Brown duo bring French accent to Florida Oaks

OLDSMAR, Fla. – There’s no break in the supply chain that starts somewhere in France and ends in the Chad Brown barn. A couple of potential turf stars, Altea and Salsa Bella, are among the latest to traverse that route, with Saturday’s Florida Oaks serving as a platform for their ascents.

The uncoupled Brown duo is part of a deep field of 12 3-year-old fillies in the 35th running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Florida Oaks, a 1 1/16-mile turf race that directly precedes the featured Tampa Bay Derby on a terrific 12-race Festival Day card at Tampa Bay Downs.

Salsa Bella, with Irad Ortiz Jr. to ride from the outside post, was a fast-closing second in her North American debut five weeks ago in the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant at Gulfstream Park. Altea, who was Group 3-placed in her native country to end a five-race 2-year-old campaign, will be making her first start on American soil when she breaks from post 2 under Jose Ortiz.

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The Brown fillies should be in for a fair test, given the quality of their opponents. That includes Almond Roca, a back-to-back winner of main-track sprint stakes already at the 2017-18 Tampa meet for the Chadds Ford Stable of Phyllis Wyeth and trainer Graham Motion.

“Mrs. Wyeth is interested in perhaps going to Royal Ascot with her,” Motion said. “I think she’ll be just as effective on grass as she’s been on the dirt.”

Other possibilities include Beckoning, an Irish import making her first start in the U.S. and trained by Bill Mott; Andina Del Sur, third in the Sweetest Chant; Closer Still, second in an ungraded turf stakes at Gulfstream in her latest; and Goodthingstaketime, an intriguing Irish import by way of a maiden victory during Breeders’ Cup week at Del Mar.

The purse for the Florida Oaks will rise to $200,000 only if Souper Striking, the only eligible Florida-bred in the lineup, posts a mild upset to claim a $50,000 bonus for owner-breeder Charlotte Weber.

Post time for the Florida Oaks (race 10) is 4:50 p.m. Eastern.

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War Story leads Challenger

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since War Story ran 16th behind American Pharoah in the 2015 Kentucky Derby, and still the 6-year-old gelding has persisted in seeking the toughest opposition on the planet.

The $100,000 Challenger (race 8, post 3:45) represents an interruption of that trend, although that doesn’t make War Story a cinch by any means when he lines up against six older horses in the 1 1/16-mile race. This is the shortest distance War Story has raced in more than a year. An earner of more than $2.2 million, War Story will be looking to overtake Rafting, Jay’s Way, and You’re to Blame as he gets some welcome class relief in his 26th start.

Gidu heads full Columbia field

Gidu, one of a handful of likely favorites on the day for Todd Pletcher, is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in an oversubscribed field of 3-year-old turf horses in the $75,000 Columbia, which kicks off the all-stakes pick five (races 7-11) as the seventh race (post, 3:15).

Other logical players in the one-mile race include Captivating Moon, Verboten, One Fast Ride, and Blueblood. Fourteen are entered but only 12 can start.