Just a Photo back racing after 269-day layoff
?q=100)
Just a Photo was just getting good when a splint bone injury took him out of the picture for the second half of his 4-year-old season.
On Wednesday at Tampa Bay Downs, Just a Photo looks to get back to the winner’s circle when he returns from a 269-day layoff in a second-level allowance/optional $32,000 claiming race that serves as the feature on the nine-race card.
A son of Justify, Just a Photo was gelded following an unproductive 3-year-old season, during which trainer Luis Ramirez claimed the horse for $50,000 from Kenny McPeek and Dixiana Farm. From four starts in 2024, Just a Photo won twice and was beaten a half-length and then three-quarters of a length in two losses at Gulfstream Park.
“As soon as we gelded him, he changed,” Ramirez said. “In the past, we couldn’t train him. He was bucking, just a wild horse. Now he’s calm and relaxed.”
Last April 27, Just a Photo won a first-level allowance at Gulfstream, beating next-out winer Otago. Just a Photo came back in a second-level allowance and got beat three-quarters of a length while trying to close into a modest pace set by the loose-on-the-lead winner Champions Dream. Just a Photo earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure in defeat.
Just a Photo shows six workouts for his return, including a five-furlong move in 1:00.80 on dirt at Gulfstream on March 8.
Ramirez, who has Samy Camacho to ride, believes he has his horse fit enough to be competitive in his first start off the layoff.
Trainer Chad Brown has the likely favorite Wednesday in McCullough, who makes his second start in this condition after finishing second with a troubled trip at Tampa on Feb. 15. In that race, McCullough lost position going into the turn and in the stretch found himself in tight between horses. He was oufinished a neck by Timeout, who was winning his second straight race for Bill Mott.
Read On and A Western Yarn are also contenders in this eight-horse field.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.