No Dozing targets Sam F. Davis, Divining Rod points to GP Handicap
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Two colts who ran huge races at Aqueduct last month to be second in graded stakes are getting a short winter break at Tampa Bay Downs as trainer Arnaud Delacour points them to graded stakes in Florida on Feb. 11.
No Dozing, the runner-up in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes on Nov. 26, will target the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes here for his 3-year-old debut, while Divining Rod, second in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile on the same card, will target the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap for his first start as a 5-year-old. Both homebreds for Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stables are in light training and are likely to resume breezing in early January, Delacour said.
No Dozing rallied to finish 2 1/2 lengths behind Mo Town and 3 1/2 lengths ahead of third-place finisher and odds-on favorite Takaful in the 1 1/8-mile Remsen.
A son of 2012 Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags, No Dozing began his career with victories in a maiden special weight race at Delaware Park and a first-level allowance at Laurel Park. He then made his stakes debut in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland in October and finished fourth behind Classic Empire, who would go on to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The 1 1/16-mile Breeders’ Futurity was No Dozing’s first route race, following two six-furlong sprints.
“I just want to freshen him up a little bit after the Remsen,” Delacour said. “He came back very well, but two long races back to back for a 2-year-old, I thought that was enough for this year, so I’m just going to freshen him up and come back in the Sam Davis. That seems to be a logical spot. He’s still a little bit green and needs to learn, but I think we’re on the right path with him.”
The $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes is the local prep for the Grade 2, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby, with both races for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles. The Sam F. Davis has added significance next year because it has been added to the list of Kentucky Derby qualifying races, awarding eligibility points to its top four finishers on a scale of 10-4-2-1. No Dozing earned four Kentucky Derby qualifying points in the Remsen. He’s earned $129,340 from his four starts.
Divining Rod came up a head short of the favored Connect in the Cigar Mile after leading in the stretch and finished five lengths clear of third-place finisher Realm. Divining Rod began his year with two victories in optional-claiming races before finishing second in the Grade 2 Fayette Stakes at 1 1/8 miles in October at Keeneland. Delacour said the one-mile distance of the Gulfstream Park Handicap is more appealing for the son of Tapit.
“I’m going to try to stay at that kind of distance, the one-turn mile, but I might try him in the Carter at seven-eighths at Aqueduct if it makes sense,” Delacour said. “[The Cigar Mile] was a big step forward for him, so we’re delighted.”
The Grade 1 Carter Handicap is run in April.
Divining Rod has won four of his 13 career starts, with only one finish off the board, and has earned $731,604. His biggest win came in the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes last year.
◗ The 3-year-old filly Conscription has yet to start in a graded stakes race, but if she takes another step forward in an allowance next out, she could become a candidate for a race like the Grade 3 Endeavour Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares here Feb. 11, trainer Graham Motion said.
Conscription, a homebred for Pin Oak Stud, rallied impressively under Angel Cruz last Saturday to win a first-level, $20,000 turf allowance by one length as the favorite. The daughter of War Front earned a career-high 80 Beyer Speed Figure in the 1 1/16-mile race, improving her record to two wins from eight starts for $58,115 in earnings.
“It’s possible,” Motion said of stepping up to graded stakes. “She has always shown plenty of ability in the morning, and that was a big improvement with a great ride from Angel.”
◗ The highlight of Wednesday’s nine-race card is a first-level allowance with an optional $75,000 claiming condition that drew a field of eight juvenile fillies set to go a mile on turf. Sea Holiday, trained by Christophe Clement, and Full of Zip, trained by Motion, look like the main players while stepping up off debut victories on grass in maiden special weight races.
◗ Lady Shipman, the runner-up in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and the biggest name nominated to Saturday’s $100,000 Lightning City Stakes here, will skip the race, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said.