Tap It to Win, Summering Triumph on Florida Cup Day

Warm, breezy weather welcomed 46 Florida-bred stakes horses, their trainers, jockeys and owners, and a limited but festive crowd March 28 at Tampa Bay Downs for Florida Cup XVIII. A year after the event was canceled due to COVID-19, racing fans received another reminder that the Florida-bred industry might have taken some hits in recent years, but is still capable of producing quality stakes runners with the heart and determination to win.

Indy Lyon Outlasts Rivals

Indy Lyon  won his third consecutive race for owner Jerry Campbell when he upset the six-horse field in the $100,000 Equistaff Sophomore Turf Stakes. It was the first stakes victory for the 3-year-old Congrats   gelding as well as the first for his trainer, Maria Bowersock. 

Bowersock's fiancé, 56-year-old Ronnie Allen Jr., guided the gelding to the front and the pair cruised through steady early splits of :24.33 and :48.58. Indy Lyon maintained his advantage to the wire, outlasting the late rallies of Officiating  and 3-5 favorite Chess's Dream  to win by a nose. Indy He clocked the 1 1/16 miles on a firm turf course in 1:42.64.

A claim of foul by jockey Daniel Centeno, aboard Chess's Dream, against Officiating and Edgard Zayas for alleged interference in deep stretch was disallowed by the stewards.

Indy Lyon paid $27.40 to win.

"I'm crying excited," said Bowersock. "I was nervous, but this horse has stepped up on the turf and Ronnie did a great job. The horse is on his game right now. He's confident, Ronnie was confident, and I think that helped our whole team."

Foreman Comes Back Strong

Owner-trainer Gerald Bennett and jockey Daniel Centeno figured they had a puncher's chance with 3-year-old gelding Foreman  in the seven-furlong $100,000 Ocala Breeders' Sales Sophomore Stakes, especially after watching Soup and Sandwich 's gritty second-place effort in the March 27 Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

In his previous start Feb. 24 at Tampa Bay Downs, Foreman finished second to Soup and Sandwich in an allowance optional claiming race, beaten 2 3/4 lengths.

"Danny really liked him today, especially after seeing that race on TV," said Bennett, who also owns Foreman under his Winning Stables banner. "He called me at home and said 'We're going to win it.'"

But Foreman had to dig deep to rally past the tiring Willy Boi .

Willy Boi set the pace and appeared to have put Foreman and the rest away inside the eighth-mile pole, but grew leg-weary late while Foreman found another gear. Foreman ($12.60) pulled away to a half-length victory, with Shoo Shine  a distant third. The final time on the fast track was 1:23.38.

"He has been doing better every race, running with nice horses, and he keeps improving," Centeno said. "I knew we had a good shot after I saw (Soup and Sandwich) run second (to Known Agenda  in the Florida Derby) and he ran good today."

Foreman became the first black-type stakes winner for his sire, Chitu  , who stands for $3,500 at Bridledwood Farm in Florida. 

"This horse is just starting to peak," said Bennett. "I think he'll be even better running farther and maybe on the grass.".

Me and Mr. C Thrives in Tampa

Me and Mr. C  had been training lights-out since his previous start, an allowance optional claiming victory on the Oldsmar turf Feb. 12. And when jockey Daniel Centeno asked for his best in the closing stages of the 1 1/8-mile $110,000 Grey Goose Turf Classic, the 4-year-old gelding responded with plenty to give.

The son of Khozan   out of Abiding, by Dynaformer, bred by Stonehedge, powered his way past favored Shamrocket  to post a half-length victory in 1:48.55. Over the Channel  finished third.

Me and Mr. C ($6.60), who crossed the finish line first in his two previous starts at Tampa this season (he was disqualified from victory Jan. 16 for interference), improved to 5-for-17 and increased his earnings to $198,490.

Me and Mr. C is owned by David Staudacher and trained by Mike Maker.

"Mike thought this was a good spot for him and he's been training well," said Maker's assistant, Genevieve Londono. "We're happy for all the connections."

Centeno was confident after watching the replays of Me and Mr. C's two previous starts.

"This is a nice horse. He can be close to the pace or run from behind, and he relaxed well the whole way around," Centeno said. "I saw (Shamrocket) inside of me, so I put my horse in the clear and he responded really well. He mostly did it on his own."

Tap It to Win Returns on Top

Tap It to Win  danced on some huge stages as a 3-year-old last year, finishing fifth in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) at Belmont Park, second in the H. Allen Jerkens Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, and third in the Pat Day Mile Stakes Presented by LG and E and KU (G2) at Churchill Downs.

Although he had not raced since early September, bettors knocked him down to the 4-5 favorite in the six-horse $100,000 NYRABETS Sprint Stakes.

The 4-year-old Tapit   ridgling justified their faith, moving though an opening inside leader R Mercedes Boy  and drawing away to a 4 1/4-length victory under jockey Antonio Gallardo. R Mercedes Boy held on for second, 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Hauntedbythemusic .

Tap It to Win is a homebred racing for Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Plantation and trained by Mark Casse. His time for the six furlongs was 1:09.43, just shy of It's Me Mom 's stakes and track record in 1:08.67.

"He was coming off a very good 3-year-old year, but you keep your fingers crossed he'll come back to that same form," said Casse's assistant, Jimmy Miranda. "That's what happened. He was very good in the receiving barn and is just a real pro."

"I started asking him a little when I saw (R Mercedes Boy) come off the rail, and when I asked him he showed how nice he is," Gallardo said. "This horse showed me he was the best horse in the race."

Tap It to Win ($3.80), out of Onepointhreekarats, by Medaglia d'Oro  , improved to 4-for-10 and boosted his earnings to $333,672.

Live Oak has nine Florida Cup victories as a breeder and eight as an owner, tied with Glen Hill Farm for first in both categories.

Summering Battles to Victory

Just when it looked as if Summering  would roll to an authoritative victory in the 1 1/16-mile $100,000 Pleasant Acres Stallions Distaff Turf, 44-1 shot Classy Woman , the pacesetter, dug in along the rail and battled her rival tooth-and-nail to the finish.

Summering and jockey Jesus Castanon recorded a head victory, but not before Classy Woman and Jose Ferrer had long-shot players screaming like kids on a roller coaster. The time was 1:41.50.

"For a minute, I thought (Classy Woman) was going to give up, but it wasn't until we were on top of her that we got the advantage," Castanon said.

The victory for the 5-year-old Summering was her fourth in 11 starts and the ninth Florida Cup triumph for her trainer, Tom Proctor, the most of any conditioner. Breeder-owner Glen Hill Farm stayed tied with Live Oak Plantation as the leading Florida Cup breeders and owners with nine and eight, respectively, in the two categories.

"It's nice to win," Proctor said after Summering's first start since last August in the Yellow Ribbon Handicap (G2T) at Del Mar. "We're going back to the barn now and give her a nice bath."

Summering ($10.40), who is not Florida Sire Stakes-eligible, is a daughter of War Front   and out of the Indian Charlie mare Wishing Gate. She raised her career earnings to $193,731.

"I knew she was coming off that layoff and had been working well here in the mornings," Castanon said. "I think the best thing I did was to let her do her own thing out of the gate. She put herself in a good spot, and when I got to the top of the stretch she really gave a good effort. (Classy Woman) fought back, but my horse gave me all she had."

R Adios Jersey Stays Unbeaten

Bradenton, Fla., resident Rich Averill's fourth Florida Cup victory, like the previous three, came with a horse he owns in partnership. The masonry contractor enjoys spreading the joy of racing among friends, and he and ATM Racing's Anthony Mattera have much to like in their unbeaten 3-year-old filly R Adios Jersey .

The Georgina Baxter trainee turned in a near-flawless performance under jockey Paco Lopez to win the $110,000 Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies by 2 1/4 lengths from Psychic Ability . Ray Arewethereyet  rallied for third in the 11-horse field.

R Adios Jersey's time for the seven furlongs was 1:23.35, a tick off My Sunshine Gal's stakes record of 1:22.75 set in 2011. Bred by Ocala Stud and J. Michael O'Farrell Jr., the Adios Charlie   daughter out of the Montbrook mare Marion Theatre is now 4-for-4 sprinting.

R Adios Jersey ($5.40) won her first stakes in the Sophomore Fillies and her first race beyond six furlongs.

"I'm very, very happy. She ran huge," Averill said. "Paco got to the lead and got her to settle, and I think she got a little breather after the half-mile pole. We had this race picked out after her last start, but we'll take her back to Gulfstream and see how she comes out of this one."

Averill said the filly's name is a play on her sire, as well as Mattera's status as a former New Jersey resident who recently moved to Florida. They purchased her for the bargain price of $12,000 at the 2020 Ocala Breeders' Sales March w-Year-Olds in Training Sale from Ocala Stud's consignment.

Video: Equistaff Sophomore Turf S. (BT)

Video: Ocala Breeders' Sales Sophomore S. (BT)

Video: Grey Goose Turf Classic S. (BT)

Video: NYRABETS Sprint S. (BT)

Video: Pleasant Acres Stallions Distaff Turf S. (BT)

Video: Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies S. (BT)