Win Win Win needs to harness speed in Tampa Bay Derby

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Mike Trombetta would like nothing more than to return to Churchill Downs with a Kentucky Derby contender. He’ll have a prime opportunity to do so Saturday when he sends out Win Win Win as the favorite in the Tampa Bay Derby, the annual showcase race at Tampa Bay Downs.

“Once you’ve been to the Derby, you want to go back,” said Trombetta, whose lone starter, Sweetnorthernsaint, finished seventh as the betting favorite behind Barbaro in the 2006 Derby. “It’s a privilege and a fun time. You always want to go there with one that tells you he belongs there.”

Win Win Win, bred and owned by the Live Oak Stud of Charlotte Weber, will have champion jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard for the first time when breaking from post 7 in a field of 11 3-year-olds in the 39th running of the Grade 2, $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby. The 1 1/16-mile race offers 85 qualifying points (50-20-10-5) toward the May 4 Kentucky Derby.

Win Win Win set the Tampa record for seven furlongs (1:20.89) in winning the Jan. 19 Pasco Stakes in his last start. A series of sharp local works has followed, and now the colt will be asked to stretch out when facing several others who, like him, are blessed with exceptional speed.

“There’s always the question of whether they’ll settle,” Trombetta said. “I do think this colt will do what the rider asks him to do. He’s got a good mind and plenty of ability.”

Well Defined (post 5, Pablo Morales), the wire-to-wire winner of the Sam F. Davis here four weeks ago, is one of the other early goers. His trainer, Kathleen O’Connell, also believes he can slow things down if that’s what Morales is asking.

“He doesn’t need to have the lead,” she said.

Still, if a ruinous pace unfolds, perhaps the most plausible candidate to capitalize is Dream Maker, who exits a Fair Grounds allowance romp for trainer Mark Casse.

“This should be a great test for the colt,” said Casse, who will be on hand Saturday from his Ocala base. “He’s had a couple things go wrong so far in his career, but we think he’s all set now. Hopefully, we’ll get the right trip and he’ll punch his ticket to the Derby.”

Win Win Win is one of four horses in the lineup making his first start beyond seven furlongs and around two turns, the others being Outshine, The Right Path, and Zenden.

A fifth starter, the regally bred Tacitus, has raced at a mile and beyond, but this is his two-turn debut. The Juddmonte Farms homebred son of Tapit out of Close Hatches will be treated with Lasix for the first time when looking to join his stablemates in the Bill Mott barn, Hidden Scroll and Country House, on the road to the Kentucky Derby.

Outshine, a winner of a seven-furlong allowance on Feb. 10 at Gulfstream Park, will attempt to extend Todd Pletcher’s record for most winners in this race. Pletcher has won five of the last 15 runnings, and four of the last six, with Limehouse (2004), Verrazano (2013), Carpe Diem (2015), Destin (2016), and Tapwrit (2017).

The Right Path, a Colts Neck Stables homebred, has run two solid races in as many starts for trainer Jorge Duarte Jr. He most recently was second to Outshine at Gulfstream.

“We got him in early January and were up against the clock for that allowance,” Duarte said. “He was only about 70 percent due to missing a breeze or two. The fact he is doing so good now, we decided to take a shot after looking at the nominations and the timing. We’re aware of the jump up in competition, but he came out of his last breeze in great shape and everything is on schedule.”

The rest of the field is Admire, Sir Winston, Lord Dragon, and the lone supplementary entry, Dunph, who was made eligible to the race by a $7,500 payment. Of those longshots, perhaps Admire, trained by Dale Romans, has the most upside, having already raced twice at 1 1/8 miles.

The Tampa Bay Derby goes as the 11th of 12 Saturday races on a Festival Day card that starts at 12:12 p.m. Eastern. Post time for the Derby is 5:25. Four supporting stakes directly precede it – the Grade 3, $200,000 Florida Oaks (race 10) for 3-year-old turf fillies; the Grade 2, $225,000 Hillsborough (race 9) for filly and mare turf routers; the $100,000 Challenger (race 8), for older horses going 1 1/16 miles; and the $75,000 Columbia (race 7), for 3-year-olds going a mile on turf.

An all-stakes pick five (races 7-11) and all-stakes pick four (races 8-11) ending with the Tampa Bay Derby are offered.

The Saturday forecast calls for cloud cover but no rain, and a high of 82. Track conditions surely will be fast and firm. Fox Sports 2 will provide on-site coverage, while TVG also will televise the race live.

The Tampa Bay Derby was first run in 1981, when Paristo won for trainer George Handy. Its most memorable running came in 2007, when Street Sense nosed out Any Given Saturday. Street Sense went on to become the first 2-year-old champion to win the Kentucky Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979.