Pasco, Gasparilla winners earn good figures, big bonuses
Markhamian earned an 82 Beyer Speed Figure in winning the Pasco Stakes on Saturday, while Outfoxed got a 78 Beyer for winning the filly counterpart, the Gasparilla, some 30 minutes later. Both races for 3-year-olds were run at seven furlongs.
Neither the Pasco nor Gasparilla were restricted races, but as Florida-breds, Markhamian and Outfoxed earned $105,000 for their respective owners because of statebred, winner-only bonuses of $75,000 each.
Markhamian is trained by Juan Carlos Avila, whose most recent Tampa stakes winner had been King Guillermo at 49-1 in the Tampa Bay Derby on March 7, 2020.
Outfoxed, based at Payson Park with Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, was making her first start since sweeping the last two legs in the filly division of the 2021 Florida Sire Stakes at Gulfstream, the Susan’s Girl and My Dear Girl.
Nantucket Red got an 80 Beyer from the 1 1/16-mile Wayward Lass.
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The next Tampa stakes are Grade 3, $150,000 races for older turf horses, the Tampa Bay and Endeavour, set for Feb. 5. Before the stakes schedule was tweaked for this meet, both had been run on the undercard of the Sam F. Davis, which will be run Feb. 12.
First rain-off of meet
The Tampa weather has been so idyllic since the 2021-22 meet began Nov. 24 that not a single turf race had been forced to the main track until Sunday, when rainy conditions led to all three scheduled turf races being moved to the dirt. That’s a span of 27 straight cards.
Sunshine and a high of 72 are in the Wednesday forecast, with only a slight chance of rain in the forecast Friday through Sunday.
◗ There’s quite a battle brewing in the Tampa jockeys’ race. Into the new week, Samy Camacho leads Pablo Morales by a 29-27 margin, followed closely by Antonio Gallardo (26) and Fernando De La Cruz (22).
Gerald Bennett leads all trainers with 16 wins.
◗ Saturday is the annual ballcap giveaway for ontrack customers.