Killybegs Captain, Lady's Island come through in Pelican, Minaret

Front-running favorites proved dominant Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs when Killybegs Captain won the $75,000 Pelican for older horses and Lady’s Island took the $50,000 Minaret for fillies and mares. Both were run at six furlongs over a fast surface.

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Pelican

In winning the Pelican for a second year in a row, Killybegs Captain gave notice that he might be primed for his best year yet.

Always on the pace, Killybegs Captain turned back a pair of longshots and surged well clear at the quarter pole. It was no contest from there, as he finished in a swift 1:09.24, even with jockey Samy Camacho easing him up in the last 70 yards or so. His win margin was 2 3/4 lengths over a late-closing He Hate Me.

“I was more than pleased with that effort,” said John Terranova, who trains the 6-year-old horse for the Curragh Stables. “He was pretty impressive. Through age, he’s held his own, and he showed us again how much he likes this racetrack. This was a good jumping-off point to start the year.”

Killybegs Captain returned $6 as the 2-1 choice in a field of nine. The time was just .10 of a second off the stakes record.

He Hate Me, the 3-1 second choice, was another 2 3/4 lengths before Wind of Change, who out-nodded Mucho in a photo for third.

Killybegs Captain is now 3 for 4 over the Tampa main track, with his 9-1 score in the 2019 Pelican kicking off a year in which he earned more than $350,000. Terranova said he will go shopping for a next spot for the Kentucky-bred son of Mizzen Mast, with the April 11 Count Fleet at Oaklawn Park among the possibilities.

Minaret

An hour later, Lady’s Island ($4.20) sped to an open lead shortly after stumbling slightly at the break and proved uncatchable thereafter, cruising home a two-length winner over Into Chocolate. Caught Up in You, a 77-1 shot, rallied late to be third in a field of 10 fillies and mares.

Ridden by Emisael Jaramillo, Lady’s Island built an insurmountable lead after reeling off a half-mile in 44.17 seconds. Her final time was 1:09.97 as she was winning for the 14th time in 28 career starts.

Lady’s Island was claimed by Richard Averill and Matties Racing Stable for $16,000 in June 2018. She proceeded to win eight of nine starts last year, earning her the National Claiming Horse of the Year Award for 2019 from the National HBPA. Based primarily at Gulfstream Park with Georgina Baxter, the 6-year-old Florida-bred mare was recently transferred by Averill into the care of Gerald Bennett, the leading trainer at Tampa, and could remain there through a next start on Florida Cup Day (March 29) before returning to Baxter on the Atlantic Coast.