Tampa Bay Downs: Testa Rossi, Cloud Scapes impress in Grade 3 wins

OLDSMAR, Fla. – The words “overpowering” and “courageous” might best describe the performances of Testa Rossi and Cloud Scapes in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks and Grade 3 Hillsborough Stakes as those two distaffers took different routes to victory Saturday on the strong undercard for the Tampa Bay Derby.

In the case of Testa Rossi, it was simply a case of a world-class filly using a Grade 3 stakes as a coming-out party for 2014, as jockey Jose Lezcano took no chances with the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf runner-up.

“Jose talked to us before the race and said he’d like to break her a little sharper and have her a little closer to the pace than she had been last year, and it worked,” trainer Chad Brown said.

Testa Rossi did break well Saturday, and Lezcano let her run up a bit to the first turn before settling her in behind the moderate pace set by Istanford and jockey Joe Rocco Jr. Moving through the second turn, Lezcano put Testa Rossi into gear, and she swept by rivals along the outside with ease, then set sail for the leader. She rolled past Istanford through the furlong grounds and was in full flight, drawing off by 3 1/2 lengths.

“We were going easy on the lead, and I thought my filly would be tough to catch, but we got beat by a pretty nice horse,” Rocco said.

Brown said he will take both Testa Rossi and seventh-place finisher Kitten Kaboodle to Keeneland to see how they handle the synthetic surface for a possible start in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes on April 5.

Third-place finisher Interrupted, trained by Graham Motion, might be another filly to come out of the Oaks and go on to better things. The previously undefeated filly had to weave her way through traffic for more than a half-mile before getting up inside for third in her first start at age 3. And while nobody was going to touch Testa Rossi on Saturday, Interrupted looks like a filly with a future.

It’s not often that a horse is asked to take the roles of leader, chaser, and closer in the same race, but that’s exactly what Cloud Scapes was asked to do in the 1 1/8-mile Hillsborough. She found herself on the lead after a slow quarter-mile in 25.68 seconds, chased longshot Donna’s Fly Girl, then suddenly found herself forced to run down a fresh and tough competitor in Waterway Run after that one slipped through along the rail and gained a clear lead in the stretch.

But Cloud Scapes loves to run at horses, and she responded to Erick Rodriguez, who seems to have a rapport with the mare, trained by Motion. Cloud Scapes launched herself at Waterway Run in the final sixteenth, wearing down the leader in the final strides for the nose decision, her second straight graded stakes win.

“I think we’ll move up a bit with her now,” Motion said. “I think she’s capable of doing some good things this year.”

◗ Trainer Richard Ciardullo Jr. sent out Lack of Judgment for an eye-catching 7 3/4-length victory in Friday’s second race and is winning at a 26 percent clip after returning to training full time after a 10-year absence from the sport. Ciardullo, who annually ranked among the training leaders here from 1994 to 2004, has a mix of new and old clients, and Lack of Judgment tops a well-balanced string. The Florida-bred gelding might see action next on Florida Cup Day, April 5.

◗ Jockey Harry Vega is quietly having a very good meeting in his first season riding at Tampa Bay Downs full time. Vega, who has won more than 4,000 races, has won 27 at the current stand to rank fifth in the riders’ standings.