No More Time, Domestic Product Vie in Tampa Bay Derby

No More Time , a front-running winner of the Feb. 10 Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs, seeks a second Kentucky Derby (G1) prep victory there March 9 when he battles Domestic Product  and eight other 3-year-old rivals in the $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G3).

A 1 1/16-mile race on dirt, the Tampa Bay Derby offers qualifying points toward the May 4 Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs on a 50-25-15-10-5 basis to its top five finishers, provided they are Triple Crown-nominated horses. A win virtually assures a horse of qualifying for the Derby. Churchill Downs officials use qualifying points as a preference system when the Kentucky Derby oversubscribes beyond its capacity field size of 20 starters. 

No More Time currently has 20 points from his Sam F. Davis victory.

No More Time is the only stakes winner in a relatively unaccomplished Tampa Bay Derby lineup. Two entrants, Give Me Liberty  and Sturdy , are maidens. 

A 3-year-old son of Not This Time   owned by Morplay Racing and trained by Jose D'Angelo, No More Time is 2-1-0 in four starts with race-best earnings of $156,780.

"I think he is going to get better," D'Angelo said. "He is still improving, and he knows the track there, which is a big advantage for him."

ROLLINS: Q&A With Rich Mendez of Morplay Racing

Besides winning the Sam F. Davis, he ran fifth in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man Stakes Jan. 1 at Gulfstream Park, won a maiden race at that same mile distance there on Oct. 22, and was second on debut in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race Sept. 9.

After being disadvantaged by a slow start and troubled trip in the Mucho Macho Man, he changed tactics in the Sam. F. Davis, taking charge from the start with quick fractions and lasting for a 1 1/4-length victory over late-charging Agate Road . His final time was sharp, 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.26, though with a sluggish final sixteenth in :06.67. 

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano rides, replacing Paco Lopez, who was aboard in the Sam F. Davis. Lopez has 10 mounts Saturday at his regular base at Gulfstream Park.

#5 NO MORE TIME ($8.60) takes the them wire-to-wire
in @TampaBayDownsFL's $250,000 GIII Sam F. Davis Stakes! #6 Agate Road finished a quick-closing second.

Paco Lopez was in the irons for trainer @DangeloStable and owners @MorplayRacing. pic.twitter.com/wIYDa0Wpou

— TVG (@TVG) February 10, 2024

Pletcher, Brown Start Contenders

Though Todd Pletcher, a six-time winner of the Tampa Bay Derby, is not bringing back Agate Road for Saturday's contest, the Hall of Fame trainer is represented in the race by the rail-drawn Heartened , a 4 1/2-length maiden winner around two turns in his fourth career start. His victory came at Tampa on the undercard of the Sam. F. Davis.

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown starts Klaravich Stables' Domestic Product , who rallied from behind a slow pace to finish second in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park Feb. 3; and Calumet Farm's first-out Tampa maiden winner Good Money , whose lone race was at seven furlongs.

Domestic Product, a late-running son of Practical Joke  , improved when stretched out to routes beginning last fall. He further elevated his performance level with blinkers removed in the Holy Bull after he was seventh in the Remsen Stakes (G2) Dec. 2 in his only other stakes start.

Another Graded-Placed Colt

Besides No More Time and Domestic Product, Grand Mo the First  is the only other entrant with black type in graded company. The son of Uncle Mo  , a winner of his first two starts in sprints on Tapeta at Gulfstream last summer, ran third in the one-mile Zuma Beach Stakes (G3T) at Santa Anita Park in the fall. The Granpollo Stables-owned runner then had a break and returned with a third-place finish in the Swale Stakes Feb. 3 at Gulfstream for trainer Victor Barboza Jr.

Swale winner Frankie's Empire  and place horse Le Dom Bro  returned respectively to finish third and second behind Dornoch  in a scratch-reduced Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) March 2 at Gulfstream.