Pletcher Favored to Win His Sixth Tampa Bay Derby

Running promising 3-year-olds Tapit Trice  and Shesterkin , trainer Todd Pletcher aims to extend his win record in the $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G3) March 11.

The Hall of Famer has won Tampa Bay Downs' top Kentucky Derby (G1) prep five times, taking it most recently in 2017 with Tapwrit  , eventual winner of that year's Belmont Stakes (G1). His other Tampa Bay Derby winners were Destin  (2016), Carpe Diem   (2015), Verrazano  (2013), and Limehouse (2004).

None of Pletcher's Tampa Bay Derby winners scored in the Kentucky Derby,  though the first of Pletcher's two Derby winners, Super Saver  , ran third in the 2010 Tampa Bay Derby before a second-place finish in the Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park. The trainer's other Derby winner in 2017, Always Dreaming  , took a South Florida path to Louisville, winning an allowance optional claimer and the Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park before the Run for the Roses.

Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable's Tapit Trice showed his talent last month at Gulfstream. The Tapit   colt, out of the stakes-winning Dunkirk  mare Danzatrice , took an allowance optional claiming race over a one-turn mile Feb. 4 by eight lengths over Bob LaPenta's Shesterkin. The victory so impressed gamblers that Tapit Trice went off as the 15-1 third choice among individual betting interests in the fourth pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager that closed Feb. 12.

Before his Feb. 4 victory, he won a Dec. 17 maiden race at Aqueduct Racetrack by a neck over Slip Mahoney , the eventual runner-up in the March 4 Gotham Stakes (G3). Tapit Trice's only other start was a third-place finish in his debut against maidens at Aqueduct Nov. 6.

The likely favorite makes his first start around two turns Saturday in the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby with Luis Saez up.

As of March 7, Saez has won eight graded stakes races in North America in 2023, most of any jockey. Pletcher also has eight graded stakes wins to place him in a tie for the lead this year among trainers with fellow Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.

Shesterkin, a son of Violence   who scored in his unveiling Dec. 31 at Gulfstream, was favored in his Feb. 4 matchup against stablemate Tapit Trice and appeared to regress off his sparkling debut at seven furlongs. Prominent early, he was head and head with a surging Tapit Trice leaving the turn before overpowered in the lane and settling for second.

Edgard Zayas rides Shesterkin, who races with blinkers added.

The Tampa Bay Derby offers qualifying points toward the May 6 Kentucky Derby on a 50-20-15-10-5 scale to its top five finishers. Historically, a horse that wins the Tampa Bay Derby has enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. Tampa Bay Derby participants often pursue more Derby points in final Triple Crown tune-ups in April.

The Tampa Bay Derby is one of five stakes races on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs—four graded—worth a combined $1 million in purse money.

Saturday's main event does not include the winner of last month's Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3), with Pletcher electing to point victorious Litigate  toward the March 25 Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

The second-through-fifth-place finishers from the Sam F. Davis are entered: Groveland , Classic Car Wash , Classic Legacy , and Zydeceaux .

Stretching out to race a longer distance in the 12-horse race is Pinnacle Racing Team and Madaket Stables' Freedom Road , a 2-for-5 Malibu Moon  colt who most recently won a Jan. 21 allowance optional claimer at Tampa Bay Downs at six furlongs.

"The Tampa Bay Derby is a very prestigious race, and we'll be honored and privileged to be a part of it," trainer Gregg Sacco said. "I feel that if he displays the same strong kick he has sprinting, he will be competitive. He's got the homecourt advantage, and he'll be able to walk over from his own barn.

"It looks like there are going to be a lot of talented horses running, and a lot of unknowns. But you've got to take a swing in the batter's box to connect," Sacco added. "If he runs to our expectations, it opens up a wide range of races for us, and if he doesn't, we know we have a talented sprinter."

Entries: Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G3)

Tampa Bay Downs, Saturday, March 11, 2023, Race 11

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $400,000
• 3 yo
• 5:15 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Lord Miles (KY)	Paco Lopez	120	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	12/1
2	2Classic Car Wash (FL)	Emisael Jaramillo	120	Mark E. Casse	8/1
3	3Classic Legacy (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	120	William I. Mott	6/1
4	4Groveland (KY)	Daniel Centeno	120	Eoin G. Harty	6/1
5	5Mikey Bananas (KY)	Pablo Morales	120	Timothy E. Hamm	30/1
6	6Tapit Trice (KY)	Luis Saez	120	Todd A. Pletcher	8/5
7	7Freedom Road (KY)	Hector Rafael Diaz, Jr.	120	Gregory D. Sacco	15/1
8	8Dreaming of Kona (KY)	Scott Spieth	120	Aldana Spieth	30/1
9	9Shesterkin (KY)	Edgard J. Zayas	120	Todd A. Pletcher	9/2
10	10Champions Dream (KY)	Antonio A. Gallardo	120	Mark E. Casse	20/1
11	11Zydeceaux (FL)	Samuel Marin	120	Ramon Minguet	20/1
12	12Prairie Hawk (KY)	Samy Camacho	120	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	20/1