Zany may not have blown away the competition as easily as she had in her previous two starts, but she was a winner nonetheless, kicking off her 3-year-old campaign with a 2 3/4-length victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs to remain undefeated.  Zany, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., made an early four-wide move down the backstretch to follow Life Is Joy, the second choice, who had made an early move herself under Flavien Prat so as not to be compromised by the slow pace established by Kadabra.  Turning into the stretch, Life of Joy, in the two path with Zany outside of her, took over from Kadabra. After establishing the lead from Life of Joy inside the eighth pole, Zany did duck in a path or two, but still won in hand coming to the wire.  Life of Joy finished second, 3 1/2 lengths clear of Kadabra.  The win was the third in as many starts for Zany, a daughter of American Pharoah owned by Mike Repole and trained by Todd Pletcher. Zany won her maiden in November sprinting at Gulfstream by 6 1/2 lengths and the Grade 2 Demoiselle going 1 1/8 miles in December by 8 1/2 lengths.  :: Celebrating 100 Years of racing at Tampa Bay Downs! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. In the Suncoast, Zany covered the mile and 40 yards in 1:40.56 and returned $2.30 as the 1-5 favorite.  Pletcher said the lugging in by Zany was a result of Ortiz trying to make sure Zany switched to her proper lead in the stretch.   “One of the things we talked about going in was trying to make sure she switched leads properly and kept a straight course,” Pletcher said. “She was a little too close to that filly on the inside [Life of Joy], he had to get her straightened out. It was remarkable she’s able to win by several lengths and still be learning and looking around with her ears pricked.”  Overall, Pletcher said he was pleased with the effort, which earned Zany 20 points – giving her a total of 30 – toward qualifying for the Kentucky Oaks on May 1 at Churchill Downs.  “I liked the first turn, took kickback, was between horses, got some education which is valuable down the road,” Pletcher said. “Now, we got to get her to polish it off a little cleaner.”  Pletcher had said before the race that the Suncoast would be a way to get to the Grade 1 Ashland on April 3 at Keeneland. In 2022, Nest, trained by Pletcher for Repole, won the Suncoast and Ashland before finishing second in the Kentucky Oaks. Nest would win two more Grade 1 stakes later that year and was voted champion 3-year-old filly.  Mystic Lake dominates Minaret  Mystic Lake bounced back from her defeat in the Sugar Swirl Stakes in December at Gulfstream Park with a dominant 7 1/2-length victory in the $125,000 Minaret Stakes for older sprinting females.  The Minaret was to have been a rematch between Mystic Lake and Sugar Swirl winner Ms. Bucchero. But Ms. Bucchero stumbled when the gates opened and she never got involved finishing fifth in the six-horse field.  The victory was the 12th from 22 starts for Mystic Lake, a 5-year-old daughter of Mo Town owned by Miller Racing, BAG Racing Stables and trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. Mystic Lake is 3 for 3 – all stakes wins – at Tampa Bay Downs. Mystic Lake has won 11 stakes in her career.  “She stays sound, obviously, that’s the most important part and she has that will to win,” Joseph said in a post-race interview aired on America’s Day at the Races. “She’s a very good sprinter. She’s won Grade 2s, she hasn’t broken through at the Grade 1 level yet, we would hope to do that this year, But seven-eighths … that’s not her best distance and unfortunately all the Grade 1s are seven-eighths for the sprinting fillies.”  Mystic Lake, who put away some mild pace pressure from Sandy’s Garden, covered the six furlongs in the Minaret in 1:10.34 and returned $3.40 as the odds-on favorite.  Summer’s Comin, a 23-1 shot under Charlie Marquez, rallied to get second, 2 1/4 lengths in front of Admiral Hopper. Long Gone Sally, Ms. Bucchero, and Sandy’s Garden completed the order of finish.  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.