Owen Almighty looks to have found a relatively soft landing spot in which to make his return to the races and 3-year-old debut when he starts as a likely odds-on favorite in a field of six entered in Saturday’s Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. The Pasco, at seven furlongs, has a guaranteed purse of $75,000 plus up to another $75,000 in available purse money for Florida-bred and/or Florida sired horses. Owen Almighty, a Kentucky-bred son of the since-deceased stallion Speightstown, won his maiden last June at Churchill Downs and followed that with a 4 3/4-length score in the Ellis Park Juvenile on Aug. 11. In the Ellis Park Juvenile, Owen Almighty fought with the stakes winner Politicallycorrect until the final sixteenth before drawing away. In September, Owen Almighty finished second behind Jonathan’s Way in the Grade 3 Iroquois at Churchill. Shortly after the Iroquois, Owen Almighty was found to have an intestinal issue that forced trainer Brian Lynch to stop on him. That issue has cleared up and he has been working steadily since late November at the Palm Meadows training center. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “He’d always worked very well leading up to everything,” Lynch said. “In his last race, the Iroquois, he didn’t have the cleanest trip, yet he boxed on well when he needed to late. We have a little break, a lot of things have calmed down with him. I’m excited kicking off his 3-year-old season.” Lynch is hoping to use the Pasco as a stepping-stone to the Sam F. Davis on Feb. 8, followed by the Tampa Bay Derby on March 8. Owen Almighty will break from post 6 under Irad Ortiz Jr. Rookie Card, trained by Danny Gargan, is a Florida-bred by the Florida-based stallion Adios Charlie, so he’s eligible for the entire purse. Rookie Card finished second in his first two starts before winning a six-furlong maiden race by five lengths at Aqueduct on Oct. 26. Treaty of Rome, who finished third in that race, came back to win his maiden and then was narrowly defeated in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 4. In the Pasco, Rookie Card, with Junior Alvarado up, could be the speed of the race or sit just outside recent maiden winner Cockeyed. “My horse doesn’t have to have the lead, but he is fast,” Gargan said. “I’d like to see him break and sit right next to that horse [Cockeyed].” Very Bold, a son of Union Rags, won a maiden auction race in the slop two starts back before finishing sixth in a first-level allowance race run over Turfway Park’s synthetic surface. Naughty Rascal has won stakes on turf and dirt and most recently finished a clear second behind Donut God in the Inaugural Stakes at Tampa on Dec. 7. Cockeyed won his maiden in his first start on dirt. Juan Colorado won his maiden for $25,000 claiming on dirt before finishing second in a turf starter allowance. Gasparilla Stakes Tessitura’s speed figures are lacking for sure. Her pedigree is not. If she lives up to the latter and not the former, she could pull off a surprise in Saturday’s Gasparilla Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs. Tessitura is by Medaglia d’Oro out of the Grade 1 winner Octave. Tessitura, trained by Eoin Harty for Godolphin Racing, has made both of her starts over the synthetic surface at Presque Isle Dows. She won her debut and then was fourth in the Presque Isle Debutante, finishing a neck behind Mrs Worldwide, who has since come back to win a stakes at Gulfstream and the Sandpiper at Tampa. “I really don’t gauge too much by her workouts because she’s a notoriously bad work horse, but she’s been working better, she looks great, she’s got a very good pedigree,” Harty said. “Willie Martinez is going to ride her. He knows her very well so I’m cautiously optimistic.” :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Mrs Worldwide, trained by Lynch, will likely go favored off her perfect-trip victory in the Sandpiper on Dec. 7. Win N Your In turns back in distance to seven furlongs following a sixth-place finish in the My Dear Girl Stakes going 1 1/16 miles at Gulfstream on Nov. 30. She did win the seven-furlong Susan’s Girl division of the Florida Sire Stakes series going seven furlongs in October. Another Cleehsay, Dancing Magic, Vuela Paloma, and Lynn’s Milky Way complete the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.