Tampa Bay Downs: Full field in allowance feature
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Horseplayers love a race with a full field that offers multiple opportunities for value plays, and that’s just what bettors will get Saturday in Tampa Bay Downs’s one-mile allowance headliner on the turf.
A field of 13 fillies and mares is entered but only 10 will be allowed to start. The group includes runners from several high-profile stables, including Cloud Scapes, a Smart Strike filly who finished second over Polytrack at Keeneland in her first start in almost a year and first effort for trainer Graham Motion.
Cloud Scapes, who won at first asking at Woodbine in 2011, has been lightly raced, making only six career starts, but has been no worse than fourth in any of those outings.
Last time out, in her first start since November 2012, Cloud Scapes started in a 1 1/16-mile allowance over Keeneland’s synthetic surface. She rallied to finish second, despite breaking from the outside post in the field of 11. She has worked three times since that race at Palm Meadows and posted a black-letter five-furlong drill of 1:00 on the turf Nov. 26.
Diana’s Daisy, who left the winless ranks two races back at Gulfstream Park, returns to the turf Saturday and warrants consideration. Although she trailed over a sloppy main track last time out in a race that was taken off the turf, the Langfuhr filly rallied from well off the pace to win her previous start in July. Horses trained by Chad Stewart making their first and second starts off layoffs have done well at this track in the past.
Miss Dayna Lee, third in each of her last two starts sprinting on turf at Laurel, will attempt to stretch out Saturday for trainer Jamie Ness. Miss Dayna Lee has won three races since being claimed by Ness last April and won around two turns on the turf at Delaware Park earlier this year.
Zooma is back eight days after finishing third here going a mile in her turf debut.
Mylitta will be making her second start since last December and could be a sleeper for trainer Curtis Garrison.