Manicero, Devilish Lady win at Tampa

OLDSMAR Fla. - Slipping through along the rail on the turn to gain the lead, Manicero opened a 2 1/2-length lead with a furlong remaining then had enough left to turn back the late charge of Bart B Don to post a length victory in the Inaugural Stakes for 2-year-olds on Sunday at Tampa Bay Downs.

Under Luis Saez, Mancino raced just inside the leaders early, found room on the rail midway in the turn to challenge, the leaders, and began to pull away from Bart B Don, who was having trouble finding racing room into the stretch under Rosemary Homeister Jr. Once clear, Bart B Don closed quickly along the outside for second, with Uno Caliente finishing third.

Trained by Leo Azpurua Jr., Manicero covered the six furlongs over a fast racing strip in 1:11.57 while posting his third straight win, and returned $3.60.

In the co-featured Sandpiper for juvenile fillies, Devilish Lady ran past favored It's Me Mom in midstretch and went on to notch a 1 1/2-length win under Daniel Centeno.

Devilish Lady, trained by Antonio Sano, returned $7 and covered the six furlongs in 1:11.51. It's Me Mom salvaged the place by a three-quarters of a length over Juanita.

The win was the fourth from the last five starts for Devilish Lady.

There were 2,806 fans on hand for Cotillion Day, which featured 2-year-old racing in each of the 10 races on the program.