Bleecker Street takes Hillsborough, improves to 5 for 5
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Strong storms that swept through this region in mid-morning were not a major factor by the time stakes action began Saturday on the 12-race Festival Day card at Tampa Bay Downs.
Dried out to a substantial degree by strong winds and periodic sunshine, the main track and turf course both were still rated “good”– perhaps even siding toward fast and firm, respectively – when five straight stakes, ending with the Tampa Bay Derby, were held as races 7 through 11.
Here’s a rundown of three of the undercard stakes:
Hillsborough
Bleecker Street remained unbeaten in five career starts when charging to victory as a lukewarm favorite in the Grade 2, $200,000 Hillsborough going 1 1/8 miles on the turf.
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Rating comfortably for local jockey Hector Diaz Jr. when seventh of nine fillies and mares in the early going, Bleecker Street finished with a flourish to prevail by 3 3/4 lengths over her Chad Brown stablemate, Rocky Sky. The winner paid $6.80 after finishing in 1:48.21.
“She’s the best filly I’ve ever ridden,” said Diaz, who rode his first winner in 2017. “I rode her really confident because I know what she is capable of doing. No pressure. I was just waiting for the moment to switch outside because I know she was going to run. She’s really easy to ride. The last two starts, she’s been a different horse. When you ask her to go, she accelerates. She has an amazing turn of foot.”
Brown said Friday he was considering a scratch of Bleecker Street because the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Quality Road had shown a preference for firmer turf, but the four-time champion trainer surely was glad he did not follow through on that. Bleecker Street, owned by Peter Brant, swept both graded stakes for fillies and mares at this meet, following the Grade 3 Endeavour in her stakes debut Feb. 12. She became the first to win both races since the great Tepin did it in 2016.
Rocky Sky, an Irish-bred also owned by Brant, was making her second North American start when rallying in the final furlong to get second by three-quarters of a length over front-running Gladys.
This was Brown’s fifth win in the last 11 runnings of the Hillsborough.
The $2 exacta (5-6) paid $35.60, the $1 trifecta (5-6-4) returned $175.40, and the 10-cent superfecta (5-6-4-3) was worth $90.68.
Challenger
The 4-year-old colt Scalding battled back when headed at the furlong grounds by Cody’s Wish when capturing his stakes debut in the Grade 3, $100,000 Challenger.
Ridden by Javier Castellano for trainer Shug McGaughey, Scalding edged away late to prevail by a neck, returning $12.60 as fifth choice in a field of seven older horses going 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. He finished in 1:43.53.
“He’s straightforward,” Castellano said. “When I asked him he responded really well. He passed the pacemaker and the horses on the lead, and he was comfortable coming from behind. I like the way he finished.”
Scalding, a Kentucky-bred by Nyquist, raced in the colors of Cheyenne Stable, which co-owns him with Grandview Equine and LNJ Foxwoods. He has now won three of five starts.
Cody’s Wish, the 2-1 favorite, had a three-race win streak snapped when having another 2 1/4 lengths on late-running Dynamic One in third. A second McGaughey trainee, Greatest Honour, had no mishap as the 5-2 second choice when making his first start in nearly a year. The 4-year-old colt trailed with a quarter-mile remaining before finishing sixth, beaten five lengths.
Columbia
Heaven Street ($10.60) got first run on his pursuers when posting a one-length triumph in the $75,000 Columbia going a mile on the turf.
Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Heaven Street sat a comfortable trip just behind the longshot pacesetter, Grumley, before seizing command approaching the furlong pole and finishing clear of a belated inside rally by Bens Malice. He finished in 1:37.78.
Fort Washington, the 5-2 second choice in a field of nine 3-year-olds, was along for third, another three-quarters of a length back, while Kitten Mischief, the 2-1 favorite, was never a threat when sixth.
Heaven Street, a Kentucky-bred son of Street Sense, is owned by his breeder, Siena Farms, in partnership with Asmussenequine.com. The colt was making his first start in the care of Christophe Clement after winning two of six last year for Steve Asmussen.