Florida-breds Spotlight Tampa's Sunday Stakes Action

Many of the top Florida-breds in training are set to compete in the March 27 Florida Cup at Tampa Bay Downs, with six races for registered state-breds offering $110,000 each in purse money.

The 19th annual Florida Cup races, which are part of a 12-race card beginning at 12:15 p.m., are scheduled as races 6-through-11 and will comprise the day’s 20-cent Ultimate 6 wager.

The field for Sunday’s sixth race, the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Sophomore Stakes for 3-year-olds at a distance of seven furlongs on the main dirt track, grew to seven colts and geldings with the supplementary entry of Stonehedge's homebred Dean Delivers , a Cajun Breeze   gelding trained by Michael Yates.

Antonio Gallardo has been named to ride the 8-5 morning-line favorite, who finished second in the Feb. 5 Swale Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park and was fifth in that track’s March 5 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) after leading briefly.

Included in the field are the 1-2 finishers in Tampa Bay Downs’ Dec. 4 Inaugural Stakes, Cattin  and Lightening Larry .

The seventh race, the Equistaff Sophomore Turf Stakes, is for 3-year-olds traveling 1 1/16-miles on the vaunted Oldsmar grass course. Included in the eight-horse field is a lone filly, 3-year-old stakes-winner Lemieux , owned by D. J. Stable and trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse.

The 5-2 morning-line favorite in the wide-open affair is multiple stakes-placed C My Meister , owned by Wendell Yates, Carroll Boys Racing and Maritza Weston and trained by Kelsey Danner.

Also entered is the Todd Pletcher-trained Treasure King , who won his debut Feb. 25 at Gulfstream for Mathis Stable.

The eighth race, the third leg of the Ultimate 6, is the Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies Stakes at a distance of 7 furlongs on the main track. The field of seven is headed by LNJ Foxwoods' Outfoxed , a Valiant Minister   filly trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott. Javier Castellano has the riding assignment.

All three of Outfoxed’s victories came in stakes races, including the Gasparilla Stakes here on Jan. 15. She took a step up in class in her most recent race, finishing fifth March 5 in the Davona Dale Stakes presented by FanDuel (G2) at Gulfstream.

Castellano again appears “well-seated” in the ninth race, the Grey Goose Turf Classic for horses 4-years-old and up racing 1 1/8-miles on the grass. He is named to ride Pletcher’s Shamrocket , established as the morning-line 8-5 favorite in the field of nine. The 5-year-old Shamrocket, owned by Donegal Racing, won the Jan. 15 Sunshine Classic Stakes on the dirt at Gulfstream after landing the Point of Entry Stakes on the turf at Belmont Park last fall.

The 10th race, the Pleasant Acres Stallions Distaff Turf Stakes, is for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at a 1 1/16-miles on the grass. Lightly-raced 6-year-old mare Shifty She , owned by Pedigree Partners and trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., is the 3-5 morning-line favorite based on her 6-for-12 record that includes three stakes victories, topped by a victory in the Oct. 23 Noble Damsel Stakes (G3T) at Belmont. Edwin Gonzalez is the jockey.

In the final race of the Florida Cup day card, a competitive field of nine drew for the NYRABETS Sprint Stakes. The field includes graded stakes winners Tap It to Win  and Officiating .

Vegso Racing Stable's homebred Officiating is the 2-1 morning-line favorite. Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., the Blame colt has won two of his last three starts at the graded level, notching scores in the Dec. 11 Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream and most recently in the March 5 Tom Fool Handicap (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Edwin Gonzalez has the call.

Tap It to Win, a graded winner around two turns last September in Canada, will attempt to defend his title in the NYRABETS Sprint, a race he captured by 4 1/4-lengths last year for Live Oak Stud and trainer Mark Casse.

Entries: Equistaff Sophomore Turf S.

Tampa Bay Downs, Sunday, March 27, 2022, Race 7

• STK
• 1 1/16m
• Turf
• $110,000
• 3 yo
• 3:14 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Skipperini (FL)	Luca Panici	118	Peter Wasiluk, Jr.	8/1
2	2Fast Payday (FL)	John Bisono	118	Dennis J. Manning	30/1
3	3Merlin (FL)	Emisael Jaramillo	118	Juan Alvarado	12/1
4	4C My Meister (FL)	Daniel Centeno	118	Kelsey Danner	5/2
5	5Lemieux (FL)	UNKNOWN	119	Mark E. Casse	5/1
6	6Treasure King (FL)	Javier Castellano	118	Todd A. Pletcher	4/1
7	7Mr Rum Runner (FL)	Romero Ramsay Maragh	118	Patrick L. Biancone	3/1
8	8Tapthespeedofsound (FL)	Edwin Gonzalez	118	Mark E. Casse	9/2

Entries: Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies S.

Tampa Bay Downs, Sunday, March 27, 2022, Race 8

• STK
• 7f
• Dirt
• $110,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 3:49 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Sweet Laura (FL)	Edwin Gonzalez	118	Chad J. Stewart	30/1
2	2Killargue's Girl (FL)	Wesley Henry	118	Luis R. Dominguez	20/1
3	3Outfoxed (FL)	Javier Castellano	124	William I. Mott	4/5
4	4Hot Peppers (FL)	Emisael Jaramillo	122	Ronald B. Spatz	5/2
5	5Kaeko (FL)	Samy Camacho	118	Carlos A. David	10/1
6	6Rapturous (FL)	Luca Panici	122	Kathleen O'Connell	5/1
7	7Midnight Stroll (FL)	Pablo Morales	118	John P. Terranova II	8/1

Entries: Grey Goose Turf Classic S.

Tampa Bay Downs, Sunday, March 27, 2022, Race 9

• STK
• 1 1/8m
• Turf
• $110,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 4:20 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Max K. O. (FL)	Daniel Centeno	118	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	4/1
2	2Chess's Dream (FL)	Samy Camacho	122	Michael J. Maker	12/1
3	3Lure Him In (FL)	Jesus Lopez Castanon	122	Robert B. Hess, Jr.	8/1
4	4Drama Chorus (FL)	Alonso Quinonez	118	Tim P. Padilla	6/1
5	5Freedom Matters (FL)	Edwin Gonzalez	118	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	6/1
6	6And Won (FL)	Pablo Morales	118	Chandradat Goberdhan	12/1
7	7Fast Fire (FL)	Skyler Spanabel	118	Thomas Albertrani	30/1
8	8Shamrocket (FL)	Javier Castellano	124	Todd A. Pletcher	8/5
9	9Over the Channel (FL)	Emisael Jaramillo	118	David Fawkes	6/1

Entries: Pleasant Acres Stallions Distaff Turf S.

Tampa Bay Downs, Sunday, March 27, 2022, Race 10

• STK
• 1 1/16m
• Turf
• $110,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 4:51 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Onyx (FL)	Emisael Jaramillo	124	Juan Alvarado	12/1
2	2Lovely Luvy (FL)	Javier Castellano	124	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	10/1
3	3Our Flash Drive (FL)	Antonio A. Gallardo	124	Mark E. Casse	7/2
4	4Chick's Shadow (FL)	Roberto Alvarado, Jr.	124	Ian Hemingway	15/1
5	5Mona Stella (FL)	Romero Ramsay Maragh	124	Patrick L. Biancone	15/1
6	6Shifty She (FL)	Edwin Gonzalez	126	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	3/5
7	7Sip'n Dip (FL)	Jose A. Batista	124	John P. Mc Allen	30/1
8	8Mia Martina (FL)	Hector Rafael Diaz, Jr.	124	H. Graham Motion	8/1
9	9Extravagant Rosie (FL)	Jose C. Ferrer	124	J. Kent Sweezey	30/1

Entries: NYRABETS Sprint S.

Tampa Bay Downs, Sunday, March 27, 2022, Race 11

• STK
• 6f
• Dirt
• $110,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 5:23 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Cajun Casanova (FL)	Pablo Morales	118	M. Anthony Ferraro	6/1
2	2Real Talk (FL)	Hector Rafael Diaz, Jr.	120	Carlos A. David	12/1
3	3Gatsby (FL)	Emisael Jaramillo	124	Carlos A. David	4/1
4	4Officiating (FL)	Edwin Gonzalez	124	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	2/1
5	5Tap It to Win (FL)	Antonio A. Gallardo	120	Mark E. Casse	4/1
6	6It's My House (FL)	Fernando De La Cruz	118	Robert B. Hess, Jr.	30/1
7	7Pudding (FL)	Javier Castellano	120	Elizabeth L. Dobles	6/1
8	8Night Cap (FL)	Jesus Lopez Castanon	113	Robert A. Raymond	15/1
9	9Shivaree (FL)	Samy Camacho	124	Ralph E. Nicks	8/1