Rocco Bowen closes his Tampa Bay meet on high note

Rocco Bowen received a hero’s farewell. Bowen has left Tampa Bay Downs for the season, but not before being honored by a local sponsor as the jockey of the month for February.

Bowen, 32, rode a winner Sunday before departing for his native Barbados to visit his mother and other family members. He will be off several weeks before returning to suburban Chicago, where he has his home, to start riding at the Hawthorne meet that starts April 3.

Bowen rode 21 winners, including a three-win day Feb. 11, in his first-ever tour of Tampa in Oldsmar, Fla., where the 2021-22 meet began Nov. 24. His strong showing continues an inspiring comeback that began after he suffered a severe shoulder injury in a morning training spill while his name was still atop the jockey standings at Emerald Downs in Washington state in September 2018.

Bowen was sidelined more than 20 months before returning to Belterra Park and Indiana Grand, with subsequent stints coming at Oaklawn Park and Arlington Park. After undergoing rigorous rehabilitation, he now has won a combined 148 races since recovering – or 148 more than what he said six doctors told him he would ride following the spill.

Aside from a strong inner drive, Bowen’s infectious personality is one of the traits that continues to endear him to fellow horsemen.

“He wears his heart on his sleeve and he is as honest as the day is long,” said his agent, Penny Ffitch-Heyes. “He rides a $5,000 claimer with as much intensity as a stakes horse, so people know they are getting their money’s worth from him. He is a kind person who loves horses, and a wonderful guy to work with.”

Bowen said now was a good time to visit with family before gearing back up for the rest of the year in Illinois and Indiana.

“It’s time for me to relax, enjoy my family, and talk to youngsters there and let them know there are opportunities for success,” he said.

Tampa Bay Derby on horizon

Classic Causeway and Shipsational, the respective one-two finishers in the Sam F. Davis at Tampa, both breezed over the weekend in their first workouts since that Feb. 12 race. Classic Causeway went a half-mile in 48.40 seconds Saturday at the Palm Meadows training center, while Shipsational went six furlongs in 1:13.60 at Tampa.

Both are expected back for the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby, a 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifier that anchors Festival Day on March 12. Nominations for the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Derby were released Sunday, with Todd Pletcher, a record six-time winner of the annual showcase event, having 13 nominees.

Ontrack admission for Festival Day is $15, which includes a mystery mutuel voucher worth between $5 and $1,000.

Rodriguez strong in Turf Test

Trainer Darien Rodriguez now has won with three of his five starters in the Tampa Turf Test at the 2021-22 meet after Wicked Groove won a filly-and-mare division of the starter-handicap series Saturday. Rodriguez won earlier races in the series when Dazzling Truths and Vip Nation both won Jan. 1.

The next races in the Tampa Turf Test, both at 1 3/8 miles, are set for March 26.

Rodriguez begins the week tied for ninth in the local trainer standings with a 9-for-28 record.

◗ An oversubscribed field of older turf sprinters vying for a $31,000 purse in race 5 is the highlight of a nine-race Wednesday card that kicks off another four-day race week at Tampa. First post is 12:15 p.m. Eastern. Sunshine and a high of 78 are in the Oldsmar forecast.