Tom's Magic Seeks First Graded Win in Tampa Bay

Older turf horses are featured Jan. 31 at Tampa Bay Downs in a pair of $175,000 stakes over 1 1/16 miles that look like wide-open contests.

Finishing just a neck away from being a grade 1 winner in the Nov. 29 Hollywood Derby (G1T) at Del Mar, Tom's Magic  seeks his first graded win in the Tampa Bay Stakes (G3T) for owners CJ Thoroughbreds and Mo Speed Racing.

Winner of the 2025 Breeders' Stakes, the final jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, the son of Justify  's form was flattered when Hollywood Derby third-place finisher, Test Score , returned Jan. 24 to win the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T). Trained by Michael Stidham, the now 4-year-old Tom's Magic will aim for more success in his first attempt against older horses.

The only contender entering the race with graded success is Live Oak Plantation's Win for the Money , winner of the 2024 Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1T). The Mohaymen  gelding is winless in seven starts since.

After receiving a three-month freshening in the fall, Win for the Money returned in allowance optional claiming company Dec. 27 at Gulfstream Park, where he had his best finish since that grade 1 victory, finishing second while beaten just a half-length. The now 7-year-old will look to improve on that performance for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, with Sonny Leon in the saddle Saturday.

Another classy runner is Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider's homebred Simulate , whose last four defeats have come in stakes races won by Giocoso , Wimbledon Hawkeye , Troubleshooting , and Layabout .

Speed in the Tampa Bay Stakes is likely to come from St. George Stable's Quatrocento , who showed success on the lead over the summer. The Fausto Gutierrez-trained son of War Front   has not made the lead in his last two starts but could hold an advantage with post 3, two stalls inside of Blazing Meadows Farm and America's Thoroughbred Investors' Spellcast , the only other runner in the field to have exhibited early initiative with consistency.

Al Jafara Returns in Endeavour for Brown

Two races after the Tampa Bay Stakes, the Endeavour Stakes (G3T) will feature the return of Al Jafara .

A maiden winner at second asking in France at 2, the daughter of Pinatubo  made her American debut a winning one for owners Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, and Richard Schermerhorn against first-level allowance foes at Keeneland last April.

Off since that 1 3/4-length score, the 4-year-old filly returns against graded stakes foes for trainer Chad Brown, who is bidding for his fourth Endeavour win in the last six years. Brown has five overall wins in the race.

More recently, Bregman Family Racing's Love You Anyway  was runner-up in the Nov. 23 Pebbles Stakes (G3T) at Aqueduct Racetrack, where she earned a career-best 98 Equibase Speed Figure. That was the first start in the 4-year-old Tapit   filly's career in which she dictated the pace, but she could see some early competition this time from rivals such as Starship Impulsive  or Aussie Girl .