High win percentages abound

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Looking down the list of stables that have raced at Tampa Bay Downs this season, it’s evident there is a good bit of depth in the training ranks.

Eleven trainers who have won at least 12 races at the meet are winning at a 19 percent clip or better, led by Tom Proctor, who is winning 31 percent of his races. Leading trainer Jamie Ness is scoring at a 27 percent rate, while Graham Motion is winning with 27 percent of his starters.

Jason DaCosta, who won at a 34 percent rate last season, currently sports a 28 percent winning average. Armand Delacour has sent out 25 percent winners, just ahead of Joan Scott and Anthony Pecoraro’s 24 percent average.

Dale Bennett’s runners are visiting the winner’s circle at a 22 percent rate, and Anthony Granitz’s runners are hitting the winner’s circle at a 21 percent clip. Lynn Scace, a top candidate for comeback trainer of the meeting, is winning at 19 percent. Gerald Bennett, who looks like he may well finish second again in the standings, also is winning at 19 percent.

Pure Aristotle blazes a mile

Trainer Maria Bowersock may have caught lightning in a bottle when she claimed Pure Aristotle for $16,000 on March 26.

Pure Aristotle, who had raced with tougher but who had been stopping badly in his recent efforts, made his first start for Bowersock in a $16,000 claiming race Saturday. He chased a blistering pace that included a quarter of 21.86 seconds and half of 44.96 in the mile turf race, drove to the lead, and drew off a bit after six furlongs in a smoking 1:09.34, then had enough to hold off the late challenge of Gallico to prevail by a length while covering the distance in 1:33.99, one of the fastest mile clockings of the current meeting. And this despite the fact that Pure Aristotle swerved in passing the chute for a stride.

While there’s no question the turf course was lightning fast Saturday (in two of the earlier turf races the leaders went six furlongs in the 1:10 range), Pure Aristotle’s win was still an eye-catching effort.

Allen two ahead of Gallardo

The battle for leading rider is a dandy, and it looks as though the race could go down to the final days of the meeting. Ronnie Allen Jr., who took the lead earlier in the meeting when Fernando De La Cruz went down with an injury, and Antonio Gallardo, who is enjoying his best meeting since coming to this country from Spain several years ago, have been locked in a battle for the top spot the past month.

Through Sunday’s program, Allen had 100 winners, two more than Gallardo. Both riders have already eclipsed the 90 wins of last meeting’s leading rider Daniel Centeno.

Centeno, who arrived here several weeks into the current stand, is third in the standings, with De La Cruz fourth.