Tap for Ami tries to find his groove again in Friday co-feature
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Everything went right for Tap for Ami when he won his debut, but that wasn’t the case the second time out. He will try to rebound in his third trip postward in Friday’s fourth race at Woodbine, a first-level allowance sprint worth $58,600.
Tap for Ami, a 4-year-old trained by Mike De Paulo, made quite a splash at first asking May 31 in a sprint for $40,000 maidens. Over a speed-favoring track, he attended a slow pace before drawing off for a 5 1/4-length tally, earning a 91 Beyer Speed Figure.
Six weeks later on Queen’s Plate Day, Tap for Ami was favored in a slow-paced, 1 1/16-mile allowance. Surprisingly, he showed no speed and raced in fifth most of the way over a speed-friendly surface before checking in a distant fourth.
Luis Contreras retains the mount on Tap for Ami for owner Ivan Dalos, who bred the gelding’s broodmare sire, Belmont winner Victory Gallop.
The co-featured fourth lured six others who will negotiate seven furlongs on Polytrack. The other allowance on the nine-race program, the eighth, is a six-furlong turf dash for fillies and mares that came up weak.
KEY CONTENDERS
Tap for Ami (Last 2 Beyers: 69-91)
◗ Shortening up to seven furlongs following a half-mile drill on the training track should be beneficial for the son of Pleasant Tap.
◗ Formulator fact: De Paulo has hit with 13 percent of his runners moving from a route to a sprint over the past five years ($3.03 return on investment). Since the beginning of last year, he’s posted a 25 percent win rate with turnbacks ($5.36 ROI).
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Regal Warning (Last 3 Beyers: 70-70-70)
◗ He won three of seven outings in his first year of competition in 2013, all on Polytrack. Curiously, his two starts this year both came in turf sprints, and he finished a distant second and a troubled seventh in those two allowances.
◗ Formulator fact: Trainer Debbie England has an 8 percent strike rate with runners switching to turf from synthetic over the past five years ($2.26 ROI).
Cap in Hand (Last 3 Beyers: 27-66-82)
◗ He finished nearly 40 lengths in arrears after flashing some early foot in the fast-paced Queen’s Plate. He won his maiden over seven furlongs and is eligible to get back on track if the grueling 1 1/4 miles of the Plate didn’t take too much out of him.
Leif Erikson (Last 3 Beyers: 0-69-72)
◗ He only merits consideration because he’s a first-time gelding and is capable of spicing up the exotics.