Marion County, City of Ocala stakes give Florida-breds a chance to make some hay

Florida-breds will take center stage Saturday when a pair of $100,000 stakes are run at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla.

The Marion County and City of Ocala, both part of the Florida Sire Stakes series sponsored by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association, anchor a 10-race Saturday card that starts at 12:12 p.m. Eastern. Both seven-furlong races are for 3-year-olds and up, with the City of Ocala restricted to fillies and mares. They’re the first statebred stakes at Tampa since the six-race Florida Cup was canceled in late March during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Marion County (race 3)

Jackson, undefeated in three starts over the Tampa surface, all in statebred stakes, will return across the Florida peninsula from his Miami-area base when he attempts to win this race for a second straight year. Last December, Jackson won the Marion County when it was restricted to 3-year-olds, powering to a 3 1/2-length score from just off the pace after breaking from the outside post. With Antonio Gallardo riding, Jackson will again break from the outside post in a field of seven.

His five starts in the interim have been a mixed bag, with the best of them a victory in the Grade 3 World of Trouble at Gulfstream Park in February and a nose loss last month in a Sunshine Millions prep at Gulf West. Jackson is trained by Jose Pinchin.

Foremost among the opposition for Jackson are a pair of older horses in My Boy Lenny and Noble Drama as well as Shivaree, one of two 3-year-olds in the lineup.

My Boy Lenny (post 5, Daniel Centeno) also has enjoyed considerable success over the local course, winning five of eight starts there while competing mostly in the allowance and upper-claiming ranks.

City of Ocala (race 7)

Four of the nine distaffers in the City of Ocala exit a designated Sunshine Millions prep held over a sloppy Gulf West surface, and with a fast track expected Saturday at Tampa amid temperatures in the low 70s, it should be interesting to see whether a different type of racetrack produces a different result.

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Tiz Possible Dear (post 8, Hector Diaz Jr.) was a 2 1/2-length winner of that Sunshine Millions prep race four Saturdays ago when leading gate to wire, and she seems likely to make the front again – unless The Goddess Lyssa (post 7, Roberto Alvarado Jr.) returns in particularly sharp form after having been away seven months. The Goddess Lyssa, a 3-year-old filly, opened her career with three straight wins prior to incurring her first defeat in early May, and she has not raced since.

Beyer-wise, Tiz Possible Dear matches up favorably with R Prerogative (post 2, Samy Camacho), with both having earned mid-70s figures in representative starts. The wild card of the group clearly is Heiressall (post 5, Gallardo), who has gotten an 86 Beyer or higher in four of her last 10 starts but was just awful in the Gulf West slop when finishing a distant fifth in what some fans will consider a throwout.

◗ Overnight purses at Tampa are being increased by about 10 percent, effective next Wednesday. According to a track press release, the hike is being attributed to a nearly 30 percent increase in all-sources wagering at the meet, which began Nov. 25. All races except stakes are being boosted, with an additional $1,500 being added to maiden-special and allowance races and an additional $1,000 to claiming and starter races.

◗ After Saturday, Tampa will go five weeks without a stakes, with the Jan. 16 Pasco and Gasparilla being next on the schedule.