For Phoenix of Wit to bounce back, she must relax early
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After a tumultuous stakes debut at Gulfstream Park, the 3-year-old filly Phoenix of Wit will try to find more forgiving company in a $55,000 allowance at a mile on turf Wednesday at Tampa Bay Downs.
Trainer Joseph Orseno expected his Irish-bred to finish far better in the $75,000 Cellars Shiraz on Oct. 31, but she faded to eighth that day after pressing for the early lead.
“I thought she would have been on the board for sure, the way she was going into it,” Orseno said. “But we didn’t get the trip that we were looking for, so you draw a line through it. But it’s a shame. She could have got a little black type in that race, but we missed it.”
Orseno had every reason to expect a strong stakes performance from Phoenix of Wit, who had shown much-improved form since switching from synthetic to turf in August. Coming off a four-length maiden score at Gulfstream, the filly shipped to Aqueduct on Oct. 4 and finished second in an $88,000 allowance. The winner that day, Peak Hype, finished fourth in the Grade 3 Pebbles next time out.
In both of those successful turf tries, Phoenix of Wit managed to settle off the pace and make a late bid. Orseno confirmed that he is intent on keeping her comfortable again on Wednesday. In the Cellars Shiraz, jockey Jonathan Ocasio, a late replacement for Samuel Marin, pushed her into an early duel through quick fractions and suffered the consequences in a 10 1/4-length defeat.
“Hopefully, in this race on Wednesday, Sammy [Camacho] can get her to relax and just get her back to her four or five lengths [offthe lead] that she needs to be,” Orseno said.
Phoenix of Wit will be one of many new faces in the field of 10 with one also-eligible. Most of the entrants are settling into their winter campaigns in Florida after shipping from New York or the Mid-Atlantic region.
“[I] wanted to keep her on the turf, and this seemed like a good spot since I have horses stabled at Tampa,” Orseno said. “I decided to ship her up to my barn there and run her.”
Wrigleyville, the 2-1 morning-line favorite trained by Tom Proctor, is one of four fillies coming out of the same Tampa allowance on Nov. 22. The 4-year-old spent most of her campaign in tough allowance company in New York, where she encountered Phoenix of Wit and finished a half-length behind her in October. She has not finished worse than fourth in more than a year.
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Pegged at 4-5 in her first start at Tampa, Wrigleyville instead had to settle for third after getting bottled up on the rail for most of the race. She still managed to finish ahead of Authenticate Now and Notable Exchange, a pair of Monmouth-based shippers who are entered at Tampa again on Wednesday.
Wrigleyville remains winless in 11 starts since her maiden victory in June 2024, but Proctor has been white-hot early in the Tampa meet. The trainer, who has had just one win elsewhere in 2025, finished in the money five times in six starts at Tampa since Nov. 22, including three winners.
Native Rose, who finished ahead of Wrigleyville last month, is the only runner in the field who spent her fall racing in Kentucky. The Alejandro Mendieta-trained filly ran off the board at 98-1 and 99-1 odds at Kentucky Downs and Keeneland in the fall, but in her return to Tampa, she finished second by a neck at 23-1, earning a career-best 70 Beyer Speed Figure. She is one of four runners in the field who have won on the turf at Tampa, having earned her maiden victory on the course in March.
Ithinkiloveyou, a Laurel shipper formerly trained by Hugh McMahon, will make her first start outside the Mid-Atlantic region for trainer Chad Stewart. On Oct. 24, the Sky Mesa filly stepped up in a $50,000 allowance at Laurel Park and finished second by a half-length with an 81 Beyer. She finished fifth by two lengths at the same level on Nov. 23.
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