Catholic Boy Works at Tampa Bay Downs

Trainer Jonathan Thomas wanted to get Catholic Boy acclimated to the Tampa Bay Downs surface before running in the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) Feb. 10, which is why he shipped the homebred son of More Than Ready  to the Oldsmar, Fla., oval to breeze Jan. 27 in preparation for his 3-year-old debut. 

Owned by Robert LaPenta, Catholic Boy worked five furlongs in 1:01, which was the second-fastest drill of 22 at the distance Saturday. 

"He got over it well," Thomas said. "We were looking for a long-winded breeze to let him stretch out and identify that the track was something he would handle, and it looked like he went over it very well."

Catholic Boy is based at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, Fla., along with the rest of Thomas's string. 

"It's roughly a two-hour trip (from Bridlewood). We felt that the whole little journey was good for him," Thomas said. "We schooled him yesterday in the paddock and had him spend the night (at Tampa Bay). He's always a good-shipping horse, but it looked like a nice change of pace for him."

Each of Catholic Boy's four starts have taken place over different tracks. He broke his maiden in his debut on the Gulfstream Park turf course in July, before he shipped to Saratoga Race Course to take the With Anticipation Stakes (G2T) over Irish Territory and next-out winners Untamed Domain and Seabhac. Catholic Boy then shipped to Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T), where he ran fourth. Thomas changed tactics for the colt's  most recent start and decided to run Catholic Boy on the dirt in the Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack, which Catholic Boy won by 4 3/4 lengths over graded winner Avery Island Dec. 2. 

EHALT: Catholic Boy Relishes Switch to Dirt in Remsen

"The Sam Davis comes up well from a calendar perspective." Thomas said. "We like the space between the Remsen and this race. It gives us time to recharge his batteries without a long layoff, and it allows you to explore numerous options coming out of it."

If Catholic Boy impresses Thomas enough in his 3-year-old debut, options following the Sam F. Davis could include the $1 million Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (Gr. I) March 31 at Gulfstream.

"If he runs well enough, the best spot going forward would be the Florida Derby, which is six weeks later," Thomas said. "The timing from the Florida Derby out to the (May 5) Kentucky Derby (Presented by Woodford Reserve, G1), if we're fortunate enough to get in, would be perfect."

Catholic Boy will have one more breeze before the Sam F. Davis, and Thomas did not rule out sending him back to Tampa next weekend for his final workout.

"I really like letting horses get in a bit early and settle in, so there's a chance we might bring him next weekend and let him stay here for the week, and have him school in the paddock some more," Thomas said. "So that's an option."

The Sam F. Davis Stakes is a part of Churchill Downs' Road to the Kentucky Derby and awards the top four finishers points based off of a 10-4-2-1 scale. Catholic Boy currently ranks 10th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 10 points earned in the Remsen.