Rigattieri sends pair in wide-open allowance

A 1-for-21 start to the meet isn’t quite what John Rigattieri had in mind when he arrived at Tampa Bay Downs, where six of the last eight winters he has recorded double-digit victories including a personal-best 18 last season.

Rigattieri has finished in the money with five of his last eight runners, including a pair of tough-luck beats last week, so perhaps a turnaround is in the offing.

Wednesday, in a seemingly wide-open allowance/optional $16,000 claiming feature, which goes as the finale on Tampa’s nine-race card, Rigattieri has two chances to get to the winner’s circle with Ritabook and Tiz Herself.

Ritabook has a second and a third in two starts at the meet. On Nov. 25, Ritabook dueled for the early lead, opened up a 1 1/2-length advantage in midstretch, and was run down late by Both Sides. Ritabook came back a month later in a six-furlong race and finished third behind Sassy Charlee and Athena’s Wisdom. Athena’s Wisdom is back in this field Wednesday.

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“I like her better at seven furlongs than six,” Rigattieri said.

Tiz Herself, a 6-year-old mare who has won 14 of 44 starts, is turning back to seven furlongs for the first time since December 2022, when she finished third in a starter allowance.

Between Tampa and Delaware, Tiz Herself went 7 for 10 in 2023, though she did get beat at 1-10 in a $6,000 starter allowance on Oct. 21.

Rigattieri said he is running Tiz Herself at seven furlongs because he doesn’t see a race for her around two turns coming up.

“The one thing about her is she always tries hard,” Rigattieri said.

Athena’s Wisdom, trained by Gerald Bennett, is the lukewarm 3-1 morning-line favorite in this field of 12. She finished second in this condition, 2 1/2 lengths in front of Ritabook, on Dec. 20, a race in which she was a bit headstrong from the rail post position, a spot she breaks from again Wednesday.

Practicality finished fourth in the aforementioned Dec. 20 race from which Athena’s Wisdom and Ritabook were second and third. Trainer Juan Arriagada, who has a 10-7-5 record from 36 starters at the meet, is adding blinkers to Practicality’s equipment on Wednesday.

West Saratoga to start in Pasco

West Saratoga, winner of the Iroquois Stakes last September at Churchill Downs, is set to make his 3-year-old debut in Saturday’s $125,000 Pasco Stakes going seven furlongs.

Trainer Larry Demeritte said he wants to run West Saratoga in the Sam F. Davis Stakes going 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 10 and said the Pasco is a good place to prepare for that.

“He hasn’t run since October, so he needs a race before the Sam Davis,” Demeritte said Sunday. “Seven-eighths will be the perfect distance for him on the way back instead of two turns.”

West Saratoga last ran in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity on Oct. 7 at Keeneland, where he finished fifth behind Locked. Demeritte was pointing West Saratoga to the Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs at the end of November but the horse got sick and was forced to miss the race.

West Saratoga has worked six times in Kentucky – five at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington and once at Turfway Park. He was scheduled to blow out Tuesday morning at Tampa.

Among those expected for the Pasco are Nashua Stakes winner Book’em Danno; Crazy Mason, and Rathmore, second and third, respectively, in the Inaugural Stakes on Dec. 2; and recent Gulfstream maiden winner Secret Lover.

Inaugural Stakes winner Patriot Spirit is bypassing the Pasco to target a two-turn stakes, in either the Grade 3 Holy Bull on Feb. 3 at Gulfstream or the Sam F. Davis.

Tampa on Saturday also hosts the $125,000 Gasparilla Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs. R Harper Rose, runner-up in the My Dear Girl Stakes on Dec. 2 at Gulfstream, is expected to run for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Other potential starters include Gorgeous Girl and Mystic Lake.

Entries for those two races and the $50,000 Wayward Lass Stakes for older females at 1 1/16 miles are to be taken Wednesday.

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