Agate Road Receives Dirt Test in Sam F. Davis

Agate Road , scratched from the Feb. 3 Kitten's Joy Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park, resurfaces in another part of the Sunshine State Feb. 10 when he races in the Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs.

Though he enters the 12-horse, 1 1/16-mile race with sparse dirt credentials, the successful stakes history of Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher suggests he and stablemate Tireless  will be formidable in Saturday's Kentucky Derby (G1) prep. Pletcher has won the race a record seven times, all since 2006.

Agate Road's talent is not in question, though whether he can be as effective on dirt as on turf is a key consideration for horseplayers pondering a wager on the $250,000 race. All but one of his five starts have come on turf, a surface on which he won the Pilgrim Stakes (G2T) and a maiden contest last year. Additionally, he ran a close fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) Nov. 3 and second in Gulfstream's Jan. 6 Dania Beach Stakes in his lone start this year at age 3.

In his one dirt appearance in 2023, he ran a hard-charging second, beaten a nose, in a slow off-the-turf race on dirt at Saratoga Race Course. That race earned him just a 66 Equibase Speed Figure, a number he surpassed in subsequent starts in his fastest races on turf.

He has trained well on dirt at Palm Beach Downs, finalized by a half-mile breeze in :49.53 Feb. 4.

Pedigree

• Jose Ortiz rides the Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable-owned son of Quality Road  , whose dam, the Gemologist  mare Yellow Agate , won the 2016 Frizette Stakes (G1) on the Belmont Park main track.
• Of Yellow Agate's two prior foals of racing age, Gasoline (Curlin  ) is a multiple winner on dirt and Plentitude (Quality Road) a winner on both turf and dirt.

Battling Agate Road

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable also own Tireless with LNJ Foxwoods. Twice second in three starts at age 2, the Not This Time   colt broke his maiden Jan. 14 at Tampa. Antonio Gallardo is aboard.

Leading the opposition to the Pletcher duo is Courtlandt Farms' Change of Command , a winner of two straight at Gulfstream Park for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey after three defeats in challenging maiden company last year. The Into Mischief   colt won a maiden race by 6 1/2 lengths Dec. 17 before repeating against first-level allowance optional claimers by a neck Jan. 5 there. He is 2-1-1 in five starts.

He adds blinkers and Tyler Gaffalione rides.

Two of the top locally-stabled runners are Patriot Spirit , who captured the six-furlong Inaugural Stakes at Tampa this winter but who faded to sixth when racing a mile in the Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs | BloodHorse.com Track Profile">Churchill Downs last fall, and West Saratoga , who captured the Iroquois before running fifth in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland and a distant second in the Pasco Stakes in his first start at 3.

Trainer Michael Campbell is confident in Patriot's Spirit's ability to route, pointing to the Mellon Patch-owned colt being by Constitution  .

"I'm convinced this horse will be better off going two turns rather than (six furlongs)," he said.

Derby Points, Weather Conditions

• The Sam F. Davis provides qualifying points toward the May 4 Kentucky Derby, distributed on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale to its top five finishers.
• Dry, warm conditions with high temperatures in the 70s are forecast on Saturday and the days leading up to the race. Post time is 5:15 p.m. ET.