If there is a more worldly horse than Cooptado racing in North America, he’s yet to show himself. Cooptado has been stationed all over the globe, not just shipping to far-flung venues, but stabling and regularly racing there. To find a series of performances that fit the $75,000 Tenacious, one of six stakes Saturday at Fair Grounds, look not to one of his stints in Dubai, nor to the considerable time he spent in Singapore, but way back – both in time and space – to Argentina. It was there that 7-year-old Cooptado was born and began his career, and there he won four of six dirt starts, finding success all the way up to the Grade 1 level. Even approaching that form would make Cooptado competitive in the Tenacious, a 1 1/16-mile dirt race that’s the first step on the path to the New Orleans Handicap in March. The Tenacious drew nine entrants but not all will run. Dazzling Gem, trainer Brad Cox said, starts instead Sunday at Remington Park, while Field of Courage is cross-entered in the Bonapaw Stakes on the Saturday card. :: Save on PPs, digital subscriptions, and more! Trained now by Tom Morley, Cooptado looked good enough in two turf races this fall to envision him breaking through. At Keeneland, returning from a layoff of more than seven months, Cooptado came home third behind Shining Copper, who would return to win a Grade 3 at Churchill. On Nov. 25 at Fair Grounds, Cooptado gave futile chase to Chip Leader, who skipped over a speed-biased grass course and won a high-level allowance race. Money Flows could wind up favored in the Tenacious, in part because trainer Al Stall’s barn continues rolling along early this meet. Money Flows also has two wins and a second from three Fair Grounds starts and enters with form from Kentucky as good as he’s ever shown. Sticksstatelydude, the possible pacesetter, won the Grade 3 Discovery a year and a month ago and has raced only once since, finishing fourth in a Saratoga sprint. Fear the Cowboy is like a domestic version of Cooptado, having traveled around the country in search of middle-distance dirt stakes just below the graded level. He has won or placed in several such races, but was only fourth in the 2016 Tenacious. Far Right, Leofric, and Shut the Box complete the field. The Tenacious goes as race 10, the last of the stakes. Bonapaw a bettor’s race A full field of 12 3-year-olds and up will run in the $75,000 Bonapaw, a 5 1/2-furlong turf race carded as race 8, and, lacking a standout, the race is well worth a look, especially as the second leg of a pick four. One can imagine the favorite here going off at something like 7-2, and one can imagine Sir Navigator being the favorite. Owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, Sir Navigator is a type that has become more and more common in recent years – a turf horse claimed by Mike Maker and turned quickly into a stakes horse. :: Get PPs, analysis, and watch Saturday's Tampa Bay Downs card live Maker and the Ramseys took Sir Navigator for a $62,500 tag Nov. 19 at Churchill, ran him back in a Claiming Crown race Dec. 2 at Gulfstream, and got third money. Sir Navigator still appears to have upside in short grass races, and as a closer might have the right running style in a speed-filled field. But he also returns on barely more than two weeks’ rest following a peak performance several hundred miles away. Singingintheheat probably has a chance, and probably at a better price than his 9-2 morning-line odds. A fast horse on the Chicago circuit that once appeared to excel on Arlington Polytrack, Singingintheheat showed turf chops this summer and was claimed for $35,000 by owner Bill Stiritz and trainer Scott Becker. He won for a $50,000 tag first off the claim, then was second behind Undrafted in an open allowance race last out at Churchill. Subsequent fast Fair Grounds work suggests Singingintheheat still is improving. Trainer Wesley Ward has Chiltern Street for the Bonapaw. He’s another horse that does not look overmatched in a tough race. Sugar Bowl two-horse race There appears to be more raw 2-year-old talent in maiden and allowance races on the Saturday card than in the $50,000 Sugar Bowl or the $50,000 Letellier, two six-furlong sprints for 2-year-olds. There are horses of some quality in both those stakes, too, but in the case of the Sugar Bowl, not much of a supporting cast. The Sugar Bowl, race 3, drew only five entrants, and Steel Shot and Bourne in Nixa appear to stand out. Steel Shot, trained by Mark Casse, needed three tries to win a maiden race but did so with aplomb when turned back from seven furlongs to six Nov. 17 at Churchill. He’ll be on the lead or pressing the pace, while Bourne in Nixa, a two-time winner, will attempt to run him down. Bourne in Nixa made sustained runs to win a maiden race at Indiana Grand and a first-level allowance at Churchill. He’s no star, but he’s a capable and fairly advanced late-season 2-year-old. There are eight fillies in the Letellier, race 7, and they’re not easy to separate. The pick is She’s Pretty Lucky, who won her debut over seven furlongs and whose fading fourth behind talented Monomoy’s Girl in the one-mile Rags to Riches made her look like a filly who could appreciate a cutback to Saturday’s shorter distance.