Florida-breds face open company in Inaugural, Sandpiper

During five months of racing, Tampa Bay Downs will run 28 stakes, many of them in bunches.

The first four of those stakes will be run Saturday when the Inaugural and Sandpiper anchor a terrific 10-race card that starts at 12:25 p.m. Eastern. The Inaugural, a six-furlong race for 2-year-olds, and the Sandpiper, at six furlongs for 2-year-old fillies, each offers a purse of $100,000, although half of each purse is reserved for registered Florida-breds.

“That’s one of the reasons we’re running in there,” trainer Ralph Nicks said of Wildcat’s Legacy, an unbeaten Florida-bred who will be one of the favorites for the Inaugural.

The Inaugural (race 9, post 4:22) and Sandpiper (race 6, post 2:52) precede two other stakes restricted to Florida-breds, the City of Ocala (race 2) and Marion County (race 3). As open stakes, the Inaugural and Sandpiper also drew Kentucky-breds who figure as serious challengers to their Florida-bred counterparts.

Wildcat’s Legacy has yet to be challenged in two starts, easily winning his September debut at Gulfstream and a Florida-bred stakes at Gulf West in November. Antonio Gallardo has the mount from post 2.

“So far he’s made no mistakes,” said Nicks. “He’s been very consistent in his training, very smart. So far he knows what it takes to win. I’d imagine this will be his toughest test to date, so we’re eager to see how he does. If he wins, it’ll be a nice payday because of the extra $50,000.”

:: Get PPs, analysis, and watch Saturday's Tampa Bay Downs card live

One of the Inaugural starters ineligible for the additional $50,000 bonus is Tricks to Doo. A $600,000 purchase earlier this year by the Lael Stables of Barbaro fame, Tricks to Doo has earned the top two Beyer Speed Figures in the field (81 and 82) competing exclusively in maiden races. The meet’s leading jockey, Daniel Centeno, will be aboard Tricks to Doo, who breaks from post 8.

Other possibilities in the 33rd Inaugural include Twin Farms, a two-back maiden winner at Keeneland, and His Name Is Sue, a Dec. 1 allowance winner over the local surface.

Like the Inaugural, the 39th Sandpiper drew a field of nine. The Florida-bred Toni Ann’s Miracle has won her last three races, all at Gulf West, by a combined 28 lengths.

Trained by Larry Pilotti for his longtime client the Monarch Stables, Toni Ann’s Miracle will break from post 2 and will be ridden by Emisael Jaramillo.

The Kentucky-bred Almond Roca looms the most serious challenger to Toni Ann’s Miracle. Almond Roca (post 9, Pablo Morales) will be getting a measure of class relief after finishing fifth behind Take Charge Paula last month in the Smart Halo at Laurel Park for trainer Graham Motion.

Other Sandpiper contenders include Valuable Package (post 4, Wilmer Garcia) and a maiden, R True Talent (post 5, Gallardo).

:: Save on PPs, digital subscriptions, and more!

The Saturday undercard includes a one-mile turf allowance (race 8) and four maiden-special events. The likely favorite in the allowance is a Lael homebred, Madame Milan, a 2-year-old half-sister to Barbaro.

The four Saturday stakes kick off a schedule that will peak with a pair of Kentucky Derby points races, the Feb. 10 Sam F. Davis and March 10 Tampa Bay Derby. Both will be keystones of multi-stakes packages, with the combined purse value for the five stakes on Tampa Bay Derby Day being $1 million. The Tampa meet runs through May 6.