Tampa Bay: Pair of turf routes highlight Saturday card

A pair of one-mile turf races highlight Saturday’s 11-race card, at Tampa Bay Downs, and a pair of pacesetters should benefit by cutting back slightly in distance.

In race 5, a second-level optional $32,000 claimer for fillies and mares, Showersofblessings should be tough after setting the pace and finishing third in a 1 1/16-mile turf race at this level Feb. 27. She was beaten 2 1/4 lengths by the winner, Greywalls, and finished a neck ahead of fourth-place finisher Reserved, who returns in this spot.

Showersofblessings, a 6-year-old Leelanau mare, will be ridden by Fernando De La Cruz for trainer Michele Boyce. That jockey/trainer combination is 8 for 25 here since the start of 2015, with a healthy $4.22 return on investment.

In race 9, a $25,000 claimer for older horses who have never won three races, Cammack, Closing Prize, and Calico Kitten return after finishing second through fourth in a 1 1/16-mile turf race at this level Feb. 27. Calico Kitten set quick fractions of 22.45 and 45.79 seconds before tiring in that race. Cammack rallied three wide to be beaten 2 1/2 lengths by Bank Float while making his first start off a layoff, with Closing Prize rallying belatedly for third.