Tap to It, Off the Tracks aim to use Margate as stepping-stone
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Sunday’s $65,000 Margate Handicap didn’t seem to hold much significance when the 2015-16 stakes schedule came out, as it is positioned just six days before the Grade 2 Davona Dale, one of the most significant races for 3-year-old fillies on the East Coast this winter.
But the Margate suddenly took on added importance when the entries closed Thursday, with the connections of Tap to It and Off the Tracks choosing the 6 1/2-furlong dash as the starting point to what they hope will be a big season for their lightly raced fillies.
Tap to It, a daughter of Tapit, started three times at 2, winning her maiden at first asking despite a troubled trip at Saratoga. She returned three weeks later to finish second behind Rachel’s Valentina in the Grade 1 Spinaway before closing out the campaign with a somewhat-disappointing sixth-place effort in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Tap to It. Trainer Ralph Nicks is 32-7-3-8 with a $1.64 ROI over the past five years going route to sprint on dirt following a layoff of 45 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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“She had a lot thrown at her in a rather short amount of time at Saratoga,” said Ralph Nicks, who trains Tap to It for Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm. “Then she got a little bit of ‘Beholder disease’ before the Breeders’ Cup, although not quite as dramatic. She acted like she was okay, and obviously we got a dull effort, so we just gave her some time.
“The timing and distance of this race was right. We’re not ready for the Davona Dale, to face that kind of company going a mile, having the time off she had and with only a bunch of breezes. We’ll use this race as a stepping-stone and see where we go from here.”
Off the Tracks launched her career with an easy maiden win here last spring before shipping to Saratoga to score an impressive 3 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Schuylerville. But she sustained a small, nondisplaced chip in her knee while training up to the Spinaway, which required surgery and cost her the rest of her 2-year-old season. Off the Tracks is owned by J Stables and is based at Gulfstream Park West with trainer Roderick Rodriguez.
“She has a real physical presence. She looks like a colt, and she’s very powerful, with a very long stride,” said Rodriguez. “We’re really excited to have her back to the races, and as long as she runs good and comes out of it well, we’re probably looking at the Oaks here next.”
Rodriguez was referring to the meet’s marquee race for 3-year-old fillies, the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks, on April 2.
Off the Tracks will share the high weight of 120 pounds in the Margate with three-time stakes winner Ballet Diva, who finished a distant third in both the Grade 3 Old Hat and Grade 2 Forward Gal to start the year. Tap to It will carry 118 pounds, including regular rider Joel Rosario.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Off the Tracks. Won the Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga in July last out. Runners from that race have a combined record of 24-1-2-3 since. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
The remainder of the field is April Gaze, Sugar Cone, Disco Rose, Daddy’s Great Bay, and Always Thinking.
Despite the absence of Tap to It and Off the Tracks, the one-mile Davona Dale figures to attract a strong field led by the undefeated and untested Cathryn Sophia, the easy winner of the Grade 2 Forward Gal here this winter. Carina Mia, an impressive winner of her last two starts, including the Grade 2 Golden Rod, has been working steadily for her 3-year-old debut at Payson Park and is among the other prominent nominees for the race. Dearest, who is perfect in two starts, and R Girls a Charmer, the easy winner of the Gasparilla Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, also are expected to start.