Tampa Bay Downs: Our Double Play hits hard in Super Stakes

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Speed and class are two of the most sought-after attributes in a Thoroughbred, and on Saturday, Our Double Play displayed both qualities in abundance when he ran his competition into submission and pulled away late in the $65,000 Super Stakes.

Trained by Philip Bauer, Our Double Play came off a seven-week break for the seven-furlong Super Stakes. Our Double Play pressed a torrid pace set by Sneaking Uponyou that included a half-mile clocking of 44.38 seconds. Moving out of the turn, Our Double Play and Victor Lebron went to work and battled into the final furlong with Sneaking Uponyou and Action Andy, who had joined the fray along the rail after five furlongs.

The trio covered six furlongs in a scorching 1:08.99, then, in the final sixteenth, Our Double Play’s class kicked in as the 4-year-old shook off his competitors and pulled away by 3 3/4 lengths over Sneaking Uponyou, who ran a big race in defeat after having the blinkers removed.

“He’s a lot different horse than he was early in his career,” said Lebron, who had ridden Our Double Play three times as a 3-year-old, including in his maiden win at Oaklawn Park. “Last year, you had to coax him along to get him interested. Now, he’s much more aggressive and eager to run, which is good.”

Our Double Play’s final time for the seven furlongs was 1:22.09, just 0.06 seconds slower than the track record of 1:22.03 set by Good Lord in last year’s Super Stakes.

Our Double Play is owned by the Rigney Stable of Richard and Tammy Rigney, residents of Louisville, Ky., who also have a home near Tampa Bay Downs.

The Super Stakes was the first stakes win as a trainer for Bauer, a former assistant to trainer Ken McPeek who called the chance to train seven runners for the Rigneys a “dream opportunity.” Bauer hasn’t made firm plans for Our Double Play but said he could run at Churchill Downs this spring.

“We like Louisville, so we may look at something there for him,” he said. “Right now, we’re just happy he’s transferred his form as a 3-year-old and continues to move forward.”

Yogi Berra a hit in debut

Yogi Berra the horse is a good deal bigger than his human counterpart, the former New York Yankees great and master of the malaprop, and he’s a lot faster.

On Friday, Yogi Berra the horse made an auspicious debut, pulling away late for a 4 1/2-length win in a 6 1/2-furlong sprint that saw the first six furlongs run in a very quick 1:10.87.

The final time was 1:17.10 for the Majestic Warrior homebred from the Bach Stable LLC of Jessica Steinbrenner, the daughter of the late Yankees and Kinsman Stable owner George Steinbrenner. Dennis Griffith trains Yogi Berra.

De La Cruz triple

The three riding De La Cruz brothers each won a race here Friday. Juan De La Cruz, 29, won the opener aboard Awesome Rhythm ($11). The 24-year-old Walter nosed out his brother Fernando in the fourth with My Evangelina ($13.80) before 27-year-old Fernando made it a De La Cruz triple when he took the fifth aboard Rocky Gap ($4.20).

◗ After two dark days, the racing surface last Wednesday was one of the fastest of the meeting. The first three races on the card, each run at six furlongs, produced final times of 1:10.68, 1:10.76, and 1:10.55, and later in the program, a 5 1/2-furlong sprint was run in 1:03.12, 0.33 seconds slower than the track record of 1:02.79.