OLDSMAR, Fla. – Making a living in a business where the difference between success and failure often is measured in mere inches is no easy task. In an industry where a trainer is considered successful if his horses win two out of every 10 times, learning to deal with defeat can be just as crucial as learning to handle success. Trainer Maria Bowersock has had more than her fair share of tough beats at this Tampa Bay Downs meeting. Coming into last week, Bowersock’s runners had finished second six times and third three times from 21 starts. The trainer recently conceded that this has been a frustrating meet, but she remained upbeat. “If the horses were running poorly, then I’d be concerned, but that’s not the case,” she said. “For the most part, they’re running well, running hard. It’s just been one little thing or another that’s made the difference between winning and losing. We’ve run into hot horses and horses on the drop, we’ve had some poor racing luck in some of the starts, and we also have several turf horses. Any time you run one on the grass, you’ve got to be lucky, get through the holes, or have things work in your favor. That hasn’t happened a lot for us this meet.” Well, racing’s a funny game. Last week, Bowersock sent out three runners, and when Indy Breeze took Sunday’s third race, it completed a 3-for-3 sweep. Indy Breeze was a perfect example of a horse who had run into a buzz saw, as she had been forced to pursue the stakes winner Nesso in the race prior to her win. Bowersock now has 3 wins from 24 starts and has gone from being in a slump to being on a roll. It’s why the difference between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in this business can be just a blink of an eye. A.P. Indian fires fresh A.P. Indian hadn’t run in more than a year when he suited up for an optional-claiming sprint here last Friday, but the time away didn’t seem to affect the Indian Charlie gelding, as he smoked his field in the 6 1/2-furlong race and covered the distance in 1:15.85, just 0.38 seconds off the track record of 1:15.47 held by the stakes winner Action Andy. Trainer Arnaud Delacour, while pleased with A.P. Indian’s effort, wasn’t that surprised by the performance. “He’s been with us since last fall, and he’s trained all along like a real professional,” Delacour said. “I’m not sure what caused him to be away from the races earlier. I know he’d been gelded before he was sent to us, and he’s been really focused in the morning since we’ve had him.” Delacour will be looking for the right spot to run A.P. Indian next. A son of multiple stakes winner Ender’s Sister, A.P. Indian has already shown that he can handle middle distances, and Delacour said he will be looking at options at Keeneland for the 5-year-old. Sharp claim wins again Back when Benny Feliciano rode, he had a reputation as a shrewd and talented rider whose strengths included the ability to accurately assess both his competition and his mounts’ strengths and weaknesses. The horseman brought those observational skills with him when he moved to the training ranks, and the trainer’s latest sharp claim captured his third straight for the Feliciano barn when Jersey Blue Giant dispatched a tough group of starter optional-claiming sprinters last Wednesday. Jersey Blue Giant covered six furlongs under Ricardo Feliciano in a quick 1:10.02 over a racing strip that was far from lightning-fast. The Feliciano barn now has six wins from 25 starts for a 24 percent win percentage.