of the winning Dunkirk mare Danzatrice Tapit stallion, Tapit Trice debuted in the first mile-long special weight class at the Aqueduct and won numerous achievements along the way. home to third, beating 2-1/2 lengths. He hasn’t tasted failure since.
Tapit Trice clinched its first win by trailing a mile at the Aqueduct for the first special weight class on December 17. Tapit Trice didn’t have the best start, but rose from seventh in the field. field eight horses to beat the first winner followed by Slip Mahoney. That performance was admirable as Slip Mahoney finished second at Gotham S. (G3) on his way to the Kentucky Derby last weekend.
Tapit Trice was then moved to Gulfstream Park and made its debut at the age of three with a $75,000 stipend for claimants of the one-mile racing option. Faced with just five opponents, Tapit Trice showed speed a little earlier than usual, sticking to its original speed for two periods of time. He then took the lead in the quarterfinals and made it through the final game to dominate in eight lengths.
Whichever way you cut it, this is an impressive performance. Tapit Trice earned impressive speed numbers of 92 (Beyer) and 99 (Brisnet), as well as an eye-catching 107 Brisnet Late Speed rating.
Tapit Trice is probably not the champion in the Tampa Bay Derby. He faces 11 opponents, so his off-the-beaten-path style puts him at risk of a car-filled ride. But Tapit Trice’s improving form and strong speed numbers have marked him as the horse to beat, especially when you add in the Pletcher factor.
Who are the other key contenders in the Tampa Bay Derby? We certainly have to respect Pletcher’s second intern, #9 Shesterkin. The winner of a 2 1/4 debut in a seven-mile sprint at Gulfstream Park, Shesterskin then finished second behind Tapit Trice in terms of the latter’s runaway allowance. Shesterkin is adding a flash for his first bet and cannot count towards a top-three finish.
#4 Groveland, Tampa’s runner-up Sam F. Davis (G3) on the Road to the Kentucky Derby last month, is another logical choice. But #12 Prairie Falcon considered attractive. That’s right, he never shot at Sam F. Davis, finishing ninth by a big margin. But two restarts, Prairie Hawk led all the way to beating Groveland by one in a $75,000 grant to claimants the option to race a 40 yards one-mile race in Tampa.
Prairie Hawk had benefited from a slow set-up that day, but he was capable of handling fractions faster. Three back-to-back starts, he watched a speed runner run away from second place before going on to win the one-mile and 40-yard women’s special weight class in Tampa with length 2 3/4.
Prairie Hawk is the son of two-time Horse of the Year and elite male Curlin and a half-brother to the 2018 Tampa Bay Derby winner Quip, so there’s a lot of caste in his pedigree . He also has hot human relationships in his corner; Coach Saffie Joseph has won 4 to 9 (44%) at Tampa since the start of the year, while jockey Samy Camacho boasts a record of 61 to 240 (25%) in the same time frame. If you’re willing to draw a line through Prairie Hawk’s absence from Sam F. Davis, there’s a lot to like about his chances.
Now it’s your turn! Who do you like in Tampa Bay Derby?
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J. Keeler Johnson (also known as “Keelerman”) is a writer, cinematographer, voice actor, disabled athlete, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A huge fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager the greatest racehorse ever made in America, but considers Zenyatta his all-time favorite.
